A QR code is a barcode that you scan with your phone and takes you to a website or specific landing page. It is essentially a link but in barcode form.

The main advertising purpose of a QR code is move your customers online via offline advertising.  It also enables you to share different and more varied content than you could on a printed or outdoor advert.

At the moment, companies are literally putting QR codes on everything. The problem, though, is that few people know what a QR code is. There are also very few examples of them being used effectively, which is probably some of the reason their uptake has been slow by consumers.

This is a great shame, since the QR code is a fantastic idea if used creatively or effectively it can enable brands to engage with consumers.

Placement

I have been busily tracking QR codes across London trying to find an effective use of one. Very quickly I realised that placement is a huge barrier for people. When standing on a tube, for example, people look at you very strangely as you reach upwards (I’m quite short!) to scan the code on the ads above people’s heads. The other key problem with the tube is that there isn’t any signal, so you’re trying to send people online when they can’t access the internet.

Moving transport, like buses and taxis, are completely useless for obvious reasons. Shop windows are incredibly difficult as well, especially when you’re just walking past, head down. You don’t necessarily notice it.

Bus stops are quite an easy and effective placement. While waiting for a bus many people will generally play with their phones, reading the news or checking social media.

With an average journey of 12 minutes, the inside of taxis on the tip up seats give the passenger plenty of time to scan and read.

Magazine and newspaper adverts and advertorials are amongst the most effective placements, when you have the most time with the reader to explain the reasons for them to scan the code and how to scan it.

Content

The main barrier to people scanning QR codes is that often the content isn’t worth it. Many QR codes simply take the user straight to their website. In terms of marketing this is unimaginative and doesn’t give the user any reason to read further or interact with the brand. Although you may have got the offline user online, a huge opportunity is being missed.

Here are some ideas and uses that begin to make the most of QR codes:

Twitter and Facebook pages
In the window of a shop near Sloane square they simply linked to their social media. I can see some technical and practical problems here – many people use applications to read Twitter and Facebook, which means that they probably won’t be logged in when the link opens on their browser. But, at least the content is useful and gives the user a reason to scan.

On Bikes and in Shops
@CarltonReid has written a blog post about this which is well worth the read:
http://www.bikebiz.com/index.php/news/read/glyph-hanger-should-the-bike-industry-put-so-much-faith-in-qr-codes/012096

In a Restaurant
On a recent business trip to Canary Wharf, we visited the Parlour. On each table was a QR code with a link to the specials list. This means that the specials can be updated everyday or weekly without having to print new copies – all they have to do is update the landing page. The Parlour website even has instructions: http://www.theparlourbar.co.uk/qr-code-how-to.php

To a Mobile Phone App
This one was on a tube advert, but, nevertheless, if I was really interested in the app I’d still have the address saved in my phone. The app was Kabbee and the advert had links to both iPhone and Android market places. It is a price comparison site for minicabs, so while you’re sitting miserable on the tube or dreading the bus at the other end of a long journey, you can be tempted by this clever app.

To QR or Not?

There are many more applications of QR codes and I will continue to document them. We’re also about to launch a campaign that we hope will be a fantastic use of QR codes.

My conclusions so far are that most people are using the codes badly and so it is difficult to judge their effectiveness. My feeling is that QR codes will be replaced by other technology soon, but the cost effective nature of the codes and their simplicity mean that their time is not over yet.

The most important aspect of using QR codes effectively is to remember to give the user a reason to scan the code, whether it’s a link to unique content such as video or a competition, there must be a use.

Earlier this month John Lewis launched their new ecommerce site for mobile. Instead of creating an app for users, they simply created a dedicated mobile site.  In the past couple of years, companies have gone crazy creating their own dedicated apps. Amazon’s app is particularly innovative, enabling you to take pictures of products and then go back and buy them from Amazon later. The app recognises the product from the picture.

Although apps offer the functionality to create a unique and different way of shopping, it is not without its problems. Firstly, there are a huge range of smart phones on which users can browse the internet, all with slightly different sized screens and using a variety of software. By building an app you are potentially ignoring the swathes of customers who choose to use devices other than the traditional smart phones – the iPhone, Google phones or Blackberries.

By creating a designated mobile site, John Lewis have not only encompassed all internet browing phones, but have saved themselves a lot of bother adapting their app for each device.

Last week there were two extremely important events in the world of technology. The first was the launch of the iPad, Apple’s netbook/giant iphone/small laptop type device, and the second was the first ever football match broadcast live in 3D.

No one is really sure what the iPad is for. Why do I want an iPhone, a laptop and an iPad? Possibly to read newspapers and books on the go. It’s certainly got a larger screen than the iPhone, but isn’t as big as my laptop, which means that it will fit perfectly in my handbag and I can easily read from it. But that alone is not enough for me to go out and buy one. Does it feels as though Apple have simply created the iPad for the sake of creating a new device?

The problem with the iPad is that society isn’t quite ready for it yet – we haven’t completely come to terms with the fact that we don’t need print anymore. One day, probably not as far in the future as one would imagine, we won’t really read printed material anymore. We will all carry around a device that will be much like the iPad.

And here lies the problem for technology. One day we will probably all sit and watch our televisions with glasses on, no longer wowed by the wonder of 3D, we will simply accept that football is best this way. Each person will carry around their own pair of glasses, ready for a mate’s house or the pub. It will become integrated into our lives.

You’re probably reading this thinking that you really like reading from paper and you don’t want to sit in the pub wearing glasses. The problem with this new technology is that we’re just not ready for it yet.

Yesterday The Guardian released it’s new app for the iPhone. It costs £2.39, is highly personalised and allows you to listen to podcasts and browse images. The Guardian does have a very good mobile site, but I downloaded the app as I wanted to see whether it would be worth £2.39, which is quite a lot for an app. First impressions are that it makes browsing a lot easier and I can organise it into the sections I read the most. It is a definite improvement, but not completely life changing.

The Guardian are leading the way in monetising the news. I don’t have to download the app to read the paper, I could go on reading it from the web browser, but the app makes it a lot easier and the customisation is great. They have added value to their service and I am willing to pay. It’s a lot like upgrading your Spotify so you don’t receive adverts.

The Guardian recognise, more than any other British newspaper, the need to work with their readers to turn around their declining profits. Instead of rushing backwards to an old model of charging people to read the news (ie what Murdoch is proposing) they have accepted that information on the internet is free. The amount of content that is published everyday has reduced the value of news. Before the internet, everyone had to buy a paper or magazine to gather information and opinions. Now it’s free.

I’ve spoken before about the fact that this is a huge problem for newspapers. The Guardian have reacted by adding value to the experience of reading news on their website. They have subscription services, but they don’t charge for the basic news. They also don’t make a big song and dance of it (like Murdoch), they simply offer these services as a way to add value.

It is too soon to know which model will work, a paywall system, where you must subscribe to read beyond a certain point, or an added value service, where you pay for a better experience. I suspect that the latter will be the more successful.

Last week I wrote a blog post about how smart phones, and the iPhone in particular, have become the centre of our communications.  One example of a company really taking advantage of new technology and opportunities is Arsenal FC. Before you click away and think that a football team doesn’t have anything in common with your business, think for a moment as the fans as customers. They pay for a product, which is football, and they buy merchandise, which is all associated with the Arsenal brand.

Arsenal probably don’t need to do as much marketing as they do to consistently sell out each game. Their product, the football, is good enough to do that. By communicating constantly with their supporters and offering them terrific services they add value to their overall offering. Which helps when they ask their season ticket holders for £1,000 every year.

This is why the Arsenal iPhone App is such a genius idea. In my pocket I have fixture information, latest news, video clips (so I can show off Cesc Fabregas to my mates), picture gallery, access to ticket news and information about each player (great for solving arguments in the pub). I didn’t even notice paying £2.99 I was so excited.

Its main strength is its simplicity. They haven’t tried to create a community in an app, they’re just giving people the main information. It integrates perfectly with the website, so the news is constantly updating, and it also takes its video content from there. It is almost the perfect app.

Compare this to Manchester United and Chelsea. They’re just not quite there yet, but they are close.