Do you use QR codes?
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- boobs0
Those things are fucking ugly. Best not to put them on anything.
- meffid0
Bump, and more inputs?
- chalk0
QR codes are dumb. We have a client at work that uses them. It's kind of dumb. Who puts a QR code on an 8.5 x 11 flyer? What an irrelevant use of this 20+ year old medium.
- canoe0
^ How is it more irrelevant than direct mail itself?
Shit, if anything the QR code might bring back the relevancy of direct mail!
And they put it on there so they can measure who's interacting with their product/campaign... does that still sound "dumb" to you?
- doesnotexist0
this discussion has come up (in real life not here i thin) before and it seems to always end in the opinion that the generation after us (if you graduated hs ~2002) is really into them.
never scanned one in my life.
- That may be true, the only research that I saw was that more tech savvy people scan - gofigurecanoe
- well duh. marketing to the tech savvy, who only try things once and then abandon them.chalk
- sounds like real, sustainable metrics to me...chalk
- i mean i'm tech savvy...and do a lot of work for web. but absolutely hate qr codes.doesnotexist
- pizzafire0
saw one pasted among some graffiti on a wall with nothing accompanying it. my curiosity got the best of me and i was directed to some nice random art works online. was actually kind of a fun thing with a nice surprise in the end.
in general, a url works just fine.
- mg330
I work in the legal industry, and apparently they're all the rage now for law firms and lawyers. They put them on printed bios to refer back to the attorney's bio on the website. However, the bio always has plenty of info about them in print form; the thing they gain is access to thought leadership in terms of publications that someone has written.
I think they're a fad that's not even very understood by the people paying for them to be implemented, nor by the people implementing them, as illustrated by many of the total failures some of you describe here. They won't last long.
- chalk0
^ Yes, I stand by that. If you have to attach a QR code to a direct mail piece, then you're not getting good analytics, you're getting the same analytical measurements you had before, through a different medium. What's the difference between a smartphone activating a QR code, and a person going to the web on their computer to visit the link in your direct mail piece? Nothing. It's just more marketing junk that has wafer-thin traction, which is enough for one person to say, "Everyone else is doing it, so why aren't I?" It's the used car salesman mentality. "Omg, my competition is using flashing yellow text on red backgrounds and screaming in their commercials, so it must be working for them!!"
I also don't think QR codes are going to "save" anything as you so righteously projected. It's just another digital fad in the US, in my opinion—a temporary Facebook-esque tool for marketing more crap to consumers. Don't get me wrong, I support the idea of testing out "emerging" technologies, but the average US consumer is too slow to adopt QR codes. By the time it has real traction (whatever the hell that is), the fad will be over. Your savvy big city demographic is going to adopt, of course, but the level of usage and interest in rural areas is probably laughable. I don't have any figures on that. Figures on this kind of thing are laughable anyway.
To me, the QR code fad in the US is simply "marketeers" glomming onto something that they read about in SmartCEO Magazine or OMMA Magazine. People always mention that my demographic is the early adopters and we are all using it, etc etc. Truth be told, I think that my generation is certainly the adoption circle, but I have never scanned a single QR code, because I am well aware that it's dumb.
- monospaced0
Used them recently at an event/conference. We put cards/items in the attendees room as a turndown service, sort of clues as to what was going to happen the next day. The card included a QR code that would give them an additional hint to the secret agenda. That small incentive made them functional and 75% of the attendees scanned them.
- canoe0
Scanning culture is upon us no doubt about it... I think we should embrace it.
Why would anyone in their right mind say, "Ya know what, I don't think it will work, so I don't want your damn project, no matter how many billable hours I'll produce creating this niche site/campaign."
Really guys?
- I would still use them in campaigns if needed. Just saying I'm not a huge fan.Jaline
- jacklalane0
I scanned a QR code on a real estate sign yesterday to see how much the house was. It took me to the company's website NOT the listing.
Totally useful if done right, but just got me frustrated.- im sure this is common misuse. again, it's just "marketeers" glomming on to tech they know nothing about.chalk
- scarabin0
no, but i still put them on campaigns, 'cause clients and creative directors love 'em
- BusterBoy0
Anyone have examples of QR codes used by wineries?
- Check this out: http://www.qrcodepre…mg33
- tks mateBusterBoy
- canoe0
Ok, so the guy asks... "Why would you scan it?"
Well, probably to get more information for starters, and two, because it's in "my" nature now to let the smartphone think for me now. Thirdly, I've been sucking the tit of my smart phone since I bought it and now I prefer and am conditioned to evaluate everything through my smart phone... duh, my god, like don't you, like, get it already?
btw - if you haven't seen idiocracy, you should.
- I found that with incentive, there is a response. If it's just to get people to a website, good luck.monospaced
- duhsign0
i do when it seems relevant, used in a few projects, although mobi tags not qrs...they work, better than typing in a long url on the go
- lvl_130
stil hype. i've never scanned one, personally. get asked quite often if it's worth it to incorporate them into print material.
until phones (if they ever will...which is highly unlikely) incorporate an integrated OS qr code reader, the point of using them is like using banner ads to sell viagra. of course you will get a click-through, but the percentage of return is so minuscule it becomes moot.
- ismith0
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-…
But if you wanna make it cool: http://hackaday.com/2011/08/11/h…
I've seen people scan them in Japan. NEVER in the US.
- ntslide0
Saw this the other day. I'm still out on whether they can be more accurately applied.
- doesnotexist0
who wants to be seen scanning the bed bug info qr code on the subway?