QR Codes: Dead Or Alive?
By: Paul Nelson
For many years, QR Codes really felt “dead” to me. I had to download an app to scan it and I was just way too lazy to figure it out. I am sure many others felt the same.
With the influx of contactless ordering and shopping in 2020, QR codes rebounded in a strong way last year. Now, even my parents who are 70+ are using them almost daily. With the sudden QR resurgence the question has to be asked, can QR codes now be used effectively in advertising?
After seeing Burger King make a big push using them, I recommended it to one of our clients earlier this Spring. We built custom-made versions of our DRTV creatives centered around a QR Code with a call to action to scan and be redirected to the client ordering site (with auto fill of discount code.)
So far, the results have been tremendous. Compared to our previous control, the QR code creative has drastically outperformed revenue and orders on a consistent basis. During our worst seasonality of the year (the Summer) I am even bringing back canceled stations that are now hitting client KPI. Our top networks are hitting new highs and the excitement continues to grow for us and the client. Now the new question for us is, how big can we take the QR Codes?
While I do not have the answer to that question yet, I am pushing the envelope to find out. We can now test different levels of QR instruction, sizes, shapes, colors, QR movements and so much more. There are endless possibilities for how we can expand the QR code call to action and as long as it keeps performing, we will keep moving it forward.
