Ponti’s Italian Kitchen first in the world to dish up QR Codes with new

13 June 2012

New table-top SmartBox from zappit brings customer engagement via QR to both
SMEs and large restaurant / hotel / pub chains

LONDON, UK (13 June, 2012) – A group of nine restaurants, bars and hotels in
London, including Ponti’s Italian Kitchen, specialists in food from Emilia
Romagna, will be the world’s first businesses to use SmartBox, a new
interactive table talker that uses QR Codes to improve CRM while allowing
customers to enter competitions, take part in loyalty schemes and much more.


SmartBox is a new product made by zappit; the NFC, QR and mobile payment
technology firm. Branded to match the venue it is in, SmartBox sits on a
restaurant table top or in a hotel room working as a data capture device
that enables tailored communication with customers and drives transactions.
A customer simply scans the QR Code on SmartBox and is taken to a mobile
website that features a loyalty scheme, information about forthcoming
promotions and competitions. 

Ponti’s Italian Kitchen is trialling SmartBox in two of its West End
restaurants on Duke Street and Oxford Circus, which see on average 1,000
customers every day.

“We are excited to be the launch partner of SmartBox”, said Jennifer Payne,
Marketing Manager, Ponti’s Group. “With its assistance, we are looking to
further expand our CRM database, social following, acquisitions and customer
feedback responses; whilst capitalising on the huge loyalty we’ve cultivated
with our Grazie Loyalty Scheme. We've worked closely with the zappit team in
the run up to the launch, using QR code technology and mobile engagement to
fully realise SmartBox's potential. As part of our commitment to this
campaign our staff will be on hand to assist customers and advise on how
best to interact with QR codes and the benefits of doing so.”

With Ofcom research revealing that more than half of adults use their
smartphones and around a quarter (23%) use them during mealtimes, zappit is
launching the SmartBox to be used by bars, restaurants, cafes and hotels of
all sizes. zappit Founder and CEO Mark Fraser believes that the rise in
smartphones use means SmartBox is the perfect engagement tool and a great
way for smaller businesses to get to grips with mobile marketing
technologies:

“QR has really come of age in 2012, helped by the increasing ubiquity of
smartphones and consumer willingness to scan and engage with QR Codes”, said
Mark Fraser, CEO and founder, zappit. “Many SMEs might not be familiar with
mobile marketing technologies but SmartBox is a highly cost-effective
solution as well as being a wonderful way for smaller restaurants and hotels
to engage immediately with customers and improve CRM.”

As part of the SmartBox offering, zappit helps with the creation and
management of campaigns, QR Code generation for SmartBox and the creation of
bespoke mobile experiences for venues. zappit also provides post-experience
engagement emails and the real-time monitoring of engagement activity, so
SmartBox customers can track how many people are engaging and how they are
following up.

“QR has such potential but many brands have got the basics drastically
wrong,” said Mark Fraser. “Sending a customer to a desktop website is going
to turn people off immediately and providing a compelling experience on a
mobile website is critical to the take-up of QR Codes as a marketing tool -
SmartBox does this for all customers.”

The other participants in the four-week trial are Kaifeng in Hendon, The
Raglan in Muswell Hill, the Blue Legume restaurants in Islington and Crouch
End and The Flask pub and La Gaffe restaurant and hotel in Hampstead.

zappit’s NFC and QR Code proposition has recently won the interest of high
profile brands like Natwest, Morrisons and Mercedes Benz. zappit has also
recently completed a city-wide QR and NFC trial with JCDecaux in Reading –
the first of its kind in Europe.