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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.

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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…

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.

• 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.

I found this video on YouTube showing that WalMart and Office Depot have rolled out their own QR code campaigns.

Oddly enough, I too was at WalMart this weekend and saw a few of them. Here’s one for some Wave petunias.

It’s very encouraging to see companies adopting QR codes into their marketing efforts.