Do QR Codes Work?
November 29, 2016   Dave Lewis

Prepare to be startled:  It depends.

OK, you knew that, but let’s get down to some particulars.  We often hear that QR codes are passé and get little response.  Well, by that reasoning, 97% of recipients don’t respond to direct mail – if you’re lucky – and we keep doing that.  So QR codes can work if they’re executed correctly and where appropriate. QR codes are ugly – I think we can all agree on that.  Thus marketers are trying to pretty them up, or hide them, lest they diminish the aesthetic appeal of a mail piece.  And that kind of diminishes the usefulness of a QR code.  It should kind of jump out and be easy to notice so the prospect can say, “Oh – there’s one of those ugly barcode things.  I can just scan this with my phone.”  If you hide it in the middle of your branding flower, or star, or whatever, so it isn’t clearly visible it is less likely to be scanned. If you are going to use a QR code, make it prominent like any good call to action.  Explain clearly how to scan and why to scan it – with your compelling offer.  Our favorite use of a QR code was on a postcard for a high end preschool.  The face of the card had a picture of an engaged looking toddler and a big QR code.  The address side had a few well worded bullet points on why the school was not that easy to get into.  The QR code was the only clear way to respond – no phone number, and a hard to find web address.  The target audience was affluent young parents.  They have smart phones, and they know what to do with a QR code.  The QR code led to a well-designed responsive landing page.  Even with a very soft offer, the promotion did very well. Another important point:  QR codes are for mobile devices – make sure your landing page is responsive. For B2B campaigns we typically see less interest in QR codes.  One mailing to 50,000 accountants garnered two QR code hits.  The QR code was almost an afterthought, and was not prominent on the piece – the campaign did well overall, but the QR component – not so much. An interesting application we are working on now is for a benefits administration company.  They have unique plans for almost every recipient.  It is easy to have them scan a unique QR code that grants access to the information.  It is more secure and easier to execute than a PURL.  The QR code is prominent, and the mail piece clearly explains how to get a QR app, and how to scan the code.  We think it is an excellent application of QR code technology. So, do QR codes work?  For the right audience and the right offer they may well be worth a test.  With current ink jet print quality, and the prominence of digital printing they are an easy addition.

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