“Webifying” a Product: BLINK and GS1 Digital Links

Listen to BL.INK founder Andy Meadows’ excitement around GS1 digital Links in "50 Years of Confidence, Supply Chain Success, and the Next Dimension in Barcodes.” The interview with Andy Meadows begins at the 18:49 mark. “Giddy” best describes host Liz Sertl’s reaction to what BL.INK is up to. 

Turning a product into an informed consumer connection

“GS1 Digital link takes a company’s most valuable asset—its product and packaging—and activates it to engage with consumers,” says Andy. “And with BL.INK, consumers can get different experiences based on where they are when they scan the product.” 

For example, someone who scans a soda can in Florida may get a different experience than someone scanning it in Alaska. BL.INK can incorporate timing into the experience, enabling brands to easily share different pages or offers based on the time of day, a holiday, or a certain day of the week. 

Direct connections help protect data privacy

“Unlike engaging with consumers via social media, GS1 Digital Links enable a brand to reach out and create relationships one-to-one with the consumer,” says Andy. “It enables consumers to decide what information they want to share directly with brands.”

This connection puts consumers in the driver’s seat with brands, so they get the information, offers, and experiences that matter to them—not general ads served up to them via Google or social media platforms. 

Brands will crawl, walk, and/or run with this initiative

“Brands are getting very creative about how they’re choosing to implement GS1 Digital Link,” Andy says. Having talked with many brands, they understand that it’s coming and have a general idea of what it is, but companies are at varying stages of implementation." 

However, the enthusiasm for GS1 Digital Link runs high with brands. 

“People are sharing the innovation because they see the excitement around it, so they’re not trying to keep it to themselves," he says. "They want to share it because they know that the faster we all adopt this, the faster everybody wins.” 

“This [conversation] blew my mind,” said Liz Sertl. “It was so great talking about how QR codes can really unlock so much for brands and consumers. It was amazing.”

Listen to the full podcast, and stay tuned to see BL.INK bring GS1 Digital Links to life with brands you love. Learn more about BL.INK’s capabilities here or let’s connect to talk more.