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QRiosity — Capturing Consumer Imagination
The SXSW Interactive, Music and Film Festival, which wrapped up this past Saturday, has been a launch pad and proving ground for many successful technologies in recent years, most notably Twitter & Foursquare. In 2010 QR Codes made their debut at the digital festival, exposing keen throngs of early adopters to the novel technology. This year, QR codes have made their presence known to SXSW attendees in almost every way one could imagine, from the wrapper on a taco or the t-shirt of a cute girl, to attendee badges, band posters and scavenger hunts.
Quick Facts:
- QR stands for “quick response”
- The square QR code matrix is easily read by most UPC and bar code scanning apps, using a smartphone’s camera as a reader
- QR codes can be generated to link to a multitude of content options: mobile sites, video or music, instant downloads, contest entry pages, contact forms, product info and reviews
- QR code scanning activity grew 1200% across North America over the latter half of 2010
- 30% - 40% of smart phone users have downloaded a bar code scanning app (ScanLife)
- Users average 2-3 barcode scans per month (ScanLife)
- Top categories scanned
- Grocery 25%
- Personal Care 18%
- Electronics 13%
- Books 11%
- Toys & Games 13%
- Movies 9%
- Other 11%
(ScanLife)
As smartphone adoption increases and code scanning habits deepen amongst users, the QR code secret sauce of speed, convenience and the magical allure of surprise (what will I see if I scan this?), makes the the hip little square a sure shot for marketers in 2011.
Industry Example:
Last Fall, early adopters Best Buy reworked their product info tags in every store to include QR codes. A smart move, in light of an Insight Express study titled Get Ready for the Mobile Shopper, that notes 82% of shoppers have used their mobile phone while shopping. Scanned codes link Best Buy’s in-store consumers to detailed product information and reviews.
Best Buy also created a Live Mobile Scan Map that shows real time scans happening in Best Buy locations all over the US. Most fun to watch during busy retail hours (weekends and early evenings), the real-time map displays white balloons popping up frequently, each one representing individual scans taking place from coast to coast, detailing the product scanned and the retail location it was scanned in.
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