QR code, the smudgy pattern on a square, is becoming a tool for marketing

While marketers have started using it in innovative ways across consumer touch points, the QR code's full potential is yet to be tapped, experts say

Delhi Metro’s stations have been sites for companies to advertise themselves for a while now. At a time when the quick response (QR) code has become mainstream, it has also made its way to the Metro stations. For instance, JK Tyre, which has co-branding rights over the busy ITO station, has inscribed QR codes on its walls that a smartphone user can scan to visit the tyre maker’s website.

“The idea was to make it interactive and provide more information than what hoardings normally do,” says Srinivasu Allaphan, director, sales and marketing, JK Tyre & Industries.

He says that the company has got steady web traffic as a result. “We keep track and consider the scans as a lead. We know how many people have visited the website and encourage them to leave a query and follow up,” Allaphan says, adding that JK Tyre plans to use QR code for its branding on a Kochi Metro train soon, besides on regular magazine print ads.

According to the company, the QR codes at the ITO station have yielded 250-300 unique visitors to its website per week.

The Covid-19 pandemic has made the nearly 30-year-old barcode a familiar sight, necessitated by an urgent need for digital contactless technologies. And companies are now increasingly resorting to the QR code as a marketing tool.

The question though is: How effective is QR code for marketing? Also, are we seeing an overload or underutilisation of the smudgy patterns on a square?

Madhura Ranade, vice-president, business and branded content, Dentsu Creative India, says QR codes have increasingly become a very popular tool for advertisers as they help skip multiple steps in a consumer’s journey. “In an offline-to-online scenario, especially, expecting users to remember a website URL and then going back to their phone to type it out, with our goldfish-like attention spans, is asking for a lot. Instead, a quick scan of a QR code instantly transports users to a website, video, app store etc,” she says, adding it also helps that most smartphone cameras now are able to scan a QR code without a user having to download an app.

Siddharth S Singh, associate professor, marketing, Indian School of Business, identifies QR code as a very good communication mechanism that is part of what is referred to as integrated marketing communication (IMC) strategy. It is used to directly access information that a company wants to provide to customers, he adds.

“QR code is just a piece in the system of trying to create value. It is becoming popular in India, and yet many companies haven’t adopted it,” he says, adding that fintech, hospitality and telecom are sectors that were early to adopt it widely in India.

While in the West, traditional sectors such as retailing, too, have been employing the QR code for a long while now, in India, large segments are yet to follow suit.

Singh explains that the IMC strategy aims to steer the consumer from the stage of awareness to purchase. “QR codes can hasten the process in some categories, while impulse purchases are likely to increase as a result,” he says. “For companies, the cost of moving the consumer from one stage to another is low when technologies such as these are used.”

The QR code was invented in 1994 by Japanese firm Denso Wave for labelling automobile parts.

Ranade says that contactless payments, digital menus and vaccination certificates post-Covid played a crucial role in transforming QR codes into a mainstream technology. “Marketers have started using it in innovative ways across consumer touch points to engage with their audiences, like for shoppable marketing campaigns, content on product packaging scanned through a QR code and phygital shopping experiences.”

Among its plusses, she adds, are the fact that it’s an extremely versatile, low-cost and a very accessible tool for marketers. “Also, it is one of the easiest ways to integrate offline and online journeys or experiences for brands, and while doing all of this, the scan-throughs can be easily tracked, helping marketers understand the performance and attribution of different touch points.”

Experts agree that users are comfortable with scanning QR codes, given the recent growth in digital payments.

Mahima Goel, senior strategy director and founding member of mar-tech firm Punt Partners, however, says that no user wants to scan a code to only visit a website or a landing page.

“You need a payoff that is clear, sharp and simple. Scan to pay, scan for similar options — the payoff dictates the effectiveness,” she says, adding that the growth numbers of QR codes include scans for payments, which are becoming a norm across the country.

Last year, a study by UK-based Juniper Research, which specialises in digital technology market research, forecast global spending through QR code payments to rise 25 per cent from $2.4 trillion in 2022 to over $3 trillion in 2025.

However, from a marketing standpoint, Goel says QR codes work better when they are “used to aid existing behaviour or to make the offline-to-online journey seamless (and purposeful)”. As an example, she cites fashion brand Zara, which has been using QR codes in its stores to make the process of finding a better deal more seamless. “It is an effective way of driving online conversions, but keeping in mind that the customer was already in the store and intends to shop.”

The abundant presence of QR codes — from a paan shop to above-the-line assets — can also result in a blind spot, says Goel. “The effective ones are those that people actively seek out, because it makes their journey to fulfilment easier.”

Crack the code

Pros

• Instantly transports users to a website, video, app store 
• Helps directly guide customers to the information a company wants to provide
• Helps steer consumer from stage of awareness to purchase
• Is a versatile, low-cost and accessible tool
• Is the easiest ways to integrate offline and online journeys or experiences for brands 
• Scan-throughs can be easily tracked, helping marketers understand the performance and attribution of different touch points

Cons

• No user wants to scan a code to only visit a website or a landing page
• Payoff for scanning needs to be clear, sharp and simple
• Works better when used to aid existing behaviour 
• Its abundant presence, from paan shop to above-the-line assets, can result in a blind spot