QR codes seem to be everywhere at the moment. You might have seen these square shaped barcodes popping up in magazines, on posters and at the end of Waitrose’s TV advert.
Marketers are getting excited about QR codes because they can link your offline markering to the digital world. After taking a picture of the barcode with your smartphone (after downloading a QR scanner) you can then whisked to a website or download content, such as videos, extra information or games.
Like a cult punk band, QR codes are already big in Japan. Business cards, vending machines and Big Mac wrappers are just a few of the places you’ll find them being used.
But despite their sudden popularity, QR (Quick Response) codes are nothing new. In fact, they’ve been around since 1994 when they were used for tracking car parts in manufacturing. It’s only recently that smartphone technology has made it possible to take them out of the factory and onto the high street.
Examples of QR code marketing
Marketers are still experimenting with the ways in which QR codes can be used, and with the proliferation of smartphones we can expect to see them appearing more often.
To give you some ideas of how you could use them in your marketing, here are some examples:
Expanding on product information – Cellar Key Wines feature QR codes on their bottles. After taking a photo, customers can watch a video tour of a winery, view recommendations and explore food pairings. This is a great way of differentiating their product in a crowded market where consumers often find it difficult to distinguish between brands.
Build intrigue and encourage customers to take action – Calvin Klein put up giant QR codes with the slogan ‘Get it Uncensored’ in Times Square and other prominent places in Manhattan. After scanning the code people received a raunchy ‘uncut’ jeans commercial on their smartphone which they could then share on Facebook or Twitter.
Direct customers to your website – Pepsi featured QR codes on their Pepsi Max cans which sent customers to their website to download games, ringtones and wallpapers. They also produced some videos featuring Kelly Brook explaining how QR codes worked which, confusingly, you downloaded after scanning a QR code on a poster.
Preorder products – Tesco’s recently dipped its toes in QR codes for the launch of Call of Duty Black Ops video game. Customers could scan the instore codes to preorder the game before its launch. This is a good example of how QR codes can be used to save customers time when they are on the go and to give them a way of purchasing when they’re engaged with your advertising.
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BDA (Buckingham Design Associates) blog – real people giving real opinions, and a complete lack of agency waffle. Award winners BDA deliver an exciting blend of design and creative marketing for the Oxford, Milton Keynes, Northampton and London region.
