QR codes. Everybody seems to want them to take off, but will they? Really?

On the positive side, they’re a fantastic way to bridge the gap between print and online marketing. For ages, now, I have been talking to digital marketing proponents telling me print is dead, while talking to printers who assure me that good quality print marketing will always be more effective. My marketing instinct – like most marketers – tells me I need a mix. So surely it’s a great idea to use QR codes to create a seamless bridge between the two? Right?

I want it to be so, but I am losing confidence; lacking faith. So I thought it would be a good idea to lay out the arguments for and against, and see where we get to.

There are several positives to using QR codes in your marketing campaigns.

Ease of use

QR codes are undeniably easy to use – provided the user has a QR code reader on his/her phone (see cons below). And I have to say that they are fairly idiot-proof to create (working on the basis that if I can do it…..).

Versatility

You can use QR codes to prompt a number of actions from the user. The most straightforward is to take them to a URL (mobile optimised). Alternatively you can have the user send a predefined text message to a number. You can prepare an email to be sent to a predefined email address, or you can download contact details onto the user’s phone (particularly useful on business cards).

Trackability

As with all things digital, trackability is a major plus factor for QR codes. Once your code is created you can easily track how effective your campaign has been. This is a major boost for print marketing, which has always had that element of untrackability. Until now.

Quirkiness

There is a certain "what are those odd little squares I keep seeing everywhere?" inquisitiveness for many people. Once they find out what they are, and have installed a suitable app, people do seem more apt to scan a QR code than to type in a URL, just on the basis that "I wonder where that goes to?". More later, on that!

Cheap

As well as being easy to create, QRs are also really cheap. There are many free QR code creator sites out there, as well as a few higher-spec paid services (I use QRstuff). But even these are by no means budget busters. QR codes are certainly a cost effective way of tracking the effectiveness of your print marketing, and to generate a direct link into digital.

However…..there is of course another side to the story.

Already obsolete?

Heard of Aurasma? That, and other similar services threaten, quite frankly, to blow QR codes out of the water. None of that business of creating an ugly square barcode here – just encourage the user to scan your logo or other brand image to bring your ad to life in video. My worry is that we shouldn’t be far away from being able to turn our own corporate logo – or even our own photo – into the equivalent of a QR code. In many ways, QR codes feel like a stepping stone to cooler things just around the corner.

QR readers not native on many phones

Not every smartphone comes with a QR reader pre-installed. Blackberries do, but iPhones don’t, and not all Android phones do either. So you have to go looking in your particular phone’s app store. What is more, my beloved iPhone actually does not deal well at all with vCard downloads. And – unfortunately – not all QR code readers were created equal. There are good ones and bad ones out there. Essentially this means that any QR code campaign is limited to (a) smartphone users; with (b) a good enough QR code reader/camera combination to read your code. For many marketers, those numbers just do not add up to a potentially successful campaign.

Mobile optimisation

Don’t forget that, by definition, users of your QR code will be mobile users. So if your target URL isn’t mobile optimised (or worse, uses flash, for example!), forget it.

Aesthetics

Well they are ugly, aren’t they? I’m all for a good function vs form debate, but this one is an open and shut case. Hence my longing for the Aurasma approach to take off.

Security

How much would it take for an unscrupulous competitor – or a pressure group – to "hijack" a billboard QR campaign? How many of us would actually notice if a QR code had been tampered with, before scanning it, perhaps by having a sticker of a new code pasted on top? We will surely see some examples of this before too long, with users being sent to competitor or pressure group websites rather than to the intended target. Or worse, to a URL that installs a virus or malware onto the phone. We all know not to click on email links we don’t recognise, so why would we just scan a QR code without being sure of its origins? For smaller scale, magazine based or more personal print campaigns there is a lower risk here, but for me, if this trend isn’t led by "big" advertising campaigns, QRs will struggle to gain sufficient momentum.

The verdict

I really want this to work. Partly because of the quirkiness, and partly because of the instinctive allure of that bridge between print and digital. I just think that, ultimately, QRs will be overtaken by other technologies, and until then will be limited by their own inherent security weaknesses.

Here’s hoping I’m wrong. What’s your view?

For more information on QR codes or any of the digital printing services that Print4UK offer, contact us.

The January competition had a great response with some answers that were a little off the mark to say the least, but well done to 3 people who all worked out the correct answer and yes, it was the Mute Button theory!

So congratulations go to Kris Neglia of CDS, Jan Simpson of Pell Frischmann and Dean Murphy of KPMG who all had the correct answer and have each won a Retro Sweets Hamper.

Thank you to all who have liked our Facebook page, the Sherbet Fountains are on their way if we have your contact details, if not please forward them to us via email.

February brings a new brain teaser to win this month’s Retro Sweets Hamper and do not forget to place lots of orders to receive your Love Hearts Candy throughout this month.

So have you got what it takes to win your very own hamper of retro sweets? click here

Everyone there made it not only a fun night, but a great success too.

We hope you enjoyed the entertainment given by Harry Hill and Tim Osler who were our special guests for the evening.

The party night cash winners of the Security Box lucky dip were Lisa Wootton (£50.00), Adam Druce (£20.00), Julia Roberts (£20.00), Katie Fitzsimons  (£10.00), Maggie Harding (£10.00) and Davina Lewis (£10.00). The winner of the ‘Guess the Drumsticks’ competition was Daniel Clarke who will be receiving a bottle of Champagne.

The pictures on the night were taken by Rhianna and Pia and can now be viewed on our Facebook page

Best wishes for 2012 from all of the Print4UK team and we look forward to working with you throughout the year.

Remenber to like our Facebook page in the month of January to receive your very own Sherbet Fountain.

We’re different. The majority of our clients are either small businesses or marketing teams in professional firms in the City. They have demanding and exacting clients of their own, but little genuine print buying expertise. Feeling “caught between a rock and a hard place”, with internal or external clients on the one side, and inflexible print companies on the other, many people come to us looking for something different: “Pain Free Print”.

We are back in full production and can be found at:-
Print4UK Limited,
17 Watermill Business Park,
Edison Road, Enfield,
EN3 7XF.
All Telephone Numbers and Emails remain the same.

Have you got what it takes to be in with a chance to win a retro sweet hamper including the classic fizzy sherbet filled fountain, simply read the below and let us know your answer on our facebook page in the month of January.  http://facebook.com/print4uk

The correct or closest answer will win – Good Luck

January Brain Teaser 2012

One cold and stormy evening, Adrian was sitting alone at his desk at work. Everyone had left early as there was a storm brewing but he had an important meeting the next day that he had to prepare for.

The storm was getting heavier by the minute and the wind was howling which made it hard for him to concentrate. There was a sudden "THUD!" that made him jump but he dismissed it as a window that had been slammed shut by the wind.

He tried to concentrate when he heard footsteps. He got out of his chair to look around when suddenly, without warning, he was grabbed around the neck. He tried to scream but it came out as a whimper as the intruder was pressing hard against his throat with the intruders arm. He tried to free himself from the intruders grip but to no avail.

"Give me all your money!" growled a girl voice who had grabbed him from behind.

"Th-there is none h-here! Please ll-let me go!" cried Adrian.

"Don’t LIE TO ME!" screamed the girl. He felt her grip strengthen around his neck. He said nothing and a few seconds passed by in silence. Suddenly the phone in the office rang.

"People will get suspicious if I don’t answer" said Adrian, with a controlled voice. .

"Alright, but NO funny business, or ELSE!" said the nervous intruder. She let him go so Adrian walked towards the phone. He took a deep breath ’’Good evening Print4UK’’.

"Hey Ad! How’s the preparation going for tomorrow’s meeting?" said the caller.

"Hey Chris. Thanks for the call. You know those bottles of red wine I gave you last week? Well I really need them back. It would be a great help to me right now. It’s an emergency, so if you could give me them tomorrow it would be great. Please hurry in finding the bottles. I need to get back to my preparation now. Bye," Adrian said and hung up the phone.

"It was wise of you not to say anything," said the intruder, although she was rather confused by his conversation.

"Now TELL ME WHERE THE MONEY IS KEPT!" she screamed, grabbing Adrian by the neck once more.

"It…it’s…in my office. The first room on the right. Third drawer," said Adrian.

"SHOW me!" said the girl, and removed her grip around his neck.  He walked slowly towards his office and said a silent prayer. All of a sudden, they heard police sirens. The intruder froze in her footsteps. She ran to the nearest window and jumped out.

Adrian ran outside in time to see the intruder being escorted into the police car. He saw Chris, ran towards him and hugged him.

"Smart guys," said the policeman.

What had happened? How did the Police know that Adrian was in trouble from the phone call?

Hint: Read the conversation carefully and think outside the box.

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Have you got what it takes to be in with a chance to win a Retro Sweet Hamper including the swizzels Love Hearts Candy, simply read the below and let us know your answer on our Facebook page in the month of February 2012.  http://facebook.com/print4uk

The correct or closest answer will win – Good Luck

February Brain Teaser 2012

On a quiet Friday morning Adrian asked Chris “Can you get this egg through the neck of this glass bottle to win yourself a hamper
of retro sweets?”

The rules were that the egg had to go into the bottle in one piece and without breaking the bottle.

He could use anything in the factory to help with this task.

Chris took the egg and looked around the factory for things he could use. He found some paper, a box of matches, a bottle of vinegar
and a bowl.

By the end of the day, Chris had got the egg through the neck of the bottle.

How did he do it?

Hint – without doing anything to the egg, the egg cannot fit into the bottle !

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