Bricks in the Wall: QR Codes Part 2
This is a continuation of QR Codes on the Rise!
My local experience with the QR Code:
I was late getting to the smartphone party, so when I did I was pretty typical...I downloaded app after app, used them once then forgot about them. Sometimes the app didn't perform as promised, or did but was so slow that chiseling it in stone was a faster alternative.
About the time I discovered the QR Code (and Scanner app) I was working at the local newspaper. The paper had its daily print edition, it's online edition plus an online directory. The online directory really struck my fancy because it had a profile for every business in the area, a map and all ads the customer ran automatically linked to the profile. The downside was that the web url was a mile long, thus rendering it of little value for print ads. I thought I saw a crafty way to overcome the long URL with the QR codes...so I jumped with both feet onto the QR code wagon. I quickly fell off the wagon and onto my face when I was testing and figured out that the directory profiles were NOT optimized for mobile viewing.
My marketing instincts tell me that QR Code usage will increase over time, however just as Aaron Strout said in his article The Death Of The QR Code on April 4, 2013, there isn't hard data on recurring usage. Aaron sets forth 5 points, of those five I agree with number one and two but disagree with 3 & 4.
Number 3 is actually a really stupid criticism of a QR Code. Aaron's jab is like saying there should not be a phone number in an ad if there is no cell service. QR Codes are going to be mobile to some degree, just the nature of our mobile society.
The main reason I disagree with number 4 in Aarons article is that a QR Code can be made pretty darn small and stll function, so the "valuable space" is hooey...now I do agree with the "doubling up" of a UPC code...make one code to two functions.
The alternatives that Aaron lists are alright, but not always as affordable.
I also (STILL) contend that QR Code usage will increase with the "Smartphoner Generation" (especially when strategically placed) as I expounded upon in a previous post: Capturing the Smartphone Generation.
I strongly recommend this article:
