Lara O’Reilly is Marketing Week’s digital and telecoms specialist and here she gives her own view on what companies from Apple to Zynga are up to in the wired world of the web.
The QR Code puzzle
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It seems everywhere we look in the marketing industry we are confronted by these ubiquitous, Magic Eye-like squares of fuzz.
The majority of marketers have already seized the opportunity to embed QR codes into their ad campaigns.
The new-age barcodes allow users to receive extra content, such as websites, games, offers and video, when scanned by a smartphone’s camera.
But despite the penetration of smartphones, many users have never unlocked the potential of the QR code, with most people unaware of how to use them in the first place.
There are a couple of straightforward solutions to this: pre-installation and education.
Why is it that mobile phone manufacturers, despite developing the technology and often even using QR codes in their own campaigns, have yet to pre-install QR Code readers on their phones? Why should the user have to do the graft and search through the app market to find a suitable reader?
Secondly, the advertisers themselves should add to the user learning process. Some form of instruction should be built into the advert in order for the user to know what to do and more importantly what to expect.
I understand it is tricky when most packaging leaves little space for extra text and words can make ads look too busy, but I have seen it in action. It’s so simple even I can rustle it up in 30 seconds:
1) Go to your AppStore/AppMarket on your smartphone
2) Search for “Free QR Reader” (Perhaps brands could even lend a hand and make their own)
3) Download and view code through smartphone camera
QR Codes have been in the public domain since at least 2008, yet advertisers are consistently failing in making them effective.
Yes, they are free and easy to make - I have just created my own to link to the Marketing Week site - but a return on nothing is never likely to amount to more than nothing.
Readers' comments (5)
Lucie Bickerdike | Wed, 30 Mar 2011 3:30 pm
Completely agree - I think this is a rare instance of marketers wrongly assuming a pretty advanced level of knowledge amongst their customers.
I'm off to find a QR Reader app! Thanks for the tip :)
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Keith Trivitt | Wed, 30 Mar 2011 4:35 pm
Your question re why smartphone manufacturers don’t bother to pre-install QR Code readers on their phones is spot-on. The fact remains that most marketers realize now that QR Codes offer a tremendous opportunity to turn their offline marketing into a more engaging and interactive online form, but consumers either don’t care (which I don’t believe is the case) or they just don’t know enough yet and/or understand the true value of QR Codes. And much of that blame lies squarely on us as marketers. In a way, we have put the cart well before the horse when it comes to showing consumers the true value to them of using QR Codes around our brands.
Here in the U.S., we face an even more daunting task: developing a standard platform for QR Codes. From Microsoft’s Tags to a myriad of third-party developers, marketers in the U.S. are still confused on which platform is the best to use and why. That doesn’t bode well for quickly helping consumers understand their value.
the moment, the lack of of one consistent platform is confusing to consumers, which muddles the overall value of QR Codes.
At the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), we have been experimenting with QR Codes for several months. Our editorial team has also been placing QR Codes in our monthly publication, Public Relations Tactics (http://ow.ly/4gOW8), which helps point readers back to interactive features around various print articles. The feedback and interest in what is still largely a novelty concept for most consumers was quite encouraging, and we're planning to explore the use further.
For the most part, the ability of QR Codes to accurately measure consumers' purchasing sentiments based off a print message or ad and how that translates online is both powerful and encouraging.
Keith Trivitt
Associate Director of Public Relations
Public Relations Society of America
http://www.prsa.org/
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Stacey Sayer | Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:42 pm
Lara, great article. As one of the leaders in the QR code space, we agree there is a tangible need for consumer education. We’ve published a list of best practices to help marketers make the most of their QR code campaign – available via our white paper, 2D Barcodes: A Definitive Guides, at http://bit.ly/dZ2zav.
Stacey Sayer
NeoMedia Technologies, Inc.
www.neom.com
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Michael | Fri, 1 Apr 2011 1:40 am
One way to educate about QR codes is to use them on business cards that get passed around. Check out http://www.bwscan.com for free dynamic qr code generator and free analytics.
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Dave Innis | Wed, 19 Oct 2011 2:31 pm
Great article, Lara! Thank you.
I have been tossing this topic around for weeks, myself. As a marketer I want to ad the QR code tool to my arsenal, but I would only do it if I can develop a full service to the consumer... that being the code, download options and a quick set of instructions. I am figuring how to do this on a very small window display. Then I can make it larger for hand-outs.
Dave Innis
Dave's Logical Marketing
www.intheloopdeals.com
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