This is a new installment for The QR Code Marketing Guide. We will now be providing a guest post series where we get input, analysis, insight, tutorials and more from the people who bring you QR Code generators and other QR Code services.
In this installment of The QR Code Marketing Guest Post, The QR Code Marketing Guide calls upon George Williams, a college student in Southampton in the UK. George has taken an interest in QR Codes and is currently writing his dissertation project on the effects which Quick Response codes have had on the retail industry. George was kind enough to share some of his original thoughts.
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QR Codes, Post Scan by George Williams
The first QR Code I ever saw was placed on a poster advertising a new film at the time back in June last year. My initial reaction to the ‘box with squares randomly placed in them’ was, “what on earth is that?” At the time my friend told me it was called a QR Code. At the time I had a rattily old Nokia which wasn’t capable of making a full fluent call, let alone scanning this mysterious gateway.
From that moment, I launched my investigation into the portal of opportunity which Quick Response Codes entail. I have read endless blogs, books, surfed the web for hours researching and investigating these secretive yet elusive Mobile Marketing tools. With such a strong interest in these phenomenally powerful marketing tools, I have launched my final year’s thesis on the subject with main aim of Identifying and investigating how much of an impact Quick Response are actually having within the Retail sector after their slow adoption from the eastern world.
From recent research conducted through an email interview, it is clear that the QR Code is NOT a fad. Yet QR Codes reliability will be impacted by the relevance of them. They are extremely important to businesses thinking about implementing them as they give detailed information into a customer just through the simple hold and scan action. They help give an insight to what is being done wright and what could be done better within a campaign. One of the key reasons to the failure of a QR Code implemented campaign is due to the content being poor. They need to provide that extra step of the journey which was initially provided alongside the surface it was scanned. An example of this could be through my first experience of a QR Code.
The poster advertising the film should contain content which retains and captivates the audience’s attention such as a short advertisement for the film. An example of how they shouldn’t be hyperlinked is where they leave you sat on the landing page of a website. I have had several experiences of this, where I have stayed on the website for a maximum of 3 seconds before becoming board, overwhelmed and irritated. Upon scanning a code I want fast, relevant information or entertainment. This is the key reason to why they have become such a formidable tool for both marketers as well as the public.
With Android phones becoming more and more sophisticated in the modern age, I predict the QR Code will see a lifespan of easily 10+ years. This will only be maintained through necessary, relevant businesses using them within their advertising, as well as rich, interactive content. The possibilities for Quick Response Codes are endless, it is how and what they are hyperlinked to which will have a detrimental influence to the credibility of the QR Code, unless another Mobile Marketing tool is invented and takes away the limelight.
By George Williams
Student Studying – Advertising and Marketing
Scan to access my LinkedIn!
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Thanks again to George Williams. If you have a post you would like to share or if you would like to write for The QR Code Marketing Guide, please contact Tyler @ TheQRCodeMarketingGuide [dot] com
