Aug 24, 2022Ed. Note: This article was previously posted at IoP Journal.
A few years ago, during one of my annual lectures at RFID Journal LIVE!, I predicted that one day, companies would be able to distribute RFID tags with their business identities, enabling them to market to customers and thus build loyalty, among other users. Well, that day has come! Now, more and more, companies from different sectors must discover these marketing benefits.
I use banking services from several financial institutions and have been an individual customer of Bank Itaú for decades. In recent weeks, I received an email from the bank inviting me to become a user of Tag Itaú, with the following message: "You can avoid queues at tolls and parking lots, and have zero monthly fees, using an Itaú credit or debit card."
I found the initiative extremely interesting and intelligent, though I personally would not benefit from the service since I don't own a car. However, since I have spent the last decade covering the evolution of radio frequency identification technology and its growing use in business every day—and having predicted this marketing use of tags would be possible—I was very excited about the idea.
It is clear that the bank has an immediate gain by offering the service without a monthly fee. Most private companies specializing in offering RFID tags charge for the provision of their service, even if it is not used, through monthly maintenance fees. However, marketing a tag free of charge is an excellent attraction for new customers. Consumers who do not have a relationship with Bank Itaú, and who thus do not use their cards and are not even clients of the institution, may be interested in utilizing its services to benefit from the fee exemption.
In addition to attracting new customers, the bank also retains current ones. I am an exception for not owning a car, but most people I know in Brazil who do have a vehicle use such toll and parking tags as Sem Parar and Conect Car. Companies specializing in RFID tags for vehicles have offers free of monthly fees, even partially. The curious and creative aspect of Bank Itaú's initiative lies precisely in the fact that the institution does not have its core business related to toll and parking systems, since it is a financial institution. At the same time, it benefits from the use of RFID tags as marketing tools.
The creativity of Bank Itaú's marketing initiative should awaken competing financial institutions to similar actions, and it will likely encourage companies from other segments that could benefit from such tags as well in attracting new customers and keeping existing ones satisfied. Imagine, for example, how a network of gas stations, a vehicle insurance company or a sports equipment brand might benefit from this type of promotion. What about you? Couldn't your company reap the benefits of RFID tags? I'm sure the answer is "Yes."
Edson Perin is the editor of IoP Journal Brasil and the founder of Netpress Editora.
