QR Codes, what they are and why you should care

www.qrseen.comKeeping track of codes

QR codes

What they are

and why you should care

Emily Davis, September 2011

Keeping track of codes www.qrseen.com

Who am I?

• What do I do?– Digital Marketer for Firehoop

www.firehoop.com

• Where did I come from?– CIM post-graduate, Academic Publishing, Retail, and

Financial Services marketing experience

• Where can you find me?– On Twitter as @emilyevelina

– Part of the Digitalks team, Cheltenham

– Co-manage Social Media Club, Cheltenham

http://www.firehoop.com/

http://twitter.com/emilyevelina

http://twitter.com/emilyevelina

http://facebook.com/digitalks.cheltenham

http://wearesocialclub.co.uk/

http://wearesocialclub.co.uk/


Why am I talking about QR codes?

Firehoop has developed QR Seen: QR Code generator and campaign tracking tool

www.qrseen.com for inspiration and resources for QR code marketing

http://www.qrseen.com/


What are QR codes?

• 2D bar codes

• Scanned with a smartphone

• Resolve to a variety of functions – Website

– Contact details

– Video

– Music download

– SMS text, email, a text-based note

– Any function that a mobile device can perform


What do you need?

Consumer

• Smartphone with camera

• QR code scanning app (available free from your phone’s app store)

You

• Code generator (many free online, but beware of quality issues)

• Something to print it on

• A campaign! (Don’t just use them for the sake of it)


How are they being used?

The Big Boys

• Tesco KoreaOpened virtual store in underground train stations to become no. 1 online retailer.

• Used product images accompanied by QR codes.

• Goods delivered by the time customers got home.


Watch http://youtu.be/nJVoYsBym88Image source: geek.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJVoYsBym88&feature=player_detailpage

http://youtu.be/nJVoYsBym88



The Big Boys

• Bulmers CiderQR codes added to bottles linking to a survey asking a series of questions such as ‘what sort of socialiser are you?’

• Adds a bit of fun to the product complementing the social aspect of drinking.

• Bulmers can now track different product lines and gather email addresses for future marketing.




The Clever Guys

• The World Park campaignCentral Park, NY wanted to reach out to a new demographic of younger people.

• Added QR codes around the park resolving to a variety of ‘added value’ information.

• Videos of movie scenes shot in the park, orchestras playing in the amphitheatre, and historic facts about the geography of the park.


Watch http://youtu.be/D7JRfz9Jc_MImage source: mobilebehaviour.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OCyfV_k2_g&feature=player_embedded

http://youtu.be/D7JRfz9Jc_M



The Clever Guys

• Brickhampton Golf CourseA local example of adding value to attract and retain customers.

• QR code added to hole on the course to give tips and guidance on how to play the shot.

• Also gave golfers a challenge for the hole for added competition.


Pointless QR codes

Don’t bother when:• It’s online

Don’t put them on a website or in an email (unless there is benefit to printing it out). Remember, you want to take customers from offline to online.

• It can’t be scannedDon’t put them out of scanning distance, on a moving vehicle, somewhere that will be obscured, or on clothing which won’t be flat e.g. a scarf.

• The code doesn’t workYour code might not work if there’s not enough contrast, or it’s not the correct size or quality.


Ask yourself

• Where is it going?• Will people have enough time to scan it?• Is the code too complex?• Does it have enough contrast?• Have I tested it in situ?

Lots of free code generators available but beware of poor quality and high complexity codes (it will be harder to scan).

You don’t have to keep it black and white but do ensure it has enough contrast so scanning apps can read the data.

There’s nothing worse than a printed code that doesn’t work.


Why should you care?

• Relatively inexpensive

• Relevant for any size of business

• Gets your business in people’s pockets!

• Measurable

• Reusable (if you use the right campaign tool!)

QR Seen lets you to manage where your printed codes resolve to and see when, how and where they were scanned.


Why should you care?

• Growing popularity of QR codes– New Windows Phone 7 has built in QR code scanner

• Increasing adoption of smartphones– 40% of all mobile phones in US

(Nielson, Sep ‘11)

– 52% of total mobile phone shipments in UK (IDC, Sep ‘11)

• Big brands driving adoption BBC (Good Cook), Harley Davidson, Betfair

• No reason not to get involved now – stay ahead of the competition and in people’s pockets!


Who scans them?

Source: comscore.com

• Men 60%

• Women 30%

Age QR Code Audience

13-17 7.4%

18-24 16.6%

25-34 36.8%

35-44 19.6%

45-54 12.4%

55-64 4.1%

65+ 3.0%


Where are they found?

Location QR Code Audience

Magazine or newspaper 49.4%

Product packaging 35.3%

Website 27.4%

Poster or flyer 23.5%

Business card or brochure 12.4%

Storefront / window displays 12.8%

TV 11.7%

Source: comscore.com


So what do I do now?

• Go to www.qrseen.com

• Enter your email address

• We’ll keep you up to date with all the latest information and creative ideas.

http://www.qrseen.com/


Thank you...

Technology

QR Codes, what they are and why you should care