We’re seeing an explosion in the use of QR codes lately, especially in magazines, posters and B2B newspaper ads. However, we’re also seeing a drastic difference in the way different brands implement the technology in terms of size, placement, CTA, and so on.
Harvard Business School, Vodafone and a few other brands bungle even the basics (e.g. inadequate visible margin) so badly that their codes don’t even scan.
Whereas Cafe Coffee Day and some others leverage many best practices (e.g. For the Mobile, On the Mobile, Mobile Power).
Despite their near-ubiquity, QR codes are not equal.
Their diversity has prompted us to call out one brand every week for excellence in deploying QR codes. We’ll rate the QR codes we come across on the following best practices described in our QR360 Framework:
- The code scans on a wide range of smartphone cameras
- There’s a natural transition from the print / online / TV worlds to the mobile world
- The microsite is mobile-optimized
- The CTA can be conveniently performed on a smartphone
- The CTA leverages the power of the smartphone.
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Without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, the QR360 Code Of The Week award goes to PRECIOUS PLATINUM.
This QR code features prominently in the jewelry chain’s print ads over the last week or two. We especially liked the following things about the code:
- Multipurpose Microsite: The microsite is mobile-optimized and, apart from usual suspects like TVC and Facebook Like, supports Design Gallery, Ring Size, Store Finder and other features that are useful for a prospective buyer.
- Auto Location: The microsite automatically recognizes the user’s location via GPS or network.
- Navigation: The Store Finder feature provides driving directions from the user’s current location to the brand’s nearby stores in a seamless manner.
Congrats, Precious Platinum, for winning the first QR360 Code Of The Week award and best wishes for using QR codes in many more useful ways in your ads and other promotional materials going forward.
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We’re envisaging a weekly frequency of this award assuming that we’ll find at least one qualifying QR code every week. If our optimism turns out to be misplaced, we’ll either (a) skip the award for a given week OR (b) give it to the best QR code amongst the different ones we come across during the week. In the interest of maintaining a high standard for this award, we’re inclined towards the former option but we’re open to hearing from our readers before arriving at a final decision. Please share your thoughts in the comments below or by emailing me directly.