Mobile marketing – The Queer Case of QR Codes

Not every marketing trend enjoys resounding success. In this post, we examine why QR codes weren’t accepted well in the mobile marketing world.

When the QR code was first invented for the Japanese automotive industry, nobody had a clue that it would quickly become one of the most debated topics in mobile marketing. Even though it’s consequent crash drained away the initial excitement, marketers are still discussing it albeit to analyze why it didn’t take off.

So here are the reasons why QR code marketing didn’t take off.

Reluctance to adopt:

To begin with, not enough marketers saw the point of providing ad space for the codes. The entire concept of bridging the offline with the online didn’t really resonate with marketers.

Device disappointments:

Despite the potential that QR code marketing holds, none of the mobile phones seem to come with pre-installed QR code readers. What’s worse, there’s no real benefit that consumers get from installing readers out of their own volition.

Poor mobile experience

Once consumers scan the code with their readers, they often encounter disappointing mobile experiences. From bad UX to non-optimized sites, when the experience doesn’t meet expectations, prospective consumers are put off.

Poor connectivity

The technology presupposes that the entire target audience has good connectivity all the time. Unfortunately, this isn’t the truth especially in developing countries.

Inadequate incentive for consumers

There often isn’t a clearly established benefit for consumers to take the trouble to install the reader, scan the code, connect to the internet and read the information.

So does this mean the end of the road for QR Code marketing altogether? Well, that isn’t necessarily the case. Plenty of brands have developed stunning QR code marketing campaigns with good results. For more on leveraging QR codes for marketing, keep reading this blog.