How NOT to Use QR Codes
You'd be surprised to learn that many people use QR codes in ways that make it impossible for a business to generate any business from the effort.
You don't want to be in this unfortunate group.
Don't Go Underground Just because subway trains are places where advertisers have access to a large captive audience, doesn't mean that's a place for you to insert a QR code into an advertisement.
Why? When your audience is underground, as they are in a subway, their Smartphones cannot get a signal so the QR code is rendered inoperable! The whole appeal of these codes is quick access to information as you request it.
That whole "quick response" aspect of "QR" codes are effectively removed in an underground setting and you're likely to lose the respect of your audience with such a mistake.
The mistake is particularly frustrating for consumers because they have to expend the extra effort (which is quite public by the way) to take a scan or picture of the code only to realize in seconds it won't work in the subway.
Some consumers will have already figured that out and dismissed the ad, which also generates negative perceptions about the advertiser.
Adding more insult to injury is the fact that you would have invested in subway advertisements that only partially work (assuming you have copy and contact information in text format).
Make sure The QR Code Works! Size and detail can make the difference between a QR code that works and one that doesn't.
If your code is too detailed or too small it won't work on older Smartphone models.
Also, watch out for the materials used for your posters.
Sometimes posters that are laminated with material that is too glossy or cloudy will interfere with a user's Smartphone scanning functions.
Get information in advance about poster materials if you are using an outdoor advertising firm or poster network.
Think About Placement Always keep in mind the actions and needs of your audience.
If you do this, you likely won't make the mistake of putting your code on posters located inside a shopping cart front wall that is facing inwards.
Unless you're very flexible and able to contort yourself with ease, taking a scan of an ad with a QR code that is located in such an awkward location is not only unappealing, it is not likely to happen.
An ad with a QR code no one is interested in scanning is a loss for the advertiser.
Don't let this be you.
Think about putting your ad in locations where your target audience can easily scan your QR code.
Remember Scanning is a Public Act - Think About Your Ad Some advertisements make their point by shocking readers either with provocative text or shocking pictures or both.
This is all fine since reading is a mostly private, quiet act.
No one needs to know if you are really paying any attention to an ad that might make many people blush.
But with our new cutting edge technology audiences are required to take physical action in order to get more information.
They actually have to scan the QR code on an ad - an action that is very public.
With this in mind, you can imagine the response that a non-profit's health advertisement for preventing sexually transmitted diseases generated when the main feature of the ad was a large, spotted banana! While your ad may be award winning and reflective of your audience's needs, if the topic is not something people want to acknowledge or discuss too publicly, then they won't necessarily want to scan your QR code in public.
You don't want to be in this unfortunate group.
Don't Go Underground Just because subway trains are places where advertisers have access to a large captive audience, doesn't mean that's a place for you to insert a QR code into an advertisement.
Why? When your audience is underground, as they are in a subway, their Smartphones cannot get a signal so the QR code is rendered inoperable! The whole appeal of these codes is quick access to information as you request it.
That whole "quick response" aspect of "QR" codes are effectively removed in an underground setting and you're likely to lose the respect of your audience with such a mistake.
The mistake is particularly frustrating for consumers because they have to expend the extra effort (which is quite public by the way) to take a scan or picture of the code only to realize in seconds it won't work in the subway.
Some consumers will have already figured that out and dismissed the ad, which also generates negative perceptions about the advertiser.
Adding more insult to injury is the fact that you would have invested in subway advertisements that only partially work (assuming you have copy and contact information in text format).
Make sure The QR Code Works! Size and detail can make the difference between a QR code that works and one that doesn't.
If your code is too detailed or too small it won't work on older Smartphone models.
Also, watch out for the materials used for your posters.
Sometimes posters that are laminated with material that is too glossy or cloudy will interfere with a user's Smartphone scanning functions.
Get information in advance about poster materials if you are using an outdoor advertising firm or poster network.
Think About Placement Always keep in mind the actions and needs of your audience.
If you do this, you likely won't make the mistake of putting your code on posters located inside a shopping cart front wall that is facing inwards.
Unless you're very flexible and able to contort yourself with ease, taking a scan of an ad with a QR code that is located in such an awkward location is not only unappealing, it is not likely to happen.
An ad with a QR code no one is interested in scanning is a loss for the advertiser.
Don't let this be you.
Think about putting your ad in locations where your target audience can easily scan your QR code.
Remember Scanning is a Public Act - Think About Your Ad Some advertisements make their point by shocking readers either with provocative text or shocking pictures or both.
This is all fine since reading is a mostly private, quiet act.
No one needs to know if you are really paying any attention to an ad that might make many people blush.
But with our new cutting edge technology audiences are required to take physical action in order to get more information.
They actually have to scan the QR code on an ad - an action that is very public.
With this in mind, you can imagine the response that a non-profit's health advertisement for preventing sexually transmitted diseases generated when the main feature of the ad was a large, spotted banana! While your ad may be award winning and reflective of your audience's needs, if the topic is not something people want to acknowledge or discuss too publicly, then they won't necessarily want to scan your QR code in public.