Giant Eagle Gets It
by Jeff Brown on Jun.22, 2011, under Marketing, Mobile Web, QR Codes
The weekly coupon newspaper arrived in my mailbox today. I quickly scanned through it to see if I could find any QR codes. I did find one. One and only one. After my initial disappointment of only finding one QR code, I decide to see what it was all about. 
As you can see in this photo, the code is inset into a photograph of watermelon which is on sale, so I can assume that the code will tie in with the watermelon somehow. The placement and size of the QR code are prominent on the page. This is a good thing because it not only draws attention (thus piquing the curiosity of the reader), but it also makes the code easier to scan. I’ve seen way too many QR codes that are so small they’re difficult or impossible to scan.
The first thing I noticed is that there is a large amount (2 paragraphs) of text included with the code. The first paragraph has the title of “Fire and Ice Salsa with Watermelon!” Then goes on to to briefly describe a summer themed salsa with watermelon as it’s main ingredient. The salsa sounds delicious but this first paragraph is important because it get’s your mouth watering and wanting for more. Enter paragraph two.
“Watch Chef John Gruver make this recipe!” Ok, I’m guessing a video or photos of the chef making the watermelon salsa. The second paragraph goes on to give instructions to “scan this barcode with your smartphone to view the video.” And there it is, confirmation that we’re about the see a video. This is a good call to action because it’s going to show us a chef making the recipe with the watermelon that’s on sale. So far so good. If we continue reading it goes on to tell us that there are many free QR code reader apps available for download. 
Telling the reader that they can download an app for free to scan the code is a good idea for those that don’t yet know what QR codes are or how to read them. The last line instructs the reader to visit a website address if they can’t scan the code. It’s always a good idea to include a traditional URL to enter for those who don’t have smartphones or simply choose not to scan the code. When typed into my laptop, the URL takes me to a YouTube page with the exact same video as when I scanned the code. They are delivering the same content no matter how the user chooses to access it.
I won’t go into the video too much except to say that it was short, simple, easy to understand and branded well. As an additional touch, when the video was over and the YouTube description page came up, they had included the complete recipe. Nice!
I’m not sure if Giant Eagle is experimenting or using QR codes in all of they’re marketing but one thing is for sure, they’ve been well informed about QR codes and they use them well. Good placement, large code, enticing text, thorough instructions, consistent content and a bonus complete recipe – Giant Eagle gets it. On a scale of 1-10 I give this code a 9.
We help business owners market and brand their company better through interactive print and mobile web.
By helping businesses interact with their customer rather than speaking TO their customer, we’re able to engage the consumer and track results on a level never imagined before. Visit our website at www.digitaldept.com or contact us directly here.
3 QR Codes, 3 Things In Common
by Jeff Brown on Jun.15, 2011, under Mobile Web, QR Codes
I am always excited to get new magazines in the mail. I like reading them but more importantly, I like looking at the ads to see who is using QR codes. Today it happened to be Popular Photography that came in the mail.
I opened the magazine and started scanning through it. It wasn’t until about 1/3 of the way that I came across the first code. In fact, in the whole magazine I only found 3 QR codes. Three? That’s it? Note to advertisers: The readers of Popular Photography are photographers, many of them with the latest and greatest technology. Why not use technology to reach them better?!?
Back to my point. I have to applaud the advertisers that did use the QR codes, they’re trying. Why do I say trying? Well, all three of the advertisers codes have something in common; all three take the user to a regular website. And only one of them had any type of call to action. Is this a bad thing? YES!
Example 1: Shortrun Posters
This ad has a clean and simple message. It has the potential to be a candidate for a great QR code campaign. It has a call to action, in this case 10% off but it drops the user to a regular size website. It’s not formatted for mobile. The whole point of the QR code is that it’s being used by mobile users, therefore you should deliver them mobile content. FAIL #1.
Example 2: Newegg.com
Again, this is a nice, clean ad (with a complex QR code that some readers may not be able to read) but the code takes the reader to a non-mobile web page. Not only that, the item is not at a particularly great price AND the item is out of stock. FAIL #2.
Example 3: Hoodman
This is going to be the one, right? Wrong! Hoodman fails to see the importance of the QR code and all of it’s possibilities. They could have taken the user to a video showing their products being used, but instead drops their user to a generic page of all of there products AND it’s not formatted for the mobile screen. FAIL #3.
All three ads are great examples of grabbing the attention of their audience and then failing miserably with the follow through.
Attention marketers and advertisers: Know your medium before making your customer jump through hoops. If I was in the market for one of these products I would be sorely disappointed after scanning the QR code only to find out that I can’t see the page very well and there is no clear reason why I am there. Note: On an iPhone this is ok since we can pinch and zoom (but not optimal) but many phone you can’t do that.
In today’s world it’s all about interaction, information delivered on the fly and mobile. If your users can’t get the information they want, in a format that they can see, don’t make them take steps they need not take. All three of these companies could have just as easily left off the QR code and achieved the same results.
We help business owners market and brand their company better through interactive print and mobile web.
By helping businesses interact with their customer rather than speaking TO their customer, we’re able to engage the consumer and track results on a level never imagined before.
Visit our website at www.digitaldept.com
Great Examples of QR Codes on Business Cards
by Jeff Brown on Jun.14, 2011, under Marketing, Mobile Web, QR Codes
Using QR codes on your business cards can make them “stand-out” and are a real conversation starter. They also allow you to offer far more information than a traditional business card. QR stands for quick response and it’s a really easy way to get information using your mobile phone. You simply scan the QR code like you would a bar code and it brings up the information. For some phones you may need to download a free QR code reader, however most new phones already have QR code decoder capabilities.
Here’s just one example. Click here to continue reading the original post on the Pixel Curse website…
Using QR Codes to Find Your Kitty? Why Not?
by Jeff Brown on Jun.13, 2011, under Mobile Web, QR Codes
Here’s a video I came across where someone is trying to find their lost kitty. This is a good use of technology but I have to agree with the publisher of the video, it might have made more sense to add more info to the QR code itself.
As it is, the QR code only give you the phone number to call. It might have been more helpful if the publisher also gave us the kitty’s name and preferably a photo as well. Armed with information like this, I would be able to refer back to the photo and/or description of the cat and be able to call him/her by name if needed.
I applaud the person looking for the cat for using the QR code and I certainly hoe you find/found your cat. But when producing a QR code for digitally delivered content, it is very important to keep your audience in mind and deliver as much information as possible in the smallest amount of space and file size.
DigitalDept.com helps business owners market and brand their company better through interactive print and mobile web.
By helping businesses interact with their customer rather than speaking TO their customer, we’re able to engage the consumer and track results on a level never imagined before. Please visit our website here or contact us directly via email here.
Some Stats…
by Jeff Brown on Jun.06, 2011, under Marketing, Mobile Web, News, QR Codes
- 5 Billion cell phones in the World
- More than 63 million (up 60% since last year) Smartphones in the US
- More than half the internet connections are from smartphones
- 91% of Americans keep their cell phone within three feet of them 24/7
- About a third of people with a cell phone would rather be without their wallet than their phone.