Although AdAge posted this yesterday, the are citing stats from July of 2011, so the percentage of scanners most likely has gone up by now. However, that still doesn’t detract from the minuscule amount of scanners even if that number rose to 10% of all mobile phone owners by December. It’s the same problem we hear over and over again – confusion… what are they? how do you scan them? And of course the missing added value after the effort of figuring that all out. Something I come across more frequently as a scanner is that my app won’t read the code. I have a few so eventually I get there, but the normal person on the street isn’t going to go through that process. So what is the answer?
Seems again its the same one – educate the masses. We are all pretty much immersed in QR info overload as Marketers, but are we beating a dead horse here. Plain and simple QR codes are confusing and there are too many ways to create them and scan them and now people are finding ways to hack into them and your mobile account. The hacking is actually a positive sign that they are getting more popular, but how many people will scan a QR code EVER again if they have their identity stolen? It’s not a requirement after all, it’s a way to access “bonus” material or at least supposed to be, so why are we fixated with them?
In my opinion, as the author of the AdAge article also states – QR is (or was) the new Marketing Toy and everyone wanted to play with it without necessarily understanding how it worked and why it would be of any interest to the consumers. For us in Print, having a link to the digital world on paper gave us something to hold on to and remain relevant in the multichannel conversation. But is QR the best method? I have always been a fan of NFC, I think its way less confusing but there are fewer places you can use it print wise – displays, POP/POS, signage/posters, museum exhibits, some OOH (like bus shelters) are the main ones – but since you need a chip in the materials more are out than in. Augmented Reality rocks, but who is using it? Ive seen a ton of cool examples of what is possible but except for Cadbury and Lego using it on packaging I haven’t received any AR direct mail or seen it in ads. There is also the expense of AR – programming cool stuff costs money and we all know no one has any. So how do we bridge the gap between physical and digital with the ability to use across all of our printed materials and substrates, make it easy to create and scan, and affordable? Im glad I asked because I actually have an answer… Documobi!
Join us on January 11, 2012 at 1PM ET for a FREE WEBINAR on Intelligent Print Recognition (iPR) presented by Peter Lancaster, Co-Founder and COO of Documobi. This emerging marketing tech will change the game and we are honored to be able to introduce you to it! You really don’t want to miss this. Register here.
Why Marketer Love for QR Codes Is Not Shared by Consumers
By: Kunur Patel
Quick-response codes are everywhere these days, even the soccer field. This fall, a squad of London footballers shaved the back of their heads in the design as a promotional stunt. But consumers are not nearly as excited about QR codes as marketers are.
The codes are a great idea in theory. They let marketers make all sorts of media — print, billboards, even packaging — clickable and interactive. When scanned with a special app downloaded to a smartphone, QR codes can call up links, text messages or videos. They can spark e-commerce or generate a lead.
But in practice, while QR codes are affixed to everything from rental cars to Bratz dolls, only 5% of Americans who own mobile phones actually used the 2-D barcodes in the three months ending July 2011, according to Forrester Research. And those 14 million early adopters tended to be young, affluent and male.
Experts cite three reasons that QR codes haven’t caught on. First, people are confused about how to scan them. Two, there’s little uniformity among the apps required to read them. Last, some who have tried the technology were dissuaded by codes that offer little useful information or simply redirect the user to the company’s website.
None of this deters marketers, who seem to be slapping the codes on products for all age groups and demographics.
“QR codes are definitely everywhere,” said Kelli Robertson, director-strategy for digital agency AKQA.
The QR phenomenon is “another instance of shiny-object syndrome,” said Melissa Parrish, Forrester’s senior analyst-social and mobile marketing. “Something becomes trendy or sexy, and marketers feel they have to jump onboard to position themselves as innovative and make sure they don’t fall behind.”
Continues at: Why Marketer Love for QR Codes Is Not Shared by Consumers | Digital – Advertising Age.
