QR Codes: Where Do You Stand?

From a marketing perspective, the latest and greatest in technology is always a point of interest to somehow incorporate into a campaign. However, there is always technology on the horizon, or already here, that seems to be a sure-fire thing and then seemingly flop once they go to market. But what about the technologies that seem to hover in the gray area between gold mine and epic fail? The technology I am referring in particular is QR (quick response) codes.

I am sure by now many of you have seen these black and white square 2-D images show up on something (marketing collateral, packaging, billboard, or even on someone’s business card). These are meant to be scanned by a mobile device which then processes the code and directs you to a landing page, coupon, download, etc. While this seems like a good thing, there are many pros and cons to go along with it, which has ultimately separated the market’s response to these pixel based codes.

Depending on how you view increase in market use, studies have shown that QR code use is still on the rise. Although the QR market is definitely segmented and comes with an asterisk (like anything else does today), there is still big potential here. Stated in a recent article titled “QR Codes: Study Says They’re a Hit in Print Media” on average 15% of consumers use(d) QR codes but that number grows to 27% for consumers between the ages of 18-34. The article also points out campaign strategies that have tested to be most successful: Focus on print pieces, communicate value of scanning to customer, mobile-friendly landing page, use code to integrate digital and physical marketing programs, and finally acknowledge, thank, and reward the customer.

Another supporter of QR codes on the rise is Teen Vogue. While this might not be the first source you would think to cite, they find in the article “It Turns Out That There IS A Demographic That Likes QR Codes” that 46% of their client base (predominantly millennials) scans QR codes to find cheaper deals online. It makes sense that this generation has higher usage levels since they are categorized as technologically savvy, however, this once again leads to the question of will the QR code “make it” if it hasn’t really sparked intense, sustained interest yet.

On the flip side of the argument for QR codes, “It’s Hip to be Square: QR Code Use Soars” shows how the merchants in the market jumped from 8% in 2011 to 47% in 2012 in QR code usage in their marketing strategy. The biggest areas that this jump occurred were in print catalogs (35% to 63.2%) and postcards and/or other non-catalog mail pieces (35% to 47.4%). However, this jump, when viewed against the slow consumer adoption, may show prominent signs of market saturation.

An additional factor to consider with QR codes is whether or not the general market understands how to use them. One of the biggest complaints about QR codes (besides not-linked correctly) is that people just don’t know what to do with them. Of course many have the general knowledge of “you take a picture of the thing and it does something for you,” but here lies a major flaw – Almost all smartphones do not come pre-loaded with an app capable of handling QR codes. So in order for these codes to actually be of any use, the consumer has to A) know to download an application that will read and process the code, B) how to use said application, and C) not be agitated enough by this point to follow through with scanning.

We at MRI Software are curious:

• Where you stand with QR codes?
• How many times have you scanned a QR code? Did you find the experience to be useful/exciting/something you’d want to use again?
• Have you implemented these into any of your personal marketing campaigns? What kind of success (or fail rate) have you seen since implementing?