If you’re in marketing, then you know what a QR Code is. If you’re not, QR Codes (or quick response codes) are the weird square barcodes you sometimes see on products or advertising. They take a special reader (most likely downloaded on your smart phone) to scan and read them.
I’ve never been a big fan of QR Codes. To me, they’ve always been confusing and clunky. They were a quick fad with marketers who saw them as a cool new tool. But, it was never easy enough for the mainstream public to catch on. First, you need to download a reader, but not all work well, so it’s hit or miss if it actually reads the code. Second, most brands don’t provide any real value once someone did get to the content from the code. A lot of brands used it to take you to their website…what a waste! The one use that works well is with the entertainment industry. They can offer exclusive content to fans, but I haven’t even seen them utilized much there either.
I had pretty much given up on finding any mainstream uses for QR Codes…until a trip to Ann Arbor a few years ago. My wife and I went to a restaurant for lunch and I happened to look at the Heinz Ketchup bottle on the table. On the front, it said “Up for a game?” with Trivial Pursuit. We both like trivia, so I picked it up to see what it was. I turned it over and there was a QR Code staring at me. It had simple instructions “Scan the code to start the fun!”. So, I did. It brought you to www.heinztablegames.com to play a game of Trivial Pursuit on your phone (3 rounds of 6 questions). After, customers can share their experience on Facebook or Twitter. Some restaurants offer a reward once you play.
I have to admit that I love this use of QR Codes! The whole point is to entertain families while they wait for their food to come. The hope is that this will increase customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business. I can’t say if it will actually increase repeat business, but the game itself is fun, easy and fills the wait time. Bottom line is that it works. Could they have just listed the Heinztablegames.com website? I guess, but the code is part of the whole experience!
Have you seen other mainstream uses of QR Codes that impress you? Tell us about them. Maybe you’ll get me on board with thinking that they could catch on after all. Quick side note: Scott Stratten has written a book called QR Codes Kill Kittens that shows his similar view of QR Codes (this Heinz example aside).
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