PITTSBURGH, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- During the third quarter of the Dick's Sporting Goods Cowboys Classic (University of Oklahoma vs. Brigham Young University) at the new Cowboys Stadium this past Labor Day weekend, Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS) launched its new mobile site in a big way - on the world's largest HDTV video board. It was the first time a stadium video billboard had offered this level of interactivity, as fans with Quick Response (QR) code-enabled smartphones were directed to the company's new mobile site for an exclusive offer. The mobile site is located at http://dsports.mobi.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090908/NY71842 )
The mobile site, which was designed and created by Pittsburgh-based Branding Brand (www.BrandingBrand.com), allows people to browse and purchase a complete selection of sporting goods online. It was unveiled as part of Dick's Sporting Goods Kickoff Week on ESPN, which marked the official start of the 2009 college football season.
During the game, an announcer coached fans to check out Dick's Sporting Goods video billboards -- displayed on the stadium's 25,000 square feet of video screens -- and take pictures of the QR code shown there. They were then connected to the new mobile site and received an offer of $10 off a purchase of $50 or more. Fans without a QR code reader could enter "dsports.mobi" in their phone's browser or take a photo of the billboard and email it to Deals@DSports.mobi to redeem the discount.
"Dick's Sporting Goods has gone mobile in one of the biggest ways possible with a technology convergence of largest meets first," said Jeffrey R. Hennion, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Dick's Sporting Goods. "From their seats in the new Cowboys Stadium, fans were instantly connected to our mobile site through their smartphones and could browse our complete, industry-leading selection of sporting goods footwear, apparel and equipment."
QR code readers are 2D (two dimensional) barcode readers that can now be installed on newer smartphones, like the latest Apple iPhone and many BlackBerry models. This technology was developed by Denso with the primary aim of being easily interpreted by scanner equipment in manufacturing, logistics, and sales applications. It can hold information such as a URL, an SMS message, a phone number, an email address, or any kind of text.
"QR code technology is very popular in places like Japan where codes can be found on maps, billboards, advertisements, and in magazines," added Hennion. "We are pleased to bring this new technology to our customers throughout the U.S. as it gives us yet another way to stay connected to them and meet our goal of being there whenever and wherever they want us to be."
About Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.
Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footwear in a specialty store environment. As of August 1, 2009, the Company operated 409 Dick's Sporting Goods stores in 40 states primarily throughout the eastern half of the U.S. The Company also owns Golf Galaxy, Inc., a multi-channel golf specialty retailer, with 91 stores in 31 states, ecommerce websites and catalog operations. For more information, visit, http://www.dickssportinggoods.com.
SOURCE Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc.
