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There's been plenty of interest and a certain level of hype surrounding QR codes recently. While the technology and concept of mobile tagging is far from new (its been mainstream in Japan for several years with over 42% of mobile users using QR Codes), its adoption rate has been at a much slower pace across the rest of the globe.
While its use has largely been limited to outdoor and media advertising, there's plenty of opportunity for the technology to be extended to personalised mail. As QR Codes provide a convenient response mechanism (you don't have to be in front of a computer) users can access the website immediately, no matter where you are. In turn, QR Codes present an opportunity in direct mail and essential mail, including bills, statements and TransPromo.
Many VDP vendors are already incorporating QR Code support into their products. XMPie recently announced QR Code support in version 4.5, Objectif Lune announced support earlier last year and Computer Output Print & Internet (COPI) offers CodeZ QR for batch generating barcodes. Despite the accessibility of the technology, it's not gaining adoption at a rate that many are hoping for. A few major brands have run QR code campaigns, but we're not seeing any significant adoption (outside of Japan) just yet. So why? I believe it's due to several reasons.
1. Software Availablity
In order to read QR codes, the mobile user requires a client-based utility to capture and decode the barcode on their handset. While there are a handful of capture utilities for the iPhone and other devices, it's not convenient for the average mobile user to go out hunting for them. Telstra pre-installs capture software on some handsets as part of their QRious campaign, but they have limited this to a select range of handsets, which seems to be more of a sales strategy than anything else. However, this is starting to change; in the US, Sprint recently announced pre-installation of the ScanLife software on a range of it's handsets, making it the first North American mobile carrier to offer 2D support across a range of handsets, and other carriers and vendors are also beginning to pre-install capture utilities on handsets.
2. Web Enabled Phones
In order to use QR codes, the mobile handset needs to be web enabled, and more importantly the mobile subscriber needs to be on a 3G or data plan. While the iPhone v2 has accelerated 3G popularity, the majority of mobile users outside of Japan don't have Internet access on their mobile devices.
3. Camera Phones
Obviously, you need a camera on your phone to capture the QR code. While the majority of handsets include cameras, not all do.
4. Social Adoption
While QR codes provide users with the ability to access information where ever they are, there are many who simply don't require immediacy of information, or have any interest in doing so. If they did, we'd all be walking around staring down at Blackberries and iPhones as we check email and surf the Internet while on an afternoon stroll. But we're not. Yet.
Summary
I'm not saying that the future of QR codes is a grim one. Far from it—I see a significant opportunity for these two-dimensional barcodes, especially in personalisation. There are a multitude of potential applications, such as using a URL linking to a personalised page with walking/driving directions and a map to a local store, or even using QR codes as a response mechanism—while QR codes can embed URLs, they can also embed other text, such as an SMS message. In Japan, advertisers embed SMS response codes in QR codes so mobile users can simply capture the code and instantly send a message to a defined SMS number.
The opportunity for QR codes undoubtedly exists and Japan has proved the technoloogy is both effective and practical. However, unless these technology and social barriers are addressed (which they will, eventually) QR codes cannot become a ubiqutous mechanism for visiting web pages from printed media. Until that time comes, the loyal qwerty keyboard prevails.
Posted on Friday, 6 February 2009 at 4:55 PM | TrackBack: http://www.veedeepee.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/197
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference QR Hype:
» Personalised QR Codes and other 2D Barcodes in XMPie from Dave Baldaro Weblog
There’s a lot of chatter at the moment about 2D barcodes. A recent artice by Eliot Harper calls much of it ‘hype’ but does state that the future is still rosy.
I’ve spoken to various creatives, service providers and marketers a... Read More »
Tracked on Thursday, 19 November 2009 at 1:37 AM
You forgot GMC's software, PrintNet T.
Posted by ChT on Friday, 6 February 2009 at 7:38 PM
The problem with the Sprint system is it is a closed proprietary system - it is not qr codes.
So websites like yourselves would have to pay to create codes.
QR is the better way to go and it is having limited success here.
Check out www.Cognation.net/QR for examples in the USA where it s being deployed.
Cheers,
Dean
Posted by Dean Collins on Friday, 6 February 2009 at 11:14 PM
"....we'd all be walking around staring down at Blackberries and iPhones as we check email and surf the Internet while on an afternoon stroll. But we're not. Yet."
You obviously haven't been on a US college campus lately. :)
Thanks for the discussion Elliot. I think the potential for QR in the US is huge, but I think you're right, we're not there yet. I honestly think it will only take one or two major, high profile successful campaigns for it to take off here. We're like sheep here in the US.
Posted by Michael Duschak on Friday, 6 February 2009 at 11:44 PM
Dean, interesting info about Sprint (I was misinformed on the CodeZQR blog). Thanks for the post and the link. Your site provides a helpful overview of QR code capabilities, thanks for sharing!
Posted by Eliot Harper on Saturday, 7 February 2009 at 12:35 PM
Eliot,
Good post.
Just to clarify one thing, the ScanLife bar code reader is a multi code reader that reads both QR as well as their proprietary code. That is what I was referring to in my CodeZQR blog.
Their code generator is a proprietary system and therefore not one that I would recommend using.
Cheers,
Joe
Posted by Joe Barber on Tuesday, 24 March 2009 at 7:23 AM
QR barcodes are sure to catch on, but more with the young, who certainly have a close on-going love affair with their cellphones. To me, it's just a device to do a job.
But if we want to know where the world is headed, ask our children. It's an emotional thing. Emotion after all is what drives buying decisions and initiates change, not logic.
The 'social media' or shopping perspective is another possibility...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RFQ0cnSOhg
Posted by Kevin Trye on Tuesday, 28 April 2009 at 10:08 PM