Marketing the QR Code...

These small & black looking 2D images have been popping up all over the place - print adds, retail units, visiting cards, on soap cartons, candy wrappers, I can even see them within laptop DVD trays once you pop-them out to put your DVD in.

These QR codes have become a must have to all Marketers, everyone of them is coming up with innovative ways to communicate & market them. The creative agencies have them on their visiting cards through which details printed can transferred onto your contacts within a jiffy, retailers have them in-store to scan & avail discounts, mobile chargers have them in case you need to find out where to get a replacement - the list goes on, & quite innovative these usages.

Now comes the pertinent discussion, in a world of the QR code, does the consumer fundamentally see a benefit or atleast the lure of a benefit, or an associated value that he/she associates with that brand just because that brand is looker 'hipper' because of a QR Code? 

For many marketers any of the above rational associations would mean that their QR code is working in delivering its desired intent. 

In India the smartphones growth is around a 100% every year & poised to reach 100 million+ units by the end of this financial year in an overall base of 900 million+. But QR Code readers (which are to be generally downloaded) available on such phones are a far smaller number, 5 million itself might be an over statement.

Nevertheless this number is poised to grow. Which means that the QR code plans that marketers use have to be of a far higher order, rather than being generic & simple.

The current users of this technology (started in Toyota's manufacturing subsidiary) in India will be the younger or professional crowd whose access to high end smartphones & apps are far higher.

This means their engagement level can also be expected to be higher, maybe leading them on to spend more on the desired brand being marketed through a higher level of involvement.

QR Code led augmented reality, internet app discounts, direct interactive uploads, retail window shopping experience - the lists & implications could be endless.

There is also the QR Code design front - majority of the brands use a simple black 2D image, while a few have flirted with some colours & text too. But technically these QR code designs can be improved to have a better connect & design adherence to your overall brand language.