Residents of St. Joseph, Michigan were mesmerized and confused when a billboard containing a QR code popped up in their town. As marketers, on one hand the ad did get tons of local buzz, enough in fact to warrant a news report as seen in the video. On the other, would anyone have known who the advertiser was, what a QR code is and what “scan” means… and again is a billboard the best placement for such things. In many ways the billboard is like an Alien who landed in St. Joseph and while the community was intrigued by its presence, they didnt know how to communicate with it and it wasnt offering any help.
So is this a fail? Im on the fence. Buzz goes a long way, but in a small town or a less multichannel savvy populous, perhaps its best to first provide a little upfront info in the form of a few teaser print ads in the local paper and at least provide some sort of info on how to use a QR code before the big unveil. The advertiser on the other hand (I wont ruin the “movie” by revealing it) certainly got his money’s worth of free publicity.
Additional info: http://2d-code.co.uk/small-town-business-qr-codes/
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