Of late one can see the usage of QR codes in advertisements. So much so that it has been catching attention. It’s there on prints, can be found on the web medium and even displayed at notice boards and other common areas in public spaces. In case you are not familiar with it; QR codes stands for Quick Response codes and was meant to be a code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed. (Read more about it here on the Wikipedia page)
With the introduction of more phones that are based on the Android and the Symbian 3 platforms, it is but natural to have more applications that will make use of it.With the 3G network slated to come on a larger scale in the market too in the next month (Tata DOCOMO has already started the promotions for it), the number of applications will only increase. If there is anything that is sure, it is that the interactivity level of the users with their devices will increase.
It is this aspect of Interactivity that is the focus of this article. One can imagine and agree people spending more time on their devices (the phones, ipads, tablet pcs etc). With everyone trying to create solutions for different user groups keeping technology in mind, the number of possibilities are vast.
The down side of this would be the vast pool of information that will be available at the disposal to the user. In such a scenario it is very important to get the right piece of information in the shortest time possible. And that is precisely where the QR Codes (and another thing called Data Matrix) come in handy. Just feed in the information that you need to be coded, into many of the freely available, QR code generator like this one here.
We tried this for our company name and you can see the result here.
Let us take a couple of points to illustrate the usage of the QR codes to improve the User Experience of the viewer when they peruse through the ad. scenarios that come to mind.
The first and foremost value ad that this provides is that one can prioritize the information that is being presented to the user. The user is thus given only sufficient information to show their interest in it. Beyond that a lot of the information can be presented to the user. The QR code could contain video links, links to photographs, multimedia presentations to name a few things. You could also introduce simulators and other stuff after the user has accessed the QR codes.
These codes are also in a way bridging the gap that exists between the print / static medium and the devices that the users are carrying with them. It’s the communicating channel that exists in-order to make sure that the appropriate information reaches the user. So in a way its making them interact with each other.
Also the fact that the user can get the code and save up the information to be consumed by them at a time that is convenient to them is an added advantage. Take this scenario: You are in a hurry and are flipping to the papers and you spot this ad with the QR code. You glimpse through the ad, find it interesting, take the QR code and read it later at your time. Now all of a sudden you as a user are actually interacting with the advertisement, unlike earlier where all one did was see and forget or at max call up for more information.
The down side of this is that there is always the case of not all phones featuring the applications (and cameras) that would make the camera function as a QR code reader. However that is a bet one can take with the rate at which the mobile industry is growing. To make things simpler and to use the existing way of pulling information through SMS, the new advertisements also are educating the user and providing the link from where the code readers can be downloaded. Also the way things are one might think likely for a scenario where every mobile phone will come with a built-in camera.
In Conclusion; Mobiles, the 3G network, the Rich Applications and the information seeking consumer; form a formidable team. A team that is on the move always and is always going to be in the fast lane. By introducing this layer of Interactivity, one is bound to open gates to a universe of information that was just lying there somewhere.