Making QR Codes Useful.

Dare you to Scan this Code.

Sometimes you stumble on to the strangest stuff when you are reading a business magazine.  This week it was the good folks at Bloomberg who claimed the use of QR codes by marketing firms are not generating expected results.  I mentally rolled my eyes and finished the article.  Those of us in the technology business had been noticing this trend for a while and it is clear to me that the good folks at Bloomberg are just starting to catch up.

I have been following QR codes and Microsoft Tag for the last two years and I can say that they are just not the correct tools for advertising.  This is because advertisers just think that QR codes are an easy way to generate mobile engagement.  What I am discovering is that there is no easy way to generate mobile engagement.   Just because you slap a QR code on a flyer or poster does not instantly give you an inroad to someone's mobile phone. 

It does not help that the content behind these QR code is poor to begin with.  Most web sites are not optimized for mobile browsers so when you scan a QR code they do not look good on the phone.  Also the content is not unique so they can access this from their desk top.  It would be farcical if it wasn't so sad.  I was speaking with a fellow company at a trade show and they complained about this and I told them if they linked their QR codes to YouTube videos or special coupons they would get more scans.  Simple advice but people are paying thousands of dollars to advertising agencies and are getting poor return on their money. 

I see QR codes and MS Tag differently.  These technologies make it easier to track paper documents and share them with the digital world which means they are perfect for the world of logistics.  Naturally, they are part of E3 systems application Sully®.  Scanning a QR code or MS Tag should make the traditional bar coding application obsolete and that is what I intend to do.  So I dare you to scan that MS Tag above and check out our video and learn a little more about Sully®.  I also hope that advertising agencies get a little smarter on how they use QR codes.

Until next time.