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Where not to use a QR code

I recently saw a QR code in a spot I never expected to see one: on a billboard on Interstate 70. 

I wanted to take a picture to show why it is a bad idea to have a QR code on a billboard, but I couldn’t. It’s on a major interstate. Not a good idea to drive and try to use your phone’s camera at the same time – which is precisely why you shouldn’t put a QR code up on a billboard.

QR codes are good for offering an easy link to something special, but you have to put them in a situation where they are easy to scan. Driving by high speeds is not conducive to scanning. Think how the QR code can add real value to your marketing or communications plan, instead of just using as a high tech way to say “Look at me!”

For example, instead of embedding a QR code with a link to your web site on your business card, link to a vCard so that all your info goes straight to the scanner’s phone with no fuss, no muss, no typing.

All flash and no substance doesn’t take you far, so think about if you have a viable purpose for your QR code before you use it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • Joe Schmitter

    Jenny, good point, but a passenger might find it useful to scan a QR code while traveling. I’ve seen tons of them with laptops open and busily working while riding down the highway.

    My friend Scott Wendling of PenguinSpark.com wrote a blog with some intriguing ideas for small business users. You can see it here: http://penguinspark.com/qr-uses-small-business/

  • http://www.catchphrasepr.com Jenny

    I haven’t tried it to be sure, but I think it would be difficult to capture the image from the car while moving, whether you are driver or passenger? At least on the Interstate, you’re moving at a pretty decent clip.

    Thanks for sending the blog post – good info.