Guide final ENG - Unitag · 2012. 11. 25. · QR Codes are read by so-called “reading applications”, which are basically barcode scanners. There are dozens of them that you can

© Unitag SAS 2012 www.unitaglive.com 2

To be effi cient a QR Code campaign has to be structured and organized. In order to do so you will be introduced to 10 rules through this guide. They will give you the necessary knowledge to correctly use QR Codes.

You will then be able to design your marketing campaigns while being confi dent in the added value of the operation and the impact on your consumers.

In this guide Unitag also details good and bad examples of QR Code campaigns so that you make the best choices and avoid common mistakes. After which you will have all the necessary assets to make your QR Code event successful.

Follow the guide !

IntroductionIntroduction


SummarySummary

QR Code presentation

At last ! A clear and precise presentation of QR Codes. Read it carefully before starting to design your campaign.

10 rules about QR Codes

I. Choose your QR Code typeII. Customize your QR CodeIII. Use contrasting colorsIV. Adapt the size of your QR CodeV. Choose the correct printing supportVI. Optimize your QR Code’s visibilityVII. Ensure that you are in an area with WiFi / Data serviceVIII. Explain how to use your QR CodeIX. Offer some added valueX. Make your QR Code leads to a mobile website

QR Code campaign examples

Bad examplesGood examples

Appendix

Quiet ZoneQR Code sizeQR Code structureRedundancy


What is a QR Code?

A QR Code? This is that small square, often black-and-white, that one can found more and more frequently on advertisements. It can contain various kinds of useful information for consumers. For example, it can redirect a user’s smartphone to a web page in order to let him purchase the advertised product. Or to let him download a coupon, or even make his smartphone add to its calendar the event pictured.

To summarize, QR Codes can extend the information present on a physical support and give a digital dimension to the marketing campaign that you are conducting. Its impact on consumers is strongly increased.

Furthermore the visual aspect of QR Codes is evolving and becoming attractive. For they are used as communication tools, QR Codes must be appealing and colorful to draw the attention of your consumers and get them to scan.

Customize your QR Codes!

Unitag’s will and purpose for its generator and this guide is to provide professionals with attractive and colorful QR Codes. That is why we allow strong QR Code customizations. Colors, logo overlay, fancy shapes,.. will help you customize this new marketing tool and integrate your corporate visual identity. Even more important customizations can be made by a graphic designer. However you will have to follow a set rules explained later on throughout this guide.


How to read QR Codes?

QR Codes are read by so-called “reading applications”, which are basically barcode scanners. There are dozens of them that you can directly download on your smartphone. But pay attention to the fact that readers are differently effi cient at reading QR Codes! That is why we recommend the i-nigma reader for higher performance.

The reference: i-nigma (http://www.i-nigma.com)Available on iPhone, Android and Blackberry

Some other applications:

FlashcodeAnother common application (iPhone and Androïd)

NeoReaderA possible alternative (iPhone and Androïd)

Reading - or scanning - a QR Code is then a very easy three-step process, as detailed in the opposite diagram.The user has to open its reading application and aim at the QR Code with the smartphone’s digital camera. It is then recognized by the application which carries out the associated action - generally opening a web page.


I Choose your QR Code type

Before creating the QR Code you want to publish, you have to choose which type of information will have to be encoded in it. Different types of information can indeed be encoded and lead to different actions.

QR Codes can encode the following actions:

A website URL to which the user will be directed and where he will see the content made available for him.

An email or a text-message ready to be sent.

A business card which can be directly stored in your smartphone’s contact list.

An event that can be automatically added to your calendar.

A phone number recognized by your Smartphone for dialing.

A simple text to display.

Wi-Fi access point’s credentials to initiate a connection from your smartphone.


II Customize your QR Code

Choosing the correct type is the fi rst step for creating your QR Code. You can then customize it. To do so, changing the colors, the size or overlaying a logo are just so many possible modifi cations. Personalizing your product is a considerable advantage and you can differentiate yourself and draw the attention of consumers with an original QR Code. You will hence increase the visual impact of your advertisement.


III Use contrasting colors

Customize your QR Code with different colors is an advantage, provided that it remains readable! No matter what set of colors you apply, the background color has to CONTRAST with the QR Code’s colors.

Besides, some reading applications do not succeed with negative QR Codes - that is to say bright colors on a dark background. So be careful at this step because if the contrast is not strong enough or if the colors are not bright enough, reading may fail and your QR Code would be left useless.


IV Adapt the size of your QR Code

Do not print your QR Code on a in a small size for it might not be readable. You should beware of this fact and compute the right size according of these two factors:

QR Code’s minimal sizeThe QR Code can be printed at any sizes however you ought not to print it under 3cm per 3cm (1,2 inch). The following formula gives the ideal size and according to the distance of scan:

Size of your QR Code = Distance from the code to the scanner / 10

Pay attention: All Smartphones do not have the same camera quality. You must think about them when you choose the distance of scan.

The distance of scan in the QR Code environmentThe size of your QR Code thus depends of its environment. You must know whether your QR Code will be printed on a product packaging or a large poster. Because between these two options the size of your code will be really different.For example if you decide to print your code on a advertising poster the QR Code will be scanned from 3 meters away so it shall be 33 centimeters per 33 centimeters.Anyway the best way to ensure that your QR Code has the good size is to scan using different smartphones and different scanners.


V Choose the correct printing support

T-shirts, mugs, posters and even toilet paper, printing options for QR Codes are diverse and original ! However the printing support may affect the readability of QR Codes. For instance the printing surface must be fl at to allow QR Codes to be read. Try also to avoid printing on refl ective or easily distorted surfaces.

VI Optimize your QR Code’s visibility

Besides the chosen printing support you will have to think about the environment on which QR Codes will be displayed. They have to be at the same time READABLE and VISIBLE by the customers. Try to avoid QR Codes displayed too low on a poster, on a dark place or even on a moving support. Also, it will be more effi cient to publish the QR Codes on environments where consumers will be able to take their smartphone out to scan them.

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VII Ensure that you are in an area with WiFi / Data service

If you are in an area without WiFi / Data service, your QR Code might not be of any use. Indeed if your QR Code redirect the user to a web page the latter needs an access to a quality web network. You must be careful regarding where it is set up. Test yourself if possible.

VIII Explain how to use your QR Code

Not everybody knows what QR Codes are made for and how they are read. It is important to print along a QR Code an explanation on what a QR Code is and most important how to scan it.


IX Offer some added value

Customers are inclined to scan your QR Code because they expect to take advantage out of it. Couponing, exclusive information, direct marketing are good examples of what QR Codes are good for, they must deliver attractive content. Thus you must indicate what kind of benefi ts the customer will get from scanning your QR Code.

X Make your QR Code leads to a MOBILE website

If your QR Code redirects onto a website it must be MOBILE compatible. Indeed classical websites are poorly displayed on smartphones and one has to keep zooming in and out to read its content.In case you do not have a mobile website Unitag grants the possibility to use its mobile page generator called U.me.

y

R


Do not forget the golden rule: try and try again scanning your QR

Code before printing it !

© Unitag SAS 2012 Be careful, campaign not made by Unitag ! 17

Bad example

© Unitag SAS 2012 18Be careful, campaign not made by Unitag !

Bad example

In order to increase the number of students opening an account, BNP Paribas takes advantage of the start of the new school year to launch their new QR Code campaign.This could have been a relevant idea, if there were not so many mistakes...

• 1st issue: an explanatory message is never optional !

Of course, people from the new generation are used to deal with new technologies. But this does not mean that you can do without an explanatory message on how to read and use the QR Code. Besides in most cases, the persons who actually take the decision to open the account are the parents. They should then have all the tools they need in order to correctly see the product offer. So it is very important to determine who is the target of the advertisement and to provide a suitable explanatory message.

• 2nd issue: the QR Code must always be easily readable.

The poster contains a QR Code with a too high number of characters which makes it hard to read and contradicts our goal to help the consumer. So it would be better to reduce the number of characters encoded in the QR Code.

• 3rd issue: the content has to be adapted.

Once the QR Code is scanned, you fi nd out that the content is not adapted for a mobile phone. Hence browsing on BNP Paribas website is like an obstacle course: the user zooms in, selects, makes it smaller, zooms in again, in the end he is lost; so he gives up.

source : http://www.adphone.fr/2010/10/actualites-marketing-mobile-adphone/bnp-la-banque-des-jeunes-mauvaise-campagne-qrcode


Bad example

Bruketa & Zinic decided to promote tourism in their region and therefore integrated QR Codes on license plates with a redirection to the “Croatian tourist Board” web page.

• 1st issue: bad conditions for scanning.

It looks like the QR Codes are more likely to cause accidents than to attract tourists!Besides the fact that it is not legal to use a phone while driving, trying to scan these QR Codes could be quite dangerous because drivers would then have to get close enough to the cars and would pay less attention to the traffi c.

• 2nd issue: a website not easily accessible.

Moreover, the content is nothing else than the tourism website home page and is not adapted for smartphones. Users have to focus on reading and do not focus on their driving! The purpose of the operation was to discourage tourists, right?

source : http://smartlifeblog.com/the-5-best-and-5-worst-uses-of-qr-codes/


Bad example

Pix designed a marketing campaign to be displayed... in the subway!The basic idea of humorous posters was however quite good. Pix wanted to complement their advertisement with a QR Code leading to a short clip detailing their campaign.

• 1st issue: no access to a mobile network.

There is no mobile network access in the subway! Keep that in mind because it is a very common mistake to display QR Codes in the subway, which is of course completely useless.

• 2nd issue: a content size too important.

Besides, once the QR Code was scanned, the size of the clip that had to be downloaded on the smartphone was important and the download took too much time.



Good example


Good example

Leroy Merlin (a home-improvement and gardening retailer) produced an innovative marketing campaign and created their fi rst mobile website for their customers to check out their offers and services and benefi t from them. Their poster campaign contains a QR Code which leads potential consumers to their new site.

• 1st asset: a suitable mobile website.

Promoting a mobile website with a QR Code poster campaign is completely in the nature of Internet for mobile phones: it is convenient, easy to use and attractive. Leroy Merlin brilliantly managed to integrate all the essential components for the success of a QR Code campaign!

• 2nd asset: a clear explanatory message.

Leroy Merlin thought it all and printed explanatory messages on every poster and fl yer used in their campaign along with the QR Code. Furthermore the QR Code featured in their campaign is clean and easy to scan although it is customized.

source : http://www.agence-marketing-mobile.fr/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00%2B01:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B01:00&max-results=3


Good example


Good example

In order to promote its new jean collection, Clavin Klein dared to print enormous billboards featuring a very wide QR Code on it. The QR Code lead to a video introducing the new products in a sexy way. It is a success for the brand.

• 1st asset: An original idea.

Besides the originality of this well done campaign, Calvin Klein reaches its objective to create a Buzz using a mere QR Code poster (which is easy to scan). They succeeded in promoting what we cannot display on the street in New York.

• 2nd asset: A real added value on the content.

It is an exclusive video that can only been watched after scanning the code which leads to an exclusive relationship between the brand and the consumer.

source : http://www.qrdresscode.com/article-kalvin-klein-qr-code-uncensored-53822200.html


Good example


Good example

Making the QR Code technology sexy was the new challenge of the brand, and it’s a win shot. In fact Victoria’s Secret reaches its goal perfectly in displaying sexy posters on the street with a QR code on it … hiding products brand.

• 1st asset: An attractive advertising!

This can be called an attractive campaign ! In fact, it is a really funny way to play with the curiosity of the consumers and push them to scan your QR Code.

• 2nd asset: A real content.

Furthermore the content itself is attractive too and also exclusive, showing the new Victoria’s Secret collection.

The only risk there would be car accidents due to inattentive car drivers.

source : http://www.w3sh.com/2011/08/18/geek-victorias-secret-le-qr-code-devient-sexy/


Good example


Good example

At Denver’s airport were displayed a few dozens giant QR Codes to get people’s attention. Once scanned, books are made directly accessible for free on the smartphone. Or some sudokus or crossed words. A good way to spend some time waiting for one’s plane.

• 1st asset: a well-thought-of use.

The campaign is displayed in an original, useful and well-thought-of place. Here consumers have nothing else to do except waiting for their plane, they will hence have all the time they need to scan the QR Codes and benefi t from their content.

• 2nd asset: an innovative idea.

The content accessed via the QR Codes is totally appropriate to the place and the situation of consumers. Besides, it is free and this is very appreciated in the context of an airport where everything is expensive.



It is crucial to think about all the components of a QR Code campaign. Its content, how it will be displayed, the environment in which it will be displayed or even the target audience are all very important parts to control.

From now on, these 10 rules will allow you to conduct successfully your project and to create by yourself your QR Code on Unitag’s website. Don’t hesitate and get started!

If you want an even more extended personalization through the work of a graphic designer, the appendix will help you understand the technical rules to follow.

The Unitag team wishes you all the best success!

ConclusionConclusion


Quiet Zone Quiet ZoneQR Codes need a homogeneous zone around them to be read easily by scanners. This quiet zone must be of the same color than the background color of the QR Code (the one next to the modules, not the one of the modules) and must be wide enough (precisely, it must correspond to the width of 4 squares).


The size The size The more large the data of a QR Code is, the more squares it is composed of (and the smaller they are). The QR Codes becomes then hard to read!

Only one solution: the size of the information has to be reduced when possible. If your QR Code leads to a web page, you can use a URL shortener service like http://bitly.com or http://goo.gl. These tools transform long addresses in short ones (for example http://www.my-site/marketing-campaign/mobile-web/july/ad-1 can be reduced to an address like http://bit.ly/LDtgCy). You will then encode the short address in your QR Code, making it thus easier to read! Note that some Unitag offers include the use of an integrated URL shortener service.

Contains a lot of information= lots of small modules= hard to scan

Contains less information= fewer modules= easier to scan


The structure The structure A QR Code consists of black and white squares called binary modules. There are also three big squares in some corners, they are called “eyes” of the QR Code. Some smaller eyes can also be found in the middle of the code.

When you decide to personalize your QR Code, a part of this structure can be modifi ed. But the following rules would then have to be respected:

• The green zones are distortable up to 30% given the redundancy level;• The “Position” and “Alignment” zones - called eyes - have to be modifi ed carefully (just regularly test if the QR Code remains readable, with a less effi cient reading application);• The other zones can be modifi ed less carefully. The most effi cient QR Code readers will succeed in reading even a very altered QR Code, however the eyes and the rotation module are the most sensitive zones because they allow to locate it.


Redundancy Redundancy Data encoding is redundant, which means that the information is repeated in the QR Code. This allows keeping it readable even when a part has been altered. There are 4 redundancy levels, each increasing the number of modules and reducing the readability.

The indicated percentage corresponds to the part of the surface that can be modifi ed.

The redundancy level and the use of the QR Code must be considered together: • No damage risks or strong requirement to reduce the number of modules: level L; • Normal use: level M; • Need to insert a logo or damage risks: level H or Q.

Note: it could be tempting to always choose a high redundancy level, but keep in mind that this decreases the size of the modules and potentially makes the QR Code harder to read.

You will have to fi nd the right balance!

Light (L) 7% redundancyMedium (M) 15% redundancyQuality (Q) 25% redundancyHigh (H) 30% redundancy

QR Code is a registred trademark of DENSO WAVE

UNITAG SAS

29 Rue Jeanne Marvig - 31400 Toulouse France RCS 532 050 523

- www.unitaglive.com -

[email protected]

Documents

Guide final ENG - Unitag · 2012. 11. 25. · QR Codes are read by so-called “reading applications”, which are basically barcode scanners. There are dozens of them that you can