If you are new to QR codes and have been wondering what these black and white stamps are doing appearing all over the place this year, including in shops, at various festivals and events, and on marketing materials, you are not alone! The use of Quick Response Codes allows users of smartphones and tablet devices to scan them and be carried to a URL for information, offers, discounts, and other opportunities.
There’s also been another code popping up in the media lately two, Microsoft’s QR code technique named “Tag”, holding the most obvious difference between the two barcodes…they are colored. Many businesses are hoping that the use of color will help consumers warm up to using two dementional codes all together.
What makes the Tag method even more different is that while they do contain URL data, the user is sent to a Microsoft site which then analyzes and converts the information into a forward to the actual URL. The ability of the Tag to first send the user through Microsoft’s servers provides marketers a larger amount of flexibility with the use of the same tag.
To alter the destination of a scanned Tag, the server can be accessed by way of a website, and then anyone who scans the Tag after that point will be directed to the new location.
Among the main issues faced by marketers using Tags is that it’s impossible for smartphone users to use a generic scanner to scan the Tags, as the specific Microsoft scanner must be downloaded and used.
Now users are forced to choose between two competing forms of scanners and this may cause issues for them. Microsoft is designing its scanner apps for the majority of the major phone operating system, including – of course – their Windows Phone 7.
That said, this is not stopping companies from adopting the technology, such as the top Indian IT solution provider, Icreon Communications. They have embraced this technology and have been developing tagging solutions that are customized for their clients. CEO and founder of the company, Himanshu Sareen, said that they were propelling their mobile offerings forward by adding Tags.
He explained that by assisting clients in including mobile tagging solutions to their marketing strategies, those clients “can either use it to attract the attention of target market or to track the effectiveness of their campaigns.”
