With thanks to my friends at Simply Zesty for picking up on this. In Ireland however the QR codes I have seen point to websites that are not mobilised and thus cannot be read properly or no purchasing can be done from them (and the biggest culprit is the Irish Times).
If you are looking for a mobile website CLICK HERE .
If you are looking for a testimonial about the difference texting and a mobile website can make to grow a business CLICK HEREand ask for Simon!
QR Codes Grow Further In Popularity; Print Appearances Rise By 476%
Quick Response (QR) codes have been slow to catch on in this side of the world but are quickly gaining popularity among smartphone users and the traditional media. Now advertisers, and to a lesser extent print media, are embracing the trend by placing it in their campaigns in some shape or form.
The survey, conducted by Nellymoser and reported by MediaPost, showed that the number of QR codes found in the top 100 magazines in the U.S. by circulation rose by over 476 per cent in the first nine months this year from 88 in January to 507 in September. On a quarterly basis, the number of QR codes in magazines grew from 252 in Q1 to 1155 in Q3 (up 358 per cent).
Also advertisers have taken to using the codes for marketing purposes as 482 of the 507 codes in September were found in adverts, while only 25 were used to enhance editorial material. Interestingly, the highest number of QR codes could be found in women’s fashion, beauty and celebrity books such as Glamour, InStyle and Us Weekly.
Increase of QR code use in magazines: via www.MediaPost.com
What advertisers and publications felt was the best use for these QR codes differed greatly, highlighting the difficulty in making them an engaging experience. The majority felt that video was most important with 47 per cent of the QR codes in Q3 reflecting this.
Other uses included sweepstakes entries and easy subscription opt-ins which accounted for 34 per cent, social media prompts to share links made up 24 per cent while 16 per cent prompted people to buy something via their phones and 12 per cent offered coupons when their code was scanned. This not only implies that advertising will be the main function of QR codes, but that the most effective way to use them in engaging with their target audience has yet to be found.
Q: What are those strange patterned square boxes that I am starting to see everywhere and what do they do? - Kendra
A: Those strange square boxes are called QR codes (Quick Response) and they have actually been around for quite some time. It was created in 1994 by a Japanese subsidiary of Toyota as a two dimensional barcode for tracking parts during the manufacturing process.
Popular for years in various Asian countries, it’s starting to gain traction in the United States primarily as a marketing tool.
The primary focus of QR codes at the moment is to entice mobile users to scan them to connect to a web address, offer promotional discounts, download a MP3 file, dial a telephone number or even launch your email client with a sender address.
You will start seeing them a lot more often in magazines as a way to further explain an article or to get more information on a product that is being advertised.
Marketers like this new trend because the demographics of tech-savvy camera phone users tends to be a very desirable one for most advertisers and you can track exactly how many people scanned the QR code.
In order to read QR codes your smartphone or camera phone must have a barcode reader. All major smartphone platforms have numerous and many “feature phones” with cameras can download readers.
A comprehensive list of QR code readers by platform and phone type is located at http://goo.gl/RtpKB .
Once you have the reader on your mobile device, you simply open the program and point the camera at the QR code placing it within the target area displayed on your screen.
Once it focuses on the QR code, it will read the instructions imbedded within the random patterns and as you if you would like to execute the instructions (go to a website, call a number, etc.)
There are numerous uses for QR codes, especially for businesses.
One of the challenges of today’s digital communication landscape is that there are too many to list on a business card (phone, fax, email, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.)
By placing a QR code on your business card with the suggestion to “Connect with me,” you can list all of your contact resources on a web page where there is plenty of room (or set up a free profile at https://about.me with all of your links).
QR codes can be printed on coffee cups, T-shirts, places in the front window of your business, in your advertising, your phone book ads, your website or just about anywhere on or off-line that you want to engage with your customers.
There are many ways to create QR codes for free (if you already use Google’s URL shortener at http://goo.gl, each link you create comes with an associated QR code if you click on Details at the end) but my favorite resource is at http://zxing.appspot.com/generator .
This powerful interface allows you to create QR codes for: calendar events, contact information, email addresses, geolocation, phone numbers, SMS (text messaging), general text, URLs and Wi-Fi network access.
Whether you are a consumer or a business owner, you should seriously consider getting up to speed on using and creating these really handy digital barcodes!
Mobile bar code scanning has increased by 4,549 percent in the first quarter of 2011 on a year-over-year basis, according to a Mobio Identity Systems study.
With the increase in smartphone purchases for both iPhone and Android devices, which have a pre-installed QR reader, there is growing awareness among consumers of QR codes compared to a year ago.
“The iPhone 4 and Android have helped build a mass market of people who are able to scan QR bar codes,” said Mark Binns, chief marketing officer at Mobio, Vancouver, Canada.
Brands such as Calvin Klein and Conde Nast have also helped drive awareness of QR codes by placing them in their TV, print, Web and out-of-home advertising.
“Ultimately, the pairing of QR ready smartphones and QR bar codes in advertising – which simply was not the case a year ago – has driving the dramatic growth.”
One of the findings in the report, "The Naked Facts: Whiplash Edition, QR Bar code Scanning in Q1-2011," is that consumers between the ages of 35 and 44 continue to dominate mobile bar code scanning, accounting for 26 percent of users.
QR barcodes go mainstream
Women also show a higher interest in using QR codes, accounting for 68 percent of users.
These numbers have big implications for advertisers.
“QR barcodes are no longer just a way to speak to early adopters, or the geek crowd,” Mr. Binns said. “QR codes have gone mainstream and are being used heavily by women who are head decision makers and purchasers in households.”
Mobio offers target rich environments where advertisers use multiple barcodes tied to different outcomes or campaigns to engage their consumers multiple times.
The vast majority of mobile bar code scans are centered on providing more information about a product or service, with 89 percent of scans falling into this category.
Payments only account for 6 percent of scans, but this is a growing area, per Mr. Binns.
“Mobile payments require a higher level of trust between the consumer and the brand than an information exchange requires,” he said. “Brands and QR providers need to continue to educate consumers on the safety of QR codes.”
In terms of the type of media scanned, social media accounts for 70 percent of scans, TV 22 percent, the physical world four percent, online three percent and print one percent.
The iPhone is the most popular scanning device, followed by the iPod Touch and then, Android.
The report also shows that consumers are not just trying QR codes once and forgetting about them, but are becoming repeat users of the technology.
In fact, repeat scanners account for 62 percent of the market.
For marketers, this means QR codes can provide a way to have an ongoing conversation with consumers.
“QR isn’t a one-off medium anymore,” Mr. Binns said. “Marketers can change their QR codes in ads each day, week or month, and have an ongoing dialogue with their consumer.”
Smart phone addicts are probably already aware of QR or Quick Response codes -- those square-shaped, funky-looking bar codes that appear in magazines, train stations or even on business cards.
Now they're impossible to ignore. Chicago company ScanForDeals.com is placing gigantic QR codes in locations around Chicago. The first 600 square foot code popped up near the corner of Polk and Clark streets in the South Loop.
Users can download one of many free QR code phone apps to their phone to scan the giant codes and instantly receive deals from local businesses within walking distance, and all you have to do is show the business the coupon on your phone.
South Loop businesses such as Jimmy Green's Sports Bar and Blackie's are utilizing the new technology. More codes are planned for locations around the city.
Using a QR Code (quick response code) is one way that a small business ecommerce site owner can encourage customers to opt-in to its email marketing list. The popularity of these small two-dimensional barcodes is growing as more consumers buy camera-enabled smartphones.
The concept and development of QR Codes is credited to Denso Wave Inc., of Japan. The technology’s roots were in the vehicle manufacturing industry where QR Codes were read by special barcode readers.
Today QR Codes are becoming a novelty in North America and businesses have found some interesting ways to use them. One use of QR codes that's growing in popularity is as a URL shorten service. This is a boost for small business marketers.
QR Codes for Email Marketing
Mobile users with a camera-enabled smartphone can scan the QR Code, which has been coded to do things such as display text, provide contact data or even open a Web page in the browser on the smartphone.
Akin to how people use bit.ly or goo.gl to shorten Web URLs when tweeting, Melanie Attia, email marketing expert and product manager for Campaigner says one trend for using QR Codes in marketing is to map your website URL or a specific Web page within your site -- such as your email opt-in form page -- to the barcode.
QR Codes can be printed and displayed anywhere a mobile phone user might scan the code: in magazines, on clothing, at the cash register, and so on. You can even use them on your own Web pages to provide access to social profiles or product details that customers can save to their smartphone.
Growing Smartphone Use Makes QR Codes a Trend Worth Following
While conducting email marketing research, Attia said she noticed some statistics that suggested smartphone usage in America is steadily on the rise. A recent Nielsen study forecast that 50-percent of mobile subscribers will be smartphone users by 2011. That works out to 142.8 million total smartphone users by 2011.
This, along with the popularity and novelty of QR codes makes for a new way to put those technologies to use and bolster new email list subscribers, according to Attia. QR codes are small, easy to print and extremely low cost. Email marketers can code these 2D barcodes with direct links to email subscription opt-in pages.
You can create QR Codes and display them any where a smartphone user might see them -- in magazine ads, on clothing, at the cash register, on business cards -- or any printed literature and marketing materials your ecommerce business uses.
The benefit is that customers can quickly opt-in to your list without having to remember your website or landing page address -- which is why the technology is popular as a URL shortener.
How to Generate a QR Code for Marketing
A number of inexpensive or free QR Code generators can be found online, such as those offered by Kaywa, the ZXing Project or QR Stuff.
When you map the data to the barcode, you specify a “data type” or service. Specifications for data types include URL (HTTP), email address (MAILTO), telephone number (TEL), or SMS message (SMS). A good reference for anyone interested in learning more about the services you can specify in QR Codes can be found on this Google Code page, but additional reference reading is not required to use QR Codes.
The basic takeaway for Ecommerce marketers is that QR Codes is not rocket science, and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to get onboard with the technology and use it for marketing.
With simple-to-understand options and online services that will take you through instant code generation it takes only seconds to a minute to specify what text, Web address or other information to embed in the barcode.
For example, the following QR Code is linked to the subscribe page for joining the EcommerceGuide /Internet.com mailing list. It took only a few seconds to generate using the Kaywa online service.
After creating your barcode, you can grab copy and paste code to embed the QR Code on your website or blog, or you can save the image to include on printed materials. It's a quick process that provides a convenient way for customers with smartphone sto access a website or details about your company.
Tips for Using QR Codes to Boost Your Email Marketing
Melanie Attia said that using a QR Code for email marketing purposes simply provides small businesses with another low-cost method to grow its business and email marketing subscriber list.
She offered the following guidance and email marketing tips for small businesses that are investigating QR Codes as a way to boost email marketing:
1. Use the QR Code as another way to formulate the URL to your Web page on printed materials. You can also leverage it to your Facebook business page or other social media destination.
2. QR Codes are still in the “novelty” phase, so now is the time to incorporate them into your marketing because people will scan them with smartphones just for the novelty effect.
3. Consider QR Codes as just another way for customers to sign-up with you. It’s not difficult to understand or use when you think of it as an image-based URL shortener to help customers locate your email sign-up pages faster and easier than providing a URL.
4. Put the QR code everywhere -- in advertising literature, at the cash register, on business cards, invoices and billing statements and any print distributions.
5. Use an incentive as you would with any email marketing sign-up promotion. For example, if you display a QR Code at the point-of-sale location, include a note that new subscribers will receive a discount (e.g. give the customer the incentive to subscribe to your email list). By the time the customer is ready to pay for the purchase, the opt-in will have been completed and they can obtain the reward.
