A World Telemedia presentation by Bob Bentz, the president of Advanced Telecom Services has shown that marketing that incorporates custom QR codes with branding boosts the usage by 2.4 times.
A number of case studies were cited by Bentz to support his theories. He spoke on the topic of “Hip to Be Square: Using QR Codes to Maximize Sales” at the Amsterdam event.
Bentz used his presentation to describe the history of quick response (QR) codes, which actually aren’t anything new. These two dimensional barcodes have existed since 1970, when UPC codes were introduced into American grocery stores. In 1994, in Japan, a more advanced form of the QR code was created for use in a Toyota auto parts manufacturing plant as a method of tracking inventory.
Also discussed were some of the benefits of the use of these codes as a part of a marketing campaign, including their elimination of the requirement for print material, and that they are all but free for the business to employ. Bentz also drew attention to the ways in which some of the limitations of the technique can be minimized or eliminated.
Among the more serious drawbacks of QR code use is that they all have the same appearance, so they, themselves, don’t offer a specific branding opportunity for the company they represent. Advanced Telecom Services has addressed and overcome this issue by designing its Custom QR Code program which allows a brand to use the code display to show the logo of a brand.
