President's Blog

Quick response (QR) codes, are making their way into our local marketing space. They first became popular in Japan ten years ago – they allowed consumers to get information about products that manufacturers didn’t print on the products’ labels. QR codes are two-dimensional bar codes that, when scanned with a smartphone app that reads them, will enable the consumer to get lots of information about the product or service being advertised. They’re a boon to the seller too, because reviewing the number of scans lets them track the traffic their ads are getting.

Are they worth it to you as an advertiser? Right now the answer is “Getting there.” QR codes have been a bit slower to catch on in the US than in Japan because phones with the ability to read them aren’t as prevalent here as they are there. Nielsen reports that only 30% of U.S. phones are smart phones (which makes me feel much better about not having one). That number is expected to jump up to 50% by the end of the year, which can lead to a spike in QR code use. 160over90 has used them in a number of its campaigns, as has Aloysius Butler & Clark. There’s a sense of community building around them because they’re not that widely used yet – some consumers are tweeting about them, which leads to dialogue between consumer and advertiser. So QR codes are worth it if you want to get in on an emerging trend – getting in on the ground floor is never a bad idea!

Stay tuned for a future blog on the best ways to utilize QR Codes.