What’s up with the slow adoption of QR codes?

Yes, I understand that smart phones and tablets have yet to reach the tipping point of mass adoption in this country, but as a marketer I have to ask the question, “What are we waiting for when it comes to placing QR Codes in advertising?”

I am constantly amazed how few print ads I read, direct mail pieces I receive, outdoor/transit boards I pass and collateral pieces I paw that are absent of this small but engagement enabling marketing tool. In a world where advertisers are rightfully insisting their agencies provide results metrics wherever and whenever possible, we need to be leveraging every touch point we create with consumers.

By inserting a simple QR code we have the ability to measure consumer response to our advertising message in media channels often still considered passive. The QR code provides an immediate conduit to deliver upon the offer the advertising promises and provide instant gratification for the curious consumer on numerous levels. And by taking the engagement one step further - for example linking the QR code to a database-driven campaign microsite, advertisers have the opportunity to gain further valuable information an engaged consumer wishes to share. This data can then be used to execute follow up marketing efforts tailored to their specific need or interest and where they might be in the buying cycle.

The slow adoption of QR codes in this country I suspect is influenced by the lower penetration of smart phones among the general population versus European countries. But for the sake of not missing a single opportunity to up the level of engagement with consumers that have already adopted smart phones and tablets, why wouldn’t we find space to use the code? Maybe the slow adoption of QR codes is reflective of agency trepidation to being held accountable for the results its advertising may or may not produce, mixed in with an unhealthy dose of old school thinking.

In any case, I have little doubt in my mind that within the next five years smart phones and tablets will become the center of most peoples’ connection to the outside world – including receiving ad messages and responding to them. Maybe the quickening adoption of smart phones and tablets will finally push agencies and advertisers to fully embrace this great little marketing engagement tool.

No excuses. Let’s be smarter marketers when it comes to QR codes and borrowing from Nike’s lexicon, “Just Do It.”