QR codes, when integrated with marketing strategies, can do wonders for driving engagement. Recently, we have come across many amazing marketing campaigns that lend much of their success to the use of QR codes.
In this piece we will explore the world of QR codes and brands/entities that have successfully set high marketing standards by playing with those tiny white and black squares.
Burger King very creatively used QR codes to promote its app in one of its video ads at VMA’s live broadcast. Featuring Lil Yachty, the video displayed a QR code which, on the scan, revealed discounts and free whoppers on their purchase.
The video displayed the QR code several times, and each time, it was very smoothly integrated, which balanced both creativity and marketing. The use of colors and designs in the QR code and its placements throughout the video makes it worthy to look upon as an exemplary use of QR codes in a marketing campaign.
In April 2021, Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform, did a spectacular job by employing 1500+ drones in the night sky to create a QR code, advertising the first anniversary of the video game Princess Connect Re-Dive. The lighted drones in Shanghai formed various characters from the game and, at the end, formed a huge QR code. The spectators scanned to open the game developer’s website.
A Sky QR code is in itself a very captivating visual that even nongamers would be enthralled to scan. Both the result and vision of this genius marketing move were a direct call to action, given its short-time presence. The drone stunt gained immense popularity on social media as well.
Poland’s Sukiennice Museum infused life into their paintings with the integration of QR codes. The campaign titled Secret Behind Paintings introduced QR codes on paintings which, upon scanning, direct the audience to watch the stories of love, war, crime, etc., behind each artistic work.
The videos take visitors on a tour of the painting restoration process, the painting techniques used, the artist's intent.
This marketing move was to capture the attention of a young audience that found the mere sighting of paintings boring and wanted more information on the background of each piece.
The well known brand Coca-Cola launched a marketing campaign titled Share a Song right after its hit Share a Coke campaign in 2011, which earned the company an 11% uplift in sales.
In this campaign, Coca-Cola cans featured famous (both old and new) song lyrics and placed a QR code that would take the customer to a short musical clip featuring the song lyrics. These clips were also shareable on social media. The motive behind this campaign was to engage customers with common music tastes. People shared videos of them singing the song featured on their cola cans, resulting in free advertising and more brand awarenesss.
Nike is very famous for experimenting with QR codes in their marketing strategies. Out of many such campaigns, Poetry was carried out in 2008 in partnership with Wieden and Kennedy.
In this campaign, Nike embedded their website URLs in clothing tags and encouraged people to scan them to generate their custom poems. Nike also distributed more than 25000 T-shirts printed with a QR code. This campaign, in return, yielded more than 2.5 scans.
QR Code- A Boon in Marketing
A Quick response (QR) code is a 2D barcode that can store data. When scanned on a digital device like a smartphone, the scanner reads/decodes the information. QR codes can store website URLs, texts, contacts, and even images. They have a higher storage capacity than traditional barcodes, as they store data both horizontally and vertically, and are also customizable to represent every brand uniquely. The number of QR code scans have only increased post-pandemic. According to a report, the number of US citizens scanning QR codes on their smartphones has gone up by 26% since COVID-19. Businesses have utilized these codes in multiple creative and unique ways, and the result has been fruitful. Marketing pioneers like Amazon, Nike, Sephora, Mcdonald's, and many others are the finest names in the field, utilizing QR codes to drive customer engagement.Numbers that Speak- Few Statistics around the QR code Market
Have a look at the numbers around the QR industry to analyze its market value-- The compound annual growth rate(CAGR) of the QR code payments market from 2024 to 2032 is 16.27%.
- According to the business research company, the QR code channel for mobile marketing hit $36.03 billion in 2023 alone, with an expected CAGR of 34.0% by 2028.
- QR code scans increased by 57% in 50 different countries.
- One survey on QR codes revealed that around 39% of people only scan QR codes out of their curiosity, giving potential reason for marketers to yield to their curiosities with their creative marketing.
- In the Marketing industry alone, QR code usage is up to 23%.
Five Mind-blowing QR Code Marketing Examples
The below-listed brands used QR codes in the finest ways possible to derive engagement. Take a sneak peek into creative QR code uses-1. Burger King’s Video ad at VMAs
Burger King very creatively used QR codes to promote its app in one of its video ads at VMA’s live broadcast. Featuring Lil Yachty, the video displayed a QR code which, on the scan, revealed discounts and free whoppers on their purchase.
The video displayed the QR code several times, and each time, it was very smoothly integrated, which balanced both creativity and marketing. The use of colors and designs in the QR code and its placements throughout the video makes it worthy to look upon as an exemplary use of QR codes in a marketing campaign.
2. Bilibili’s Drone QR Code in Shanghai
In April 2021, Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform, did a spectacular job by employing 1500+ drones in the night sky to create a QR code, advertising the first anniversary of the video game Princess Connect Re-Dive. The lighted drones in Shanghai formed various characters from the game and, at the end, formed a huge QR code. The spectators scanned to open the game developer’s website.
A Sky QR code is in itself a very captivating visual that even nongamers would be enthralled to scan. Both the result and vision of this genius marketing move were a direct call to action, given its short-time presence. The drone stunt gained immense popularity on social media as well.
3. Secret Behind the Paintings
Poland’s Sukiennice Museum infused life into their paintings with the integration of QR codes. The campaign titled Secret Behind Paintings introduced QR codes on paintings which, upon scanning, direct the audience to watch the stories of love, war, crime, etc., behind each artistic work.
The videos take visitors on a tour of the painting restoration process, the painting techniques used, the artist's intent.
This marketing move was to capture the attention of a young audience that found the mere sighting of paintings boring and wanted more information on the background of each piece.
4. Share a song campaign by Coca-Cola.
The well known brand Coca-Cola launched a marketing campaign titled Share a Song right after its hit Share a Coke campaign in 2011, which earned the company an 11% uplift in sales.
In this campaign, Coca-Cola cans featured famous (both old and new) song lyrics and placed a QR code that would take the customer to a short musical clip featuring the song lyrics. These clips were also shareable on social media. The motive behind this campaign was to engage customers with common music tastes. People shared videos of them singing the song featured on their cola cans, resulting in free advertising and more brand awarenesss.
5. Nike’s QR Code on T-shirts
Nike is very famous for experimenting with QR codes in their marketing strategies. Out of many such campaigns, Poetry was carried out in 2008 in partnership with Wieden and Kennedy.
In this campaign, Nike embedded their website URLs in clothing tags and encouraged people to scan them to generate their custom poems. Nike also distributed more than 25000 T-shirts printed with a QR code. This campaign, in return, yielded more than 2.5 scans.
How to Use QR Codes in Effective Marketing?
Brands use QR codes in every possible way and at every possible place. They are versatile and multipurpose. Here are some of them -- Use QR codes to direct customers to your product page directly. To achieve that, place QR codes on storefronts and social media posts.
- Use QR codes to gather feedback from your customers and analyze areas of improvement. For such purposes, display QR codes on product packages and receipts.
- QR codes are customizable. Create visually appealing QR codes that convey your brand image. Burger King’s VMA QR codes are perfect examples of this.
- In the food industry, use QR-powered restaurant menus.
- Provide Discounts and offers through QR scans.
- Allow customers to download your app with a simple QR scan.
- Integrate Augmented reality with QR to provide customers with virtual try-ons of your products.
