In reference to QR Codes

[MovieRelics]

While doing some reading, I came across this article and thought I would share it with everyone and see what your opinions are. I know that some haunts use QR Codes to print on their tickets and other marketing materials and was curious to see what kind of response that they have gotten compared to what this study is saying.

http://consumerist.com/2011/12/study...-qr-codes.html

[Frightener]

We had businesses around here try that jazz. Didn't go over. Everyone quit. Car dealers as well as mentioned in the article. I work at a PC Repair / Retailer shop and we've had a few run in's with them. No one likes them. I have YET, in my town see nor hear anyone liking them. Until they get reanalyzed and improved, no one's going to like them, imo.

Waste of money and talent at this point.

[HauntedPaws]

QR codes in general haven't caught on very well.

[screamforadream]

HUGE demographic variance though!! For anyone over 35, they are probably the stupidest things ever and a waste of time, however, I will say that they are EVERYWHERE around college, and are widely used among the younger generations. The shift is comparable to walking off a cliff, one minute the grounds there, the next it isn't. It also depends on where you live, a more suburban small neighborhood out in Idaho will probably never have heard of the damn thing, but if I walk around the city, or go to New York, I see them on every sign, poster, street sign, billboard, tv ad, and just about anywhere else they can be stuck! It's incredible how much the usefulness and understanding of the QR code varies. I would use it with our attraction based on our location, both the SCSU Relay for Life one, and the attraction I currently work for. =)

[HLYWDIANA]

We used QR codes this year on some marketing material. Mostly our posters. Once scanned it took people to our online ticketing site.

I can't really say that it was a huge impact on our business, but since we made the QR's ourself and dropped them onto our design, it wasn't exactly an added cost to us. Since that was the case, why not use QR codes?

[drfrightner]

I think we will start adding them to everything. They are better than you think if you have an IPHONE you just scan and boom there you go to their website. I think that is pretty cool doesn't cost you anything so what the hell...

Larry

[Mike Goff]

We used them this year for the first time. Since we didn't have a mobile site at the time (big mistake BTW) we used them to drive traffic to our facebook page. One thing that we noticed was that everytime we passed out coupons at a parade, we would have pictures of our hearse posted on our facebook page. We also saw a trend in people who liked our page on the days that we did parades. It wasn't a jaw dropping number, but it was signifigant enough to do it again.
We are also planning on putting QR codes on the Hearse that will take people to a page that will tell the story behind the car, and give a list of modifications that we have done. There are a lot of gear heads in NW Ohio and there is a huge automotive school on the other side of town, so in our case, I think that it would be cool.
I think that another element would be credibility. Given our target market, it is important to be on top of the latest technology. Unless something better comes along, not having a QR code will eventually be equivalent to have black and white fliers. Sorry for those of you who still have black and white fliers.

[MovieRelics]

The discussion has now made it's way to CNN's homepage. A point in the article I find interesting is this.

"You might think that if anyone would know how to use a QR code, it would be college students -- a demographic that is immersed in technology and bombarded by marketing. But a recent study found that nearly eight in 10 college students had no idea what to do with a QR code.

...

Furthermore, about 75% said they were unlikely to scan a QR code in the future.

"Why the discrepancy?" wrote Don Aguirre, brand manager at Archrival. "Students simply struggled with the process. Some didn't know a third-party app was needed [to scan the QR code]. Many mistakenly assumed it could be activated with their camera. And others just lost interest, saying the activity took too long."

Personally, I don't like QR codes. While I agree that putting QRCodes in your ads cost you nothing and it's something that you should do for the minority, I'm one of the people at the end. It takes to long to use. It's not something that's built into the functionality of the phone and requires an app to view. So unless you have a QR reader app installed on the phone, your not going to be able to use it. So getting a user to open the app store / marketplace, search for a QR code reader, install it, open it, then scan it, it's a pain for people to do all that. I personally rather just have a tag on materials like "Visit Us at www.yourdomain.com" on materials than a QRcode that the majority will not use. Just my preference.

Here's the article on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/08/tech/m...html?hpt=hp_c2

[HordeOfUndead]

As some of the above posts have already mentioned, why not use QR codes on marketing material? It's no cost. Many websites to choose from that instantly give you the QR file to download once you've supplied whatever URL you want people to be directed to. We are finalizing our artwork for marketing material this week and it looks great.

Our posters and flyers will have the QR code this season, which directs right to our Facebook page increasing the "Likes" so fans will always be up-to-date during heavy promotional periods and in the off season. We really interact with our fans, ticket giveaways, etc, etc. and put emphasis on the FB page vs. having the QR code lead to the website.

We're looking forward to feedback this season as to how many scanned the QR codes considering our advertising efforts (posters/flyers) are heavily distributed around many high school, colleges, and university campuses within a 2 mile proximity of our location. QR codes are definitely being seen just about everywhere we look now, but for the most part it is certainly a younger generation that will be using them.

[SeanMassacre]

We use QR codes on everything for all of our businesses. They are catching on. There are others like them i.e. Microsoft, but it isn't as popular. In downtown Chicago these are seen everywhere. We linked these to our facebook for customers to CHECK IN at our haunt. Made it so easy, instead of having to look for the place on facebook on your phone. They are going to be a huge upcoming thing.

www.fearthemassacre.com