You know the drill: follow Upshot on Twitter to keep up on the latest SXSW Interactive news. It’s only three days away!
We’ve already mentioned that location is the watchword at this year’s SXSWi, but we’d advise you to keep your eyes out for news on QR codes as well. Longtime readers know that we’ve been tracking these two-dimensional barcodes for years, but the codes had never quite passed the tipping point because consumers had to download a QR reader before using them. Fortunately, most new handsets are coming pre-loaded with QR readers, and for those that aren’t, there are a number of brands that are helping to familiarize American consumers with the technology (including that tiny little venture named Google).
And, with SXSW announcing that every attendee’s badge will include a QR code (and the festival’s site sharing a slew of QR readers), we think the time has finally come for QR codes to have their day. Of course, that’s why Upshot’s going to be blanketing SXSWi with our own QR code to help attendees track the 6th Street music shows during the Interactive festival. See the above video for a demo, and stay tuned for more info later this week.
While we’re clearly some savvy marketers ’round here, there’s always going to be a handful of marketers who are seduced by the “shiny-ness” of an unfamiliar technology, and will apply it in a gimmicky manner. For instance, select Best Buy stores across the country have featured QR codes in their store windows, which is admittedly a great way to deliver interesting content in an immediate way to passing consumers. Unfortunately, snapping the code takes the consumer to… Best Buy’s website. Guys, they’re already standing in front of the store! What kind of value are you delivering?
Compare that to the N Building in Japan, which complemented their window-based QR code with a little augmented reality. Or, the guerilla campaign for District 9, where decals and posters (such as this one) were slapped all over urban areas. That code linked users to a video clip that told the backstory of the movie. Likewise, the band Passion Pit embedded a free mp3 in bar coasters in UK pubs, as well as discounts for purchasing the album.
The common thread in these examples is that they all provided unique, highly-desirable content! It’s the same ol’ rule we’ve been following for years; if you’re not engaging consumers, you’re just creating clutter. Nobody wants to see that! They want to see QR codes like these:
- Add customized messages to packaging, or in this case, bottles. Anyone giving a gift fr0m 94 Wines can attach a QR code to the bottle with a text, photo, or video greeting.
- Provide something a little harder-hitting, like the code that the Detroit Red Wings added to their game programs. The code brings users to a video featuring the body-checking skills of Niklas Kronwall.
- Hide clues for a scavenger hunt amidst QR codes placed in various locations.
We could keep going, but we’ll continue to follow-up with examples down the road. For now, we’ll leave you with a simple place to start: the three cardinal rules for creating a consumer-friendly QR code.
UPDATE: Well, this is a nice bridge between our last couple of posts. Fourwalla is encouraging venues near SXSW to create QR codes that Foursquare and Gowalla users can scan in order to check-in. Fourwalla claims that the codes will help verify check-ins, although I’m not sure there’s too many venues that are worried about that kind of publicity.
