There’s no question that QR codes lack visual appeal. They’re uglier than regular bar codes. And all attempts I’ve seen to make them more graphically appealing have met with mixed results. Some require that you download a specific reader. Some require several attempts to get to work. And some won’t work regardless of how many pictures you snap.
So knowing when and how to use these ugly but surprisingly powerful graphics is important. I recently read an article where the author criticised one company’s decision to place a large QR code on the back of a city bus. The argument was that it encouraged people to use their cell phones while driving, which isn’t the right message to send.
I disagreed with his assessment. I thought it was a brilliant use of the technology. The ad was placed by the city’s tourism department. I don’t know for sure, but I assume the ad also appeared on the side of the bus. So while the bus made its rounds the QR code was exposed to thousands of people, many of whom could easily have snapped a picture as the bus sat idle at a stop light or at a bus stop.
One use of a QR code that I did think was ridiculous was a TV ad by a local grocery store here in St. Louis – Schnucks. They are currently running fifteen second TV ads during the local news that have a facebook, Twitter, and QR code at the bottom of the screen on the very last shot of the ad. Now if you’re looking for examples of bad use of QR codes, this has to top the list. First, the QR code looks out of place in the ad. It’s like they’re screaming that they’re up to date with the latest trends. They would have been better off with the tag line – We spent a lot of money on this ad and we’re hip too. But guess what? If you load the site into a mobile browser the site isn’t mobile friendly. I’m sure the QR code they’re running in their ads must lead to some kind of mobile landing page, but think about it. For me to be able to scan their QR code I would have to be sitting in front of the TV with my mobile phone in hand, with my QR code reader loaded and running, and then I would have to capture the code in about two seconds.
Another poor use of QR codes has been with the local auto dealers in town. They’re hip, too. So they’ve started adding QR codes to their print advertising. Great idea, poor execution. The QR codes are so tiny that I have yet to get my QR code reader to accept the input.
Don’t get me wrong. There is definitely a place for QR codes in a mobile marketing campaign. I plan to use one soon that shows how you can use QR codes to merge offline and online marketing. So if you’re thinking about implementing QR codes into your marketing, give some thought about the actual user experience. Oh, and it would be a good idea to test the code before you spent several thousand dollars having it printed, or worse yet placing one on a fifteen second television ad.
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