The QR code tsunami is here. QR codes are those funny looking checkered square images you see on everything from restaurant menus to tatoos. QR code websites offer free app readers that can be downloaded in a matter of seconds. Just search Google for “QR code generator” to find either android or apple apps. My personal favorite is QRdroid since I have an Android smart phone.
Many websites offer free downloadable QR code readers. Once you have downloaded a reader to your smart phone, you can scan the code with your cell phone. I personally like a reader called QRdroid. With the QRdroid reader you simply tap the app to activate it. The screen will display an area to hover over the QR code, and the app automatically focuses and snaps a picture of the code. The information from the QR code will then appear.
When the advertising space you are allotted is smaller than the message you have to tell, you have a perfect situation for a QR code. Anywhere your message is in print you should have a QR code. From business cards to multi-storied buildings, QR codes are used to grab people’s attention and curiosity.
The message you choose to embed in the QR codes is entirely up to you. It might be the nutritional value of the food on your menu or even the product part numbers of an assembled product. You can embed links to websites or create a banner the size of a building for movie viewers to see the trailer of a movie. QR code uses are virtually limitless and are an extremely affordable marketing tool.
Please note that QR Codes do not have to be the bland black and white version. With judicious application, there is ample room for creative use of color and branding within the QR Code. For example, this QR Code that we created for the PPI Christmas video.
A website called Mobibrix.com is especially useful because for the first time, we are able to change the message of a QR code after it has been printed. This is much more efficient for people who have rotating stock such as real estate agents. Since the QR code information can be changed after print, they do not have to go back and reprint literature after a house sells and a new one is listed. They simply change the QR code links and the new information is current.
QR Codes are exciting to those of us in the printing business because they allow print to be directly and easily integrated with marketing on the web.
You are missing out on huge opportunities if you have not yet explored how your business can benefit from QR codes. Mobile devices are more and more becoming the favorite search tool for people who are doing business through the internet. People who owned smart phones for the first time in 2010 world wide outnumbered those who owned laptops or desktop computers.
QR codes are inexpensive to generate and can be suited for any business. If you are not already using them your business is behind. Virtually all of your printed material should contain QR codes to engage your customers and draw more people to your business.
Gerald Drumwright has worked 25 years in all phases of the printing industry, currently concentrating on book, catalog, and magazine printing. Gerald is principal of PPI in Tupelo MS, Total Graphics Printing in Southaven MS, and McNeal Graphics in Memphis TN. Contact Gerald at 662-680-4332.. Check here for free reprint license: QR Codes – Master Marketing For Mobile.