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“Rethinking the Promise of QR Codes: UX, mobile content, and media integration”
“Rethinking the Promise of QR Codes: UX, mobile content, and media integration” (part 1)
by Patrick Donnelly of QrArts LLC
Forget everything you have heard about QR codes up to this point (called quick response codes – for those QR newbies where forgetting is not a problem). The promise of QR can only begin to be realized by thinking of how they relate to both “UX (user experience)” and “media integration.”
Everyone knows QR codes can help you get from A to B. Much of the media has been focusing only on A – the codes themselves. But take a minute to think about all the possibilities of B? However, the journey is part of a much bigger movement where mobile is converting impressions to interactions on a personal and a trackable level – which is rather remarkable. Marketers now have the ability to align print and web communications while using location-aware devices to deliver highly customized messaging on a new platform. A mouthful isn’t it? What it means is that you can finally create personalized experiences that allow individuals to act as brand ambassadors, consumers, connectors, fans, and in almost any other role you can define – all from your customer’s hand.
Not only are 2d barcodes engaging guests with a brand, but a new era of “pull” marketing is emerging with the ability to again “push” content back into new social media channels. One of the benefits of QR is the instant ubiquity of content on demand which then can be distributed from your handheld computer. A scan, no matter how “unnatural” the action is, takes 2 seconds compared to the fastest T9 texting champion typing in a URL. I am not saying that it is perfect, or is always used appropriately, but imagine what you can do in a clickable world. QR by itself is purely a tool or vessel – the information inside the code and how the information will be delivered and used by the user is the real value. And the possibilities are endless! If technology and culture can agree on some level of code format agnosticism, this tool can be used to create some amazing experiences for users – TODAY. The debates over code superiority, and which technology will be next is quite esoteric and focuses on the wrong part of this equation.
Now that we have this technology, the new frontier is the development of the user experiences, which brand managers have yet to design. The code is an entry point for the consumer; there has to be content on the other side of the portal. Websites tailored specifically to mobile viewing are the crucial focus. The challenge is how mobile design and mobile web will allow us to do more then just watch an ad or buy tickets. The space between web and print is a fascinating frontier as the tools continue to converge and evolve into meaningful interactions. By scanning a QR code, a user accepts a relationship with a brand on a personal level.
So…how can you utilize QR and mobile content to create more meaningful interactions for your brand? Remember, the possibilities are endless. Follow us metformin 500 mg for pcos on twitter - http://www.twitter.com/qrarts
I agree. In my newsletter I have been reflecting much the same over the last few months. I would like to suggest (for the good of this industry segment going forward) that we create something like a QR Marketers or Practioners Forum to get some traction and prevent us all from going in circles. A Facebook page may be a good idea.
I read this twice. Patrick, you are a great voice for the QR code community and a thought leader.
“By scanning a QR code, a user accepts a relationship with a brand on a personalized level.”
There is definitely a feeling of empowerment that the user gets by scanning a QR code. Consumers are making a conscious decision to interact with an ad, on THEIR terms, and brands can welcome them in. There is something so pure about this. In reality, it’s a model that the consumer has been begging for. Brands can now “pull” users in and let them “push” the content into their own personal social network. PEOPLE LOVE TO SHARE. The truth is that NO one knows where this will lead but it feels right. Give power back the the consumer and provide them with the right tools they need to make great buying decisions and feel important in the process. The QR code is the Ferrari of mobile content delivery, TODAY. Let’s focus on what we are actually delivering and stop awwing over the sound of the engine.
Tappinn.com – BEYOND the CODE
Nick Ford
follow me @Tappinn
@Nick Ford
Ferrari would not return my emails ironically. -patrick
Patrick, Well written. Your words, “purely a tool or vessel” made me think of the QR Code like a tap in a water line. Think of it like your ice maker waterline which is usually tapped into a copper line somewhere in your home. But this tap offers access to a pipeline the size of the Alaskan Oil Pipeline in terms of its capacity. The consumer can control the flow from a drip to a flood of information.
They call it Critical Mass – when 10% inertia causes an irreversible change in 90% of all remaining matter, then an undisputable ‘shift’ is underway. Clearly this new way of communicating will change the way man communicates with eachother forever, by connecting everyday objects “out there” to the ever expanding World Wide Web. It is pervasive, ubiquitous, immediately accessable and always on – anywhere, anytime, anyplace, day or night, 7/24 and all from the furthest 4 corners across the planet. It will be called the Web 2.0 and it will be the most disruptive technology since the invention of the PC, as the internet has now gone mobile the world over. All objects will soon be tethered the web via a Physical World Connection hyperlink consisting of a word, phrase, picture, image, logo, barcode, RFID, NFC, MagStrip, etc. and its happening here and now, right beofre our eyes. There is nothing that will stop its coming. It is approaching like a silent undersea tidal wave and will produce a Tsunami of change, the likes of which we have never seen before and will never see again in our lifetimes.
@JPetroInc
JP you are dead on. We have already entered into the biggest technological revolution in the history of man. Way bigger than the internet itself. The Yankee Group calls it the “Anywhere” revolution and defines it as ubiquitious connectivity. I love Nick’s comment about the QR code being the Ferrari of mobile content delivery. When marketers get over the awe of the sound of the engine, the true promise of QR will begin.