MARKETING SAUCE

Game Over for QR Codes? I think not.

I've been a huge fan of qr codes for ages now (no shit I hear you say, having taken a look down the page).
Being a direct marketing guy by trade I think this technology could be to the physical world what the link is to the internet. Its the notion of digital touching (and hopefully enhancing) the real world that tantalises. Whats also interesting is that response to codes is getting bigger and better by the day. I'm astounded that already QR codes can exceed SMS response when used in a direct response context.

So QR codes are a great direct response tool, they clearly make a promise of value 'on the other side'. And as the mobile internet continues to grow and get faster the experience will only increase in value. Plus, no more conversations about making the 0800 number or URL bigger in the ad.
These things stand put like the proverbial dogs bollocks (much to the chagrin of some Creative Directors).

In my day job I just posted some results from some of our QR campaigns - check them out if you're interested.

Designer QR Codes - form AND function

I've been working recently on adding logos to QR codes, tweaking formatting and generally trying to 'push it' creatively with these fascinating pieces of technology.

No wonder then that this piece of work really caught my eye. A lot of debate on line as to whether this code can be read with most current QR code readers. Apparently in Japan, it's all good.

We've seen some very interesting results in Australia using QR codes, in some cases codes outperform SMS keyword response, despite having less than 10% of the active user base.

Why? IMO it's simply down to the fact that this is a responsive community - we're talking people who want to engage and interact with advertising.

Let face it, to the initiated QR codes scream a promise of content beyond.

Personally I think Loius Vuitton, Set japan.and Takashi Murakami have done a great job - certainly I can see the conversations with creative folk going much further now compared to the somewhat typical "Are you f(*^&ing kidding - I don't want that crossword puzzle anywhere near my beautiful ad"...

QR Code Buzz Building

They've been talked about quite a bit over the last 12 months in Aus and to a lesser extent in NZ.
Soon QR Codes (or whatever they end up being dubbed in Aus as Densu Wave owns the trademark) may be widespread in Australia.

Given the rise of this technology in other markets, and the sheer utility offerred by these cool-looking objects I genuinely think that QR Codes could revolutionise response marketing in Aus. Perhaps even in the same way that its humbler 2D barcode cousin did for the retail business process in the 80s and 90s. That is assuming that a relatively open standard can be established, rather than having many competing barcodes and their associated readers.

I've been lucky enough to have trialled the beta for Telstra's  code reader and have to say it is a great app. Once booted it takes about three seconds to load up. From there the camera literally needs only a fleeting glimpse of the QR code before triggering the action - in this case (the code above) it reads my name and phone number into contacts. Believe me it is seriously cool. If you want to try this for yourself the i-nigma reader will work on some phones (but not as well as Telstra's reader).

No firm news yet on when they will be launched in Aus, but one assumes that when they are, readers will be baked into phones base configuration, making adoption rapid.

The marketing applications for QR codes are vast.  Actions that can be triggered from QR codes include: opening a WAP site, transferring contact or text details, communicating product ingredients, triggering a download and so on. To give an idea of how much information can be contained in this format - its about 25 times more than a standard SMS.

What's really interesting to me over and above their ability to activate marketing campaigns in a superior way, is the sheer utility that QR Codes can unlock. Yes its that useful question again.

This from a punter commenting on the Amplify Blog

"I live & work in Japan, I use QR codes regularly for a range of services, the main one is to setup and automate many of my travel renewals, ID, flight boarding pass, purchases, membership and purchase discounts at cafes and bars. Sounds mundane and unglamorous for a high-tech application, but it’s the fasted growing retail sales sector in Japan. I find myself exposed to new brands, information and discount vouchers, which I use or refer to friends.

Now you're talking!