Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes • Hacker News Board

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#31

Post by ketralnis » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:09 PM UTC

tthomas48 wrote: post #5

I feel like this article is backwards. QR codes are still the best way to transfer from print to phone. The problem is most people are still transferring from print ad to phone ad. My theater company uses it to send people from our poster to our ticket buying site (and let you know where the QR code goes). There's genuine utility here. Don't throw out the useful application because so many are doing it wrong.

> My theater company uses it to send people from our poster to our ticket buying site (and let you know where the QR code goes)

Can you share any numbers as to their effectiveness in real life?

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#32

Post by jmj42 » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:15 PM UTC

mseebach wrote: post #21

Number one missed opportunity for QR-codes: "For Sale/Rent" signs. It actively annoys me that I don't have a super-low-friction way to take a closer look at a for-sale house I'm walking by.

They are starting to show up on realtor for-sale signs. There's one I drive by on my way to/from work that scanned a while back. I landed on the realtor's page about the house (which, BTW, was way out of my price range).

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#33

Post by evilduck » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:15 PM UTC

ImprovedSilence wrote: post #13

asolove wrote: post #2

I think this boils down to the basic rule: don't disrespect your audience. I keep going to meetings where people suggest using QR codes to advertise a product. And I ask the obvious question: when have you ever scanned a QR code and learned about/bought something? No one can ever answer. But there's a vague sense that somewhere, out there, "those people" are using QR codes. What's funny is no one seems to know who th…

I think QR codes have a place. But I don't think advertisers know where that place is yet. QR codes on products I may buy -> bad, terrible, everything this comic describes. But if it happens to be an event (free concert in the park, grand opening of awesome new store, whatever) and it's on a poster somewhere about town, I like this, cuz maybe I'll be like, "hmm, blues fest sounds like fun, lemme just scan this in, an…

Disclaimer: This is tangential to the scope of what the comic was complaining about.

Bottled water may be a waste because water is pretty indistinguishable from its competitors outside of visual design of the product container, but not everything is so generic. I bought a bag of granola the other day that had a QR code on the back that I thought worked well.

As I idly sat at my breakfast table last week, I was reading the back of the bag and thought "this stuff is pretty damn good, I wonder what their QR code does?" I scanned it and was sent to their site where they displayed their entire product line, leading me to discover a different variety of their product I wanted to try (and have since purchased). Since I was groggy and not feeling very interactive at 6am, the bag of granola probably couldn't have convinced me to type in a URL into my phone no matter how tasty their product was, so I'd say their QR code worked (typing URLs is comparatively a lot of work compared to two taps of my phone to scan QRs)

As a product discovery mechanism I think they're probably ok, especially for existing customers that may like your brand but may not know everything about you. I don't think they'd be great on billboards or television ads, but as part of a product label design, I think it's a great way to provide more information to the consumer than would otherwise fit in that space.

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#34

Post by rprospero » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:20 PM UTC

ColinWright wrote: post #27

I scan QR codes regularly and find them incredibly useful. Poster about something I might be interested in? Instead of typing error-prone-fully on my stupid tiny keyboard, I point, scan, check the URL looks sane, then go to the web site. Sometimes I take a photo and deal with it later. Please, don't take away features I like and use just because you think no one uses them. Instead of hating on them so much, show how…

I think a lot of hate comes from the fact that I've never encountered a QR code where I couldn't have typed in the URL on my stupid-tiny keyboard faster than the time it took for the QR app to scan the code.

I'm curious if this means my phone has a terrible camera or if yours has a terrible keyboard. Probably both.

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#35

Post by ColinWright » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:24 PM UTC

rprospero wrote: post #34

ColinWright wrote: post #27

I scan QR codes regularly and find them incredibly useful. Poster about something I might be interested in? Instead of typing error-prone-fully on my stupid tiny keyboard, I point, scan, check the URL looks sane, then go to the web site. Sometimes I take a photo and deal with it later. Please, don't take away features I like and use just because you think no one uses them. Instead of hating on them so much, show how…

I think a lot of hate comes from the fact that I've never encountered a QR code where I couldn't have typed in the URL on my stupid-tiny keyboard faster than the time it took for the QR app to scan the code. I'm curious if this means my phone has a terrible camera or if yours has a terrible keyboard. Probably both.

It's the error-pronedness - clicks are far easier. Can you always type a lengthy URL without any mistakes or having to make corrections?

Plus, I can't read a poster and a phone without constantly changing whether I'm looking through glasses or not. I type pretty well, but the scan wins every time.

Added in edit: I really, really don't understand the downvotes. I'm offering a point of view as to why QR codes are easier for me. Is your downvote saying that I'm wrong? Is your downvote saying that it's irrelevant? Is your downvote saying that only people who hate QR codes can be tolerated? Is your downvote saying your mind is closed to other points of view? Help me to understand!

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#36

Post by s_henry_paulson » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:26 PM UTC

urbanjunkie wrote: post #20

ImprovedSilence wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But if it comes down to typing a long ass url in my phone, or pushing a button to scan a code, guess which one I'll pick. Don't impede technological progress just because "not everybody has it"

Here's how the future will be: Long home button press. "Siri (or Android version, or WP12 version) , search for "

Then consider me loathing the future in advance.

To me, people talking out loud to their phones in public is akin to bluetooth headsets.

The technology might provide an easier way to let you do something, but you look like an idiot.

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#37

Post by alanfalcon » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:28 PM UTC

mseebach wrote: post #21

Number one missed opportunity for QR-codes: "For Sale/Rent" signs. It actively annoys me that I don't have a super-low-friction way to take a closer look at a for-sale house I'm walking by.

I scanned a "more info" QR code once on a commercial building rental advertisement and was amused that the result was a direct link to a PDF file that had the floor plan of the building and nothing else.

I guess I should have been happy that at least it wasn't a link to Justinsomnia. ( http://justinsomnia.org/2011/03/why-does-that-qr-code-take-m... )

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#38

Post by xarien » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:29 PM UTC

People don't understand QR codes.

QR codes are a medium of transportation and a digitalization of analog information. However, if what's at the end of that trail isn't something people are interested in, then it doesn't matter if that trail is the yellow brick road, they're not going to follow it.

The reason why QR codes are used is that they're cheap, dirt cheap. But most vendors are simply adding them without thinking about adding value. When you start adding value like convenience, discounts, promotions and other means to hook an audience, that's when the ability to interact with print becomes validated. Until vendors start doing this, posts and comics like the above will exist...

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#39

Post by jetti » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:30 PM UTC

brk wrote: post #25

asolove wrote: post #2

I think this boils down to the basic rule: don't disrespect your audience. I keep going to meetings where people suggest using QR codes to advertise a product. And I ask the obvious question: when have you ever scanned a QR code and learned about/bought something? No one can ever answer. But there's a vague sense that somewhere, out there, "those people" are using QR codes. What's funny is no one seems to know who th…

when have you ever scanned a QR code and learned about/bought something? Shopping for dishwashers in-store, even after doing lots of online research. The in-store display tags have very minimal info. Best Buy has/had a QRCode on each product that took you to a webpage for that item with a lot more info, reviews, etc. It was one of the main reasons I actually bought a dishwasher AT Best Buy instead of elsewhere.

That is a good use for them. Recently I saw one on a company's van which just baffled my mind. I don't know if they wanted somebody to come up while the van was parked and scan the QR code but it was just stupid and goes in line with what the article is saying.

Re: Dear Marketers: Enough with the QR codes

#40

Post by frou_dh » Mon, Jun 18, 2012, 9:31 PM UTC

A stored called John Lewis in the UK had a really big QR code as part of a window-covering display I think was to advertise online shopping. What struck me, even as someone who knows what they are, was how visually menacing this huge QR code looked. They must be extremely visually unwelcoming to the uninitiated, which strikes me as the unfortunate old aura of technology which has only recently been shook off.