Have you ever wondered what those black and white squares of code on advertisements and flyers are? They are popping up everywhere nowadays used for a plethora of marketing techniques. These mysterious black and white blocks are QR codes and they are the advertising of the future. QR code stands for Quick Response (Cramer, 2010, p. 28). These square barcodes of marketing allure are on the front of magazines, popping up in libraries, and they even appeared in rapper Lupe Fiasco’s new music video. QR codes are gaining popularity exponentially because they are convenient, can link to anything, and they accommodate today’s generation of instant gratification.
QR codes pack a URL into a picture that can be scanned by a smart phone application. They are taking over because they have eliminated the daunting task of typing in a web address. QR codes add a mystery that entices someone to use their phone to see what site is embedded. They are popular with businesses because they save ad space. A historic park in Arkansas has been using QR codes in their park to link to maps, and information on park history (Cramer, 2010, p. 29).
QR codes can link to anything, including videos. In regards to the topic of QR marketing, “Sephora, an international cosmetics retailer, used QR codes on almost every page of a recent catalog; the codes can take the shopper to online videos showing how to use various products” (Tolliver-Nigro, 2010, p. 9).
QR codes cater to the postmodern world of instant gratification. In October of 2010, a QR code was featured on the cover of Time Out New York Magazine (Tolliver-Nigro, 2010, p. 10). They are all over TV, on billboards in Times Square and even becoming permanently marked on people as tattoos.
Online marketing changes every day, and it is safe to say that QR codes are the promotional tool of tomorrow. Who knows what will come next in future trends. Maybe we will have virtual reality promotion, where we can feel like we are actually testing out a product.
References
Cramer, T. (2010). A Case of Taking QR Codes to the Park. EContent, 33(8), 28-30. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Tolliver-Nigro, H. (2010). Best Practices for Making the Most of QR Codes. Seybold Report: Analyzing Publishing Technologies, 10(21), 9-11. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
3 comments:
I have seen more QR codes now that I know what I am identifying.
Thank you.
I think that is a great direction for advertising. It links your communication tool (your phone) in a whole new way. I can’t wait to see how this new form of advertising will mature.
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