The little code that could.
I think it’s probably about time we cut the QR code a little slack. When it first appeared it was heralded as the next big thing in digital marketing. Every creative presentation, especially pitches, included them. They were going to revolutionise how consumers engaged with our ads. They still might. However, at the time there were a couple of problems. Pretty big ones to be fair. Nobody knew what they were or how to use them. Consumers just assumed they were like regular barcodes. Which were meant for someone else to scan. Added to that very few phones come with scanning software. Which meant that in order to scan them you first had to download the software and then start scanning. (there is also a standardisation issue too) Anyone techy will tell you that once you put up a barrier like that then you might as well forget about it. Why? Well devices like this are supposed to be about making things simpler, easier or more effortless. Having to download software only made things more complicated. As twitter would say #FAIL.
Because of these little hiccups many predicted the death of the QR code long before it even had a chance to live. I thought it would go the way of the Betamax or the Minidisc. Something else would come along and render it useless. Something that didn’t require a download. Something smarter than that. But the reality is that the QR code is actually very clever. It does make things simpler. It is a very useful way for consumers to get more information about a brand or product. Take a recent example I came across. I was watching the new BBC cookery programme The Good Cook the other night and at the end of each segment a QR code appeared on the screen. Scanning it gave you the list of ingredients for the recipe you just watched. How handy is that. No scribbling down or going to a website or old school teletext. I didn’t have to move from the sofa. Just point my phone and scan. The next logical progression is for some smart retailer to link this to online shopping and hey presto its fresh pesto.
This kind of mainstream exposure will surely overcome the initial problems of awareness of QR codes and how you use them. In fact it could lead to more powerful consumer led demand rather than the marketing led push that they experienced a few years back. If this is the case then it has a much stronger chance of success. That added to the massive increase in demand for smartphones and manufacturers including the software as standard in their operating systems should really help with its success. However, if the QR code is to live up to its hype it needs to do it soon. With NFC (Near Field Communication) coming into view like a shinny white iPod in grey world of walkman time isn’t on its side. But I am. And i’m going to make the Sticky Toffee Pudding to prove it.
