Introduction

Why QR Codes are Effective:

Opinions vary across the charts discussing whether QR codes are really effective or a waste of money, time and space. Many associate these codes as only links to a company website, but they may not realize how much more it can actually do. Just to name a few, you can receive text, add an electronic business card (vCard), compose emails and texts after scanning the code, and of course, upload a URI or URL to your smart phone³.

QR codes are an easy way of allowing access to your company or personal information for consumers and clients with the simple act of scanning the code with a smart phone app. These codes are also considered a sustainable method of marketing and advertising. Many QR code generators also allow you to change the code in any color you want in order to make it stand out against the traditional black codes. With an increasing supply and consumer demand of smart phones, QR codes are easily accessible.

Why QR Codes are Useless:

The problem with QR codes is that there is still a vast population of consumers without a smart phone, so this service is unavailable and completely useless to them. Another problem is that many with smart phones still do not know how to use QR codes or know it’s main purpose as a marketing and advertising tool.

According to Digital Lifescapes², about 92 million Americans now own smart phones by the end of 2011, but that still leaves about 143 million cell phone users that do not own them⁴. Even with the increasing demand and sales of today’s smart phones, there is an even larger amount of consumers without the access to QR codes.

With the previous statistics and facts about QR codes, do you think QR codes are an effective marketing tool or a useless for marketing purposes?

Examples

Linking (URL)

Example: Centennial Arts Website Linking

Scan this QR Code with your smart phone app and it will automatically direct you to the specific URL encoded into the image. This QR Code will take you to the Centennial Arts website. This can be a great marketing tool to promote our Website Design and Development Services, Enterprise Email Solutions, Website Hosting, and Unlimited Maintenance and Updates.³

 

 

 

Contact (vCard)

Example: Centennial Arts Contact Importing

Scanning this image  with your QR Code app will allow you to save the basic contact information of the company straight to your phone. The vCard serves as an electronic business card and allows you to save the information to your phone in an easy and efficient way.

Attention: Blackberry phone devices only support up to version 2.1 of the vCard app.⁵

Contact (SMS)

Example: Generic Scan to Text

Scan this QR Code with your smart phone app and it will automatically contact the specific company or person through the options of SMS and MMS.⁶

 

 

 

 

Calendar (vCalendar Event)

Example: Centennial Arts Calendar of Events

Scan this QR Code and it will allow you to save the event to your smart phone’s calendar. This is a fast and easy way to share and record events and other important dates that you want to remember for a future date.

 

 

 

 

References

1. http://www.moongate.ro/en/products/qr_code-vcard/
2. http://dhdeans.blogspot.com/2012/01/914-million-americans-now-own.html
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
4. http://www.readwriteweb.com/biz/2011/03/are-qr-codes-effective.php
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCard
6. http://qrcode.kaywa.com/