The sad state of QR codes in the Western world
One of the most interesting digital trends over the last years has been the steady conversion of the digital world and physical world. Mostly we have seen the physical world moving online. On Facebook our physical identities are becoming digital, on Foursquare and Places physical places are becoming virtual and in the media world we see physical media such as records, books, newspapers and magazines becoming digital.
But there is also a trend going the other way: The digital world moving into the physical world. The concept is probably best known as “augmented reality”, which basically means that physical reality is being improved or given more depth, using digital technology.
The simplest kind of augmented reality is probably the QR code, which makes it possible to scan a simple bar code with your mobile phone and download any kind of Internet based content on the phone. The concept is sweet, because more and more people are getting smartphones and because the QR codes are easy to generate. You can basically create your own QR code in less than five minutes. And the concept can be extremely effective and powerful, because it enables you to give people deep and engaging information about physical objects on the spot and exactly when it is relevant.
Despite this, it is amazing how many companies manage to screw up their use of QR codes!
First of all several companies (or their advertising agencies) choose weird standards – that are not QR codes – for their bar codes. Danish travel company “Folkeferie” recently ran an ad in nationwide newspapers using a standard which was definitely not a common standard among the (already) few people who have barcode readers on their phones. In the western world (Asia is far ahead here) we are still on an early stage where people have to learn what these weird codes are all about, and it doesn’t help if their bar code readers cannot even scan the barcode.
Secondly, many companies simply do not understand how to communicate, when people have actually succeeded in scanning the QR code. This week Google is running a four page ad in The Economist (definitely not cheap) and they are closing the ad with a QR code. Google itself is strongly promoting the QR standard and run one of the best QR generators, so you would think that the company knew what they were doing.
Apparently not!
When you have scanned the QR code in The Economist you are linked to a webpage which is exactly that – a webpage. There is a lot of text and the design is definitely not optimized for the Android phone browser which I am using. There is no engaging video and there is basically no information on this page that I didn’t already get on the preceding three pages in the ad. So there is actually no reason for me to scan the QR code.
It is sad because QR codes can be really relevant. Movie magazines linking to movie trailers are an obvious example of a very simple use of QR codes which generates a lot of value. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it takes a minimum of creativity and imagination to visualize what kind of information is relevant for users when they are in a physical setting, on a mobile phone and with limited time and energy to navigate huge information flows.
(My personal business card is a QR code)
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January 18, 2011 at 2:57 pm, Marie Jeng said:
Hi Peter, interesting post. Here in Denmark the new food network 360 Nord, http://360nord.dk/, is experimenting with codes on their products. The scan leeds you to recipes, background information and a newsletter sign up.
Do you have some good examples on food businesses using QR codes?
/Marie
January 18, 2011 at 5:15 pm, henriette friis said:
Hej Peter,
Tak for interessant indlæg. God læsning, især når man, som jeg, sidder med online marketing i en virksomhed, der netop i disse dage overvejer, hvordan qr koder skal indgå i strategien.
January 18, 2011 at 5:43 pm, Peter Svarre said:
@Marie: Nej – jeg har ikke nogen gode mad cases i forhold til QR koder, men jeg prøvede at overbevise min ven Fridrik (Laundromat ejer) overbevist om, at QR koder kunne være noget for en Café/restaurant. Det kunne f.eks. være en lille QR kode på hvert bord, som indeholder menukortet, eller mulighed for at gæster kunne sende små beskeder til hinanden. Det kunne også være en video med kokken, der viser, hvordan han laver maden eller det kunne være et særligt tilbud til alle dem, der kan finde ud af at bruge QR koder. Og så kunne det selvfølgelig være en mulighed for at man kunne få sine gæster til at dele Café oplevelsen med deres venner via sociale medier. Mulighederne er egentlig endeløse – særligt nu, hvor folk stadig synes at det er lidt sjovt, anderledes og elitært at kunne finde ud af at bruge QR koder.
Men Frikki var ikke interesseret, så du er velkommen til at sælge idéerne andetsteds. De er gratis
January 18, 2011 at 5:44 pm, Peter Svarre said:
@Henriette: Lyder spændende. Du må meget gerne fortælle mere, eller hive fat i mig, hvis I har brug for lidt idéer…
January 19, 2011 at 7:17 am, Social QR Code said:
I recently launched http://www.SocialQRCode.com and it designed for local, small, medium and large businesses in connecting customers with their social media for their business!
Please give it a try!
February 24, 2011 at 4:14 pm, Sophie Egede-Schrøder said:
Hej Peter.
Rigtig godt indlæg.
Som jeg læser det, er udfordringerne med brug af QR-koder sammen med fysiske annoncer eller reklamer faktisk de samme, som når virksomheder henviser til deres websites i brochurer, flyers, et.c.: Med mindre modtageren er meget opsat på at se den sidste årsberetning eller et organisationsdiagram, er der sjældent noget nyt at komme efter.
Der er for en beskæmmende overvægt af virksomheder stadig meget langt igen, før onlinemediets potentiale udnyttes til andet end en digital version af de salgsark og powerpoints, de har haft på salgsafdelingens hylder i årtier.
February 24, 2011 at 8:36 pm, Peter Svarre said:
@Sophie: QR koder er jo i bund og grund bare en teknologisk form for henvisning fra det fysiske til det digitale, så ja – det er nemlig lige præcis det samme som når virksomheder henviser fra deres brochure til en eller anden webside, som i de grelleste tilfælde bare er en html version af brochuren…
Det handler jo bare om at give folk noget, der egner sig til det pågældende medie. Brochurer, magasiner og plakater er gode til statiske budskaber. Internettet er godt til lyd, video, oplevelse og interaktion. Det er faktisk ikke så svært (hvis man først får det lært