How “Scan Here to Check-In” has Changed the Course of QR Code History
The Renaissance
There was a time not all that long ago when the humble QR code was unfamiliar to most of us. Fast forward to today and they are ubiquitous. After their birth in Japan in 1994, QR codes had a small impact on the world stage in the early 2000s, and one that did not stick. Yet the effects of Covid-19 on QR code prolificacy and usage is unmatched. Check-ins using the technology have brought on a QR code renaissance: having to use them on a daily basis has ensured that Australia’s whole population is proficient in scanning and interacting with them.
The Covid-induced resurgence of QR codes seems to go hand-in-hand with technological advancements too, of course. With QR code scanning being built into smartphones in recent years, it has made scanning and accessing QR code content seamless. In conjunction with the touchless phenomenon we’re now experiencing due to Covid, the time was ripe for QR codes to enter into the space in their own. 36.40% of people scan a single QR code a week, and this figure continues to grow, showing how rapidly they came onto the scene and permeated everyday life. Suffice to say that QR codes have had an impact on consumers and their behaviours in ways that were completely unpredicted.
Engaging Customer Experiences
The versatility that QR codes provide is quickly being taken advantage of by brands. QR codes allow for consumer experiences to be highly personalised, tailoring the experience through factors such as location and audience interests. They have become another hugely effective touchpoint for brands, allowing them to connect better with their audience. Brands now have the ability to communicate up-to-date information, promotions, sign-ups, product information and tutorials - all accessible through a quick and convenient scan. Consumers are able to better connect with brands via these virtual experiences with the opportunity to explore offerings, products and services early on in the consumer journey, or even to simply better understand brands they are already familiar with and develop a deeper connection to them.
With this profound shift in consumer behaviour, QR codes have spawned. It isn’t unusual now to come into contact with these barcodes in almost every area of everyday life: from cafes and restaurants, to digital and OOH advertising, and on packaging and POS, they are all over. With this newfound popularity, and one that seems to be here to stay, the marketing opportunities they present are enormous. Brands have swiftly followed this movement, and the creativity that can be seen in QR code usage is impressive. Beyond this creativity though, is the myriad of ways that brands can now connect with consumers and leads in ways that we haven’t seen before.
Beyond the Check-In
Swedish shopping app Klarna’s 2020 Klarna Uncensored XMAS Giveaway campaign is a key case study into the new and exciting ways QR codes are being integrated into ad campaigns. With one billboard stationed in each major city across Australia, consumers were encouraged to scan the code to win a giveaway prize. Here Klarna has taken OOH, a traditionally awareness-only channel, and has leveraged this technology to include gamification and encourage interaction.
Beyond just the marketing nuts and bolts, we can see the visually appealing design of the billboard, and how the QR code has blended aesthetically, demonstrating how adaptable this technology is quite literally across the board.
Media integration
Uber Eats is another notable example of the expanding and integrated use of QR codes. Their 2022 Australian Open campaign combined the technology with a ‘choose your own adventure’ model, allowing TV viewers to scan via the QR code, and select from three possible endings - all highly amusing and tailored to each tennis star the ad featured. Easter egg promotions on alcohol and groceries are scattered throughout the TVC’s too, rewarding viewers for their engagement.
Boundless creativity
A Superbowl ad by Coinbase, an American cryptocurrency exchange platform, is a lesson in simplicity and the power of the QR code. All this ad consisted of is a full 60 seconds of textless black background and a colour-changing QR code bouncing around the screen, reminiscent of the vintage bouncing DVD logo we all remember from the days of DVD players. When scanned, users were directed to Coinbase’s promotional website, offering $15 worth of free Bitcoin to new sign-ups, plus the opportunity to enter a $3 million giveaway. The ad was a success, temporarily crashing the Coinbase app. An idea epic in its outward facing plainness, the curiosity generated by the lack of over-crowded visuals we’re accustomed to is genius. The creativity that comes with QR codes is something relatively untapped, but growing the longer this technology stays on the forefront of the marketing industry.
These campaigns are only one element of the QR code flood. The advantageous rise of this technology has altered the way users interact with brands and appears to be a long-standing behavioural change: the paradox of less physical interaction leading to more virtual interactions, with those interactions being more personalised, and able to communicate considerably more information than before. QR codes are holistically providing benefit to consumers and brands alike.
Nurture the golden goose
What the future holds for the QR code is as unforeseeable as its rise - will the behavioural change stick, or will it fall by the wayside once again? As Covid has dwindled, QR codes have taken on a new form and a new meaning, spawning into creative gateways into microcosms of information. As marketers, rather than be the ones who failed to embrace it early on in the 2000s, we have a key role to play in the clever use of QR codes. Smart deployment in our communications, thoughtful delivery of user engagement and lastly ensuring QR codes’ ubiquitous use doesn't prove to be the over-feeding of this golden goose.
Read more about the newest & best in QR code campaigns
https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/13/22932397/coinbases-qr-code-super-bowl-ad-app-crash