{"id":5139,"date":"2013-05-12T18:00:13","date_gmt":"2013-05-13T00:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/?p=5139"},"modified":"2013-05-14T16:43:23","modified_gmt":"2013-05-14T22:43:23","slug":"qr-codes-create-avenue-for-targeted-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/articles\/general-business-advice\/qr-codes-create-avenue-for-targeted-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"QR Codes Create Avenue for Targeted Marketing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"QR_Droid_28848\"<\/a>By now, most Americans have seen a QR code, even if they didn\u2019t initially understand why these two-dimensional matrix bar codes were suddenly appearing on products, advertisements and business cards.<\/p>\n

Called QR for \u201cquick response,\u201d the codes were created in 1994 by Japanese automakers to track parts. Now companies around the world use them to link consumers directly to their websites, where they can shop and find coupons, special offers and product information.<\/p>\n

While QR codes are already considered outmoded by the creators of next-generation apps that link the physical and virtual worlds in quicker and more entertaining ways, at least one New Mexico advertising agency believes QR codes haven\u2019t outlived their usefulness and are more reliable than newer so-called \u201chardlinking\u201d technologies.<\/p>\n

Defining the Value<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reading QR codes requires a scanner that\u2019s available as a smartphone application. The scanner converts the image to an Internet address, where the digital content is posted. Without the smartphone, the QR code is unreadable, making it worthless to people whose mobile phones lack Internet connectivity.<\/p>\n

While the smartphone audience is finite, so is the audience of newspaper readers and radio listeners, said Brittany Johnson, social media manager at Las Cruces-based Wilson Binkley Advertising and Marketing. QR codes are just one tool among many, and they\u2019re appropriate if they provide something of value to the customer, such as convenience or a reward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe only use it when we feel it will benefit the [advertising] client,\u201d Johnson said of the codes. \u201cWe do use it with retail clients, who use codes to provide promotions or coupons or direct people to their Facebook page, which helps them build their email database.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a QR code just directs you to a website, it\u2019s not effective. Someone can type in the website address just as quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redundancy is just one of the problems that led AdAge<\/i> magazine\u2019s B.L. Ochman in March to declare QR codes \u201chistory.\u201d Competition from emerging technologies, such as faster and more efficient invisible electronic codes, will push QR codes aside, she predicted. But advertisers bear part of the blame for failing to explain to the public what the codes are and how to use them, and some applications \u2014 on billboards or other inaccessible spots \u2014 were ill-conceived.<\/p>\n

Not Just a Fad<\/strong><\/p>\n

While Johnson acknowledges these problems, she said it\u2019s too early to dismiss QR codes even as new technology comes into play.<\/p>\n

QR codes are most effective, she said, \u201cwhen they\u2019re incorporated with traditional media\u201d to broaden the appeal of an advertiser\u2019s message. A print ad, for example, might include a QR code that smartphone users can scan to find more information about a featured product or get directions to the store.<\/p>\n

If used as part of a strategic marketing approach, QR codes on business cards, receipts, product packaging, brochures and other marketing materials can connect with customers by offering product discounts or access to customer feedback or product registration forms.<\/p>\n

QR codes and their next-generation cousins appear to be more than a passing fad as they offer marketers new ways to engage consumers and encourage them to act.<\/p>\n

Download 293_QR Codes Create Avenue for Targeted Marketing<\/a>\u00a0PDF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By now, most Americans have seen a QR code, even if they didn\u2019t initially understand why these two-dimensional matrix bar codes were suddenly appearing on products, advertisements and business cards. Called QR for \u201cquick response,\u201d the codes were created in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5139"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5139"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5139\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5194,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5139\/revisions\/5194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financenewmexico.org\/sandbox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}