From Times Square to business cards QR codes stick onto anything a company can reach. Yet back in January Kantar claimed 28% of smartphone owners used a "barcode scanning app." I think they used it once, were disappointed, and did not continue use. As they spread further into mainstream media we find these codes mentioned in late-night programming such as Jon Stewart, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert. This tool’s oversaturation and limited results leave many, including myself to question its value. Ad Age’s Dave Wieneke considers QR codes “a dead-end technology”. Additionally Wieneke and many anti-QR bloggers refer to CueCats a failed experiment 10 years ago. I’m not even going into the hassle these codes place on the consumer as opposed to, say, a print ad or television commercial.
Despite all the skull-and-cross-bone warnings for marketers and advertisers, QR codes are becoming more prevalent than ever and pop-up in a variety of places of places. You Austinites and other SXSW fans out there may remember the QR code badges. These linked users to a short bio and some contact information. Practical uses like this will bring QR codes and similar technologies to the forefront of media and, yes, advertising. Lets not forget QR codes were originally developed in China in the 90’s to track car parts. Despite my early skepticism, I do come across brilliant and engaging uses.
There are also alternatives—old-school direct response through texting is viable in some cases. Also new and developing image based technologies, Pongr for example, clear the gobbily-gook square that is often tricky for creatives.
The elementary age of QR codes is over. Now is the time to mature this technology. Will QR codes and tags be a consistent and widely used medium for engaging customers in a way that works for both client and consumer? Or will it be like a sticker dwindling down to a few well-placed penguins on the corkboard? Will they stick to consumers as a valuable and worthwhile interaction?
So, what do you think sticker or sticky?
