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customer centriaThe Customer Engagement & Experience Company

Decoding the QR code

Date: 02/11/2011

Reaching a consumer has never been easier for companies – they have tried placing a huge hoarding in the sky,

spend crores on a TVC, and invested considerable time, energy and money to take its brand to the remotest

corners of the world. And then the wave of social media revolutionised consumer-brand interaction. And today

we are not even talking, we just scan and click...Quick Response (QR) code is the word!

The marketing circles have started embracing this technology with lot of zest and enthusiasm. Some experts still

wait for every chance to write it off as a passing fad, even as the technology is being picked up rapidly by companies

globally to send a message to the consumer. The crucial question – are QR codes an emerging trend to stay alive

for some decades, or will they be gone by this time next year? If the recent developments, innovations and results

QR Codes have shown are anything to go by, be rest assured we'll be scanning at least 10 times more QR codes by

this time next year.

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Understanding Technology

QR Code is a 2D barcode carrying relevant information about the product or the

company, depending on the campaign. It can lead you to a web page, text or other data

resource. QR codes need to be scanned, and for that you don't need dedicated scanners.

You can scan it with your smart phone, tablet, laptop and even your PC; provided these

devices have an attached camera and the requisite software installed.

Leading barcode scanner developer ScanLife in a report claims that use of QR Code has

grown to over 600% over the last one year. The study further states that 2D barcode scanning is currently

outpacing the growth of 1D barcodes, a major shift from 2010 that shows how user engagement is growing with

marketer interest. Scans come from over 125 different countries around the world every day.

The story so far

After becoming a huge hit in the United States, Europe, Korea and Indonesia, Indian marketers are also fast at

picking up the trend and making the most of its exclusivity. Even Google Trends QR Codes report lists India

among the Top 10 countries at No 9. Especially for India, QR codes are rapidly moving from the realm of being

used only by “geeks” to the mainstream. With technology adoption with the digital consumer being almost

instantaneous, and with the rapid penetration of smart phones, QR codes are a great tool to keep consumers

engaged, and connect with you on a different platform. Clients have slowly started to recognise this, and are

willing to experiment, especially when targeting Young and Upwardly mobile India.

The ScanLife report states that over 45,000 2D barcodes were generated from the ScanLife platform in the 2nd

quarter, a 300% increase from last year. Over 400,000 unique UPC codes, or products, were scanned by the

ScanLife app in a single month. Android OS continues to be the platform that generates the most scans. However,

the share of iOS increased 7% compared to Q1, 2011 while Android and Blackberry has a 4% and 3% decrease,

respectively. The existing smartphones and the evolving future versions will play a crucial role in QR Code

acceptance and growth in coming times.

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QR codes are everywhere – even in the skies, as a leading airline's in-flight

magazine shows a QR code that lets one download data including flight

information. They have been on cookies from Tiffany leading you to an

invite to a concert with Leighton Meester. They were on Barbie doll

displays in stores that when scanned offer a chance to win designer

clothes. QR code technology was featured by CSI New York in the plot, and

Fox Searchlight Pictures used it in its poster campaign for 'Notorious'.

Taking a cue from the global acceptance and success of QR Codes, some

big Indian companies used the technology to tap into their users. Ford

Figo's print ads displayed a QR code, which when scanned took the user to a page to download Ford's application.

And the downloaded application would then play an advert of the car by using the device's Internet connection.

Mid-Day used QR code to promote the movie Housefull, where the user would scan the code, and be led to the

movie video. Cybermedia, publisher of magazines like PCQuest, DQIndia and Voice & Data started using QR

codes in print editions of PCQuest for web pages, adverts, contests and events. McDonalds India is currently

testing out QR codes usage from a marketing perspective. Blackberry has made optimum use of the technology,

for promoting BB Messenger service, both through print and TV commercials.

QR Codes in Action

Summarising the use of QR Codes by firms worldwide, the following areas are most vital:

Promotional landing pages and entry forms/surveys

E-commerce and M-commerce

Product demos, presentations, videos and reviews

Reservation systems

Virtual business cards

Downloadable and scan-able coupons

Making a case for QR Code

A recent campaign run by suggests that the QR Code techonlogy if applied well can provide your sales

figures a staggering push, as high as . The promotion was executed through a unique Hipscan-generated

QR Code, wherein the store customers would scan the code, and reach a contest to win a smartphone, via sharing

on social networking site Facebook. And if one of the user's Facebook friends buys a Verizon mobile phone, the

user gets a free smartphone. And the result was visible – in hard figures, Verizon made a whopping in

additional revenue during the promotion week, against an investment of just . Credit also goes to the

marketers who dared to marry social commerce and QR Code technology. The sales revenue got a major boos no

doubt, but at the same time the brand visibility itself took a quantum leap by coming into direct contact close to

25,000 Facebook profiles.

Verizon

200%

$35,000

$1,000

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QR Codes and Usability

1 Language

Brands have the option to supply different language versions of some information in the print format.

This works very well for India due to its multi-language culture.

2 Information

Additional information can be provided by the brand itself through a QR code that can point to a

property.

3 Cost

Additional information can be provided by the brand itself through a QR code that can point to a

property.

4 Visiting Cards

QR codes are being widely used on visiting cards that can store information like name, number, E-mail

address etc.

5 Reach

QR Codes can help send information to remote areas - government authorities can use it effectively.

The Road Ahead

The early adopters of the technology range from food, hospitality and retailing to automobile, telecom and

technology. Kim Saldanha, Vice President-Marketing, Customer Centria, says: "QR codes are turning out to

be the perfect marketing package — a brief, compact, message driver and engagement tool — all loaded in one

single code." Customer Centria has worked on engagement programs using QR codes for campaigns like the

one for Godrej's social networking site GoJiyo, Taj Hotel's holiday packages branded Safari, and the soon-to-

be-launched promotion for Cottonworld. Now that one can customise QR codes with signature colours and

mnemonics, they can slowly move to becoming an integral part of the brand identity system.

In fact, the advent of QR Codes also marks the beginning of a phase, when smartphones manufactureres

would rethink about the devices to make them more QR Code friendly. And the future definitely also ensures

smoother execution of QR Codes, with improved processes and software. We'll see many players using the

technology for the heck of being QR code friendly, but then only the ones with a clear vision of their goals and a

sense of QR code unctionality ti achieve it will utlize QR Codes effectively.

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This simple-looking barcode has seriously raised the bar for marketers and brand managers. What does one

make of an opportunity that allows a company to share the desired information with their consumers through a

code that demands some seconds of labour on part of the user. Indeed a lethal marketing weapon that commands

attention and appreciation.

Bottomline

The magic is not in the technology, but in the creative ways in which marketers across

the globe can use it to create delightful experiences for their customers and consumers!