What’s this funny image?
If you point your mobile phone’s camera at it you’ll be directed to GetElastic.com on the mobile web, provided you have a reader on your phone capable of decoding the QR (quick response) code.
QR codes are 2D images that contain information, most often links and text. If you keep your eyes open, you’ll see QR codes on product packaging, print advertising, bus shelters — I even saw one on a picnic napkin last weekend.
Ralph Lauren is one example of a multichannel retailer taking advantage of QR codes in offline advertising:
Of course, QR codes are more common in Asia than North America — you can even find magazines containing nothing but QR codes.
They’re also becoming fashionable:
You can even share your Twitter status with anyone following you around in the offline world:
QR codes are also leaking into pop culture. The Pet Shop Boys’ video for the song “Integral” has a series of codes that appear in a flash throughout the video. On the band’s site, you can find the actual codes which each link to a web page about civil liberty violations (the song is a rant against the Big Brotherishness of ID cards). Unfortunately embedding on Youtube has been disabled by request, but you can view the video here. It’s actually an amazing artistic work.
Creating a QR Code
Creating a QR code is easy. You can generate QR codes with an online generator (just Google “qr code generator”) or even bathroom tiles:
QR Code Roadblocks
Though “big in Japan,” the roadblocks to QR code popularity in North America are that many phones don’t have QR code readers, and many can’t properly download the proper software. Some manufacturers are pre-loading the reader software, but even so, it can be hard to capture the code properly considering you have to have a steady hand, get the right angle and so on.
QR Codes 2.0
If you’re thinkin’ QR codes are tough to look at, and bland and boring in plain black and white, never fear. Designer barcodes like Louis Vuitton’s and the colorful Microsoft Tag:
With the ability to store more information than their B&W QR cousins, MMCC (mobile multi-color composite) codes can contain text, video clips, ringtones and even games encoded entirely in the image — no need to access the Internet to decode the content right on your mobile phone.
In a multichannel 2.0 context, these small pictures can open up a world of product information and even transactional ability right on the customer’s phone, like a kiosk in your pocket.
So if you’ve ever wondered what that funny looking square is on billboards, in public washrooms, on paper napkins or t-shirts — now you know. I bet you’ll see them everywhere now.
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The roadblocks to QR adoption isn’t not having readers pre-installed though yes this does help to raise awareness but i bet you haven’t used ‘every’ software app that resides on your current phone and a QR reader would just become ‘another application’.
The real issue is that there are very few QR marketing campaigns where there is content/reward of any siginificant value to encourage mobile phone users to interact with the QR codes.
The Japanese market works because there is value in the QR campaigns and the content users can access.
The real roadblock to QR code adoption in the USA (and Australia), is dinosaur old school marketing/brand managaers who play it ‘safe’ (and if you are reading this thinking hey that’s not me I’m just waiting for the number of readers deployed to increase then i’ll roll out a QR campaign for my brand….. then yes I’m talking about you).
The first person to buy a fax machine was an idiot but the second one was a visionary.
It’s time for brands to roll out content of value, if QR codes are the only way to access this value then your users will start to download readers.
Be a visionary not a dinosaur.
Cheers,
Dean Collins
http://www.Cognation.net/QR
Hey Linda,
Great post. Picnic napkin? Really? It will be interesting to see how these catch on in the US, as it still seems like awareness is very low.
Our own Peg Davis did a blog post on this last year and it actually sparked a bit of controversy. If you’re interested, it’s at: http://bit.ly/k9DFu
I know it’ll take some time for me to use it, because my current phone isn’t very smart.
Cheers – Hunter
@Hunter, yeah awareness is low as we see how the news has been out for over a year and it hasn’t picked up much since.
This is fascinating, and you make some good points about how to use these to engage people.
After reading this, I went hunting for a reader for Blackberry Bold, and so far have not found one.
Finally there are more smart people on this planet! I’am operative as business developer at One Shoe Mobile. We are a pioneer in the Netherlands. One Shoe belongs to the largest publicity offices in the Netherlands, we introduced QR codes in the Netherlands and now working on a system called Adbridge. With this system magazines and publishers can create their own mobile site for brands with the use of a QR codes. The largest publisher in the Netherlands want to use our system and we hope that this is the step for the QR code to become normal in use.
A question for Linda: do you know perhaps the barcodes like Louis Vuitton’s, which is made by creative agency SET from Japan, if you can read these with your mobile? Because the QR codes we introduced are black and white.
@Dean, from my research there is still a problem with the apps working properly on different devices – another problem with the lack of standards in mobile device platforms and development
I agree with you, there needs to be more public awareness and brands that adopt this type of marketing can help push that adoption among consumers.
@Ronald, yeah the Louis Vuitton doesn’t work on my phone app, it could just be a cute branding thing they did. Who knows, they might work in the future.
I think it’s just a matter of time before this will catch on. It’s inexpensive and has so many practical uses that can bring real value to the customer.
Not that this should be compared to RFID, but RFID struggles to get adopted because of cost and clarifying the value to the customer. Neither of these are an issue for these codes/tags.
Susan, if you have the Blackberry Bold 9000 you can install either Neoreader or Beetagg. Go to get.neoreader.com or get.beetagg.com from your mobile.
Cheers
@dean collins:
QR Codes shouldn’t only be seen as a new “channel” to convey marketing messages, QR Codes have also great potential in the artistic and design space. QR Codes is an exhilarant approach to bring digital information into real life with a bit of interaction.
We (www.fluid-forms.com) are trying to fuse (like Lendorff.Kaywa’s QR Scarf e.g.) QR Codes with real world product design (like we did with our QR Code Buckle).
We also are using QR Codes for marketing purposes, but…let’s say in a different kind of way… check it out for yourself and enjoy the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvLCEppweiQ
wonderful, thanks for your another great posting.