Game over for QR Codes in Australia? The evidence.

For some time now QR Codes have been off the radar. I've gone from having multiple conversations a week to one or two a month. They are still appearing in market (more often than not poorly executed), but the conversation has definitely slowed.

The only response I got back to the question above in the Twittersphere was simply "QR was never in the game" (thanks @holabendez), [which  highlights either an apathy issue or my serious dearth of followers, probably both].

But I digress, WOW! so is it game over for QR Codes in Australia, before it even really started?

Or is it possible that QR is going the same way as many nascent technologies, wallowing in the trough of disillusionment, ready to burst through into the mainstream?

Lets consider for a moment what are some of the barriers to widespread adoption of QR codes in Australia...

1. Carrier apathy.
Carrier support is a great help because it means that reader software can be pre-installed, or possibly pushed 'over the air' to an existing user base (as Telstra has done).

It also means communication about the technology.

Telstra's communications launched with a hiss and a roar, but very little follow through from the Olympics campaign. Up until recently there was talk but very little evidence that other carriers were moving to support. Arguably a couple of them have had other things on their minds too.

2. Low consumer awareness and receptivity.
People in the mainstream simply aren't aware of QR codes - despite the fact that there are easily 2M reader applications installed on handsets (Myne estimate). Of course the active base is much smaller (in the low hundreds of thousands we estimate).

Still, codes simply haven't achieved a tipping point yet.

3. Slow adoption by the creative and publisher communities.
QR code deployments have been patchy and poorly executed even from some of the more high profile executions. There is a perception that QR is just too niche, the user base too small. Sure, some early adopter brands were happy to use QR as a short hand for brand innovation and weren't too concerned about results, but this is changing. QR is no longer innovative - let's face it, it has actually become boring - especially for those seeking the next big thing.

4. The arrival of better, more accessible technologies.
Why bother with a boring 2d code when there are other ways of connecting mobiles with content. More interesting codes or even no code at all as per the UN Voices campaign. Why bother with a fiddly download? And the flip side of this argument: why bother with QR when 93% of people use SMS (forrester) - surely that's a better way to go?

So, against this backdrop, right here, right now, should marketers be employing QR Codes?

Yep.

Here are three reasons why, drawn from our experiences to date...

1. QR Codes already equal or outperform SMS Keyword response.

We've seen this time and time again in the data. Yes they are relatively small numbers but those of us who've used SMS as a marketing back channel for the last decade or so, know not to expect massive numbers.

Example 1 - Sports brand, promoting free mobile content from Magazine advertising. 

A DPS ad appeared in 3 specialist publications serving a 15-34 male audience. Response options were shortcode and QR code.

Results: Total engagements = 1,913; Key word generated response = 788 (41.1%); QR code generated response = 1,125 (58.8%)

Example 2 - Packaged Goods, out of home campaign featuring QR and SMS reponse mechanic - promoting visit to mobile web site. Total engagements: 335; Keyword generated response 80 (23.9%); QR Generated response 255 (76.1%).

Example 3 - Travel - QR codes were employed with ticketing, eliciting 2,500 visits to a mobile site.

Conclusions: The relatively small base of QR code users is very, very active in comparison to more ubiquitous SMS users.

2. Wide Spread Support is already there - and growing

Telstra launched QR or Mobile codes and is the only carrier that appears to support them. This must mean that Telstra is the only carrier appearing in the data right? Dead wrong.

Examples 1 and 2 skew to a more consumer based campaign, example 3 skews to more of a business audience.

Interesting that a lot of users access the internet via Wifi, indicating the role that certain handsets, such as iPhone play with QR.

What you can't see here is that Nokia scores very highly in the handset data. Simple really, this brand bundles QR readers with a number of new models, which helps to explain the other carriers numbers.

Also of note, the guys at AIMIA are getting mobilised to impartially promote codes via a new initiative: Scanme a mobile site initially - a web-site to follow - look forward to seeing how this develops.

Back to the question. Is is game over for QR in Australia?

I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Thanks - @sim_on

Comments

[Mark Moran]

Nice post Simon. You are right about the QR people who are active being VERY active. Unfortunately, these people may not always be your target market. Depends on the product/campaign.

It will depend on whether we generate more active QR people or whether people bypass this and get used to mobile search to find their destination...

Like you say, QR can generate decent engagement so don't dismiss it just yet.

Mark

[twitter.com/antonymd]

We've always found that once someone is educated once on how to use a Barcode reader their engagement rate with future campaigns is much higher. The QR Code acts as a very strong call-to-action as it's standardised and easily recognisable.

What this means is that your target audience doesn't need to read the ad copy to know the ad is interactive as the QR/2D Barcode symbol lets them know immediately, at first glance, giving your ad a greater chance of being noticed and ultimately connecting with the intended audience.

Antony McGregor Dey

[Erik Goldhar]

Thank you for the interesting post Simon.

QR Code technology as a marketing medium is a brand new thing to the Canadian Marketplace. We see huge potential for the technology in Canada and we are only days away from launching our new company http://www.QRe8.com

As early adopters and advocates our main job will be to help the public, advertisers and publishers see the value in the technology. Thus far, our initial feedback has been almost 100% positive. As a company we are extremely passionate about QR and we concentrate almost entirely on the EDUCATION aspect as we take the time to fully engage with anyone that wants to learn.

It is clear that initial campaign successes will depend on the proper target market - however - if EDUCATION is priority number one, incorporated into each and every campaign and never taken for granted we believe that the results for all brands with all types of targets could be huge.

I love talking about QR and participating in the debate so please feel free to contact me - http://twitter.com/erikg1

[Myner 1]

Thanks for the comments guys,
Mark I agree that Mobile search is on the way up and has a much bigger role to play - but I agree with Antony in that I think QR codes offer a strong signal to people - the promise of content. The code is a shortcut that saves me firing up the search engine and typing in the details - assuming I can be arsed because do I really believe that the advertiser has optimised this particular piece of content for mobile search...not likely.
Hey Erik - good luck with the new company - GO QR!

[simon]

i consider myself a heavy user of technology and have never considered downloading a qr reader.

— qr codes = subjective
— mobile search = choice

[Emily Hoskins]

Thanks Simon, interesting post on QR codes. Out of interest, what was the target audience profile for those campaigns above?

[@johnfoleyjr]

Simon - thx for putting in the time. QR codes from a multi-channel
markeing approach is a winner period! For marketers their audience (or a part thereof) will use qr codes to get their information. It's important to reach them in this channel but even more important to measure. Yes our customers have been using qr codes for a while. We built and easy to use application that builds them and tracks them. Your dashboard allows you to view in realtime the effectiveness of the QRcode campaign. Some good examples On using - go here http://www.qreateandtrack.com . I agree that education , awareness and pickup/use of marketing minds is essential. It alreadys is happening. 100k codes to be printed and distributed by google...
I'm already seeing use already... We talk about
qr codes a lot if you want to follow. Http://www.Twitter.com/johnfoleyjr and @qreateandtrack and also @jasonpinto . - John