Tech

Creative QR Code Campaigns Actually Do Exist

This great QR code job posting ad from a tattoo studio in Turkey faces budding applicants with the task of proving they are good enough by filling in the QR code on the ad in order to scan it properly to receive the actual job application form by email. After seeing the ad last week, it struck me how rare good examples of effective QR codes in a marketing capacity actually are.

Tattoo QR code

Sure, QR codes can be effective in a functional sense, as tickets for events or letting users easily access important product information for example, but they are rarely used in an inspiring or creative way to make an impact. Here are a few more examples that buck the trend.

This Guinness ‘product-activated QR code’ from last year is only scanable when the pint is full and let’s drinkers download coupons, tweet about their pint and check-in with Foursquare.

Guinness-QR-Code

This example from Calvin Klein might have less of an impact today, but back in 2010 when QR codes first started popping up, it was a bit of a bold idea. For one week only, they replaced several of their billboards in New York and LA with a giant QR code allowing users to view exclusive material on their phones which they could then share with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. Regardless of the fact that most users back in 2010 didn’t have smartphones, the giant QR codes were a striking sight and succeeded at generating a buzz and getting people talking about the brand.

Calvin Klein QR

In an consumer interaction context, Michael Hemsworth advises companies who want to enhance a QR code campaign to give users a reason to scan, redirect to mobile friendly content and keep them scanning. This use of QR codes by Tesco’s brand of supermarkets in South Korea has actually proven effective at increasing sales by letting users order groceries on their smartphone while they wait for their train home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJVoYsBym88

Posted by Rob in Advertising, QR Codes, Tech

Volkswagen Owens DDB Ad Crowned Newspaper Ad of 2012 at NNI Awards

This beauty from Owens DDB, designed to highlight the resale value of Volkswagen cars, was the big winner at last night’s National Newspaper of Ireland awards at the Mansion House, Dublin. The cut-out style newspaper ad won the Press Ad of the Year 2012 award as well as prizes for Best Art Direction and Best Consumer Durables Ad.

“This is a purely newspaper ad that wouldn’t work in any other medium,” said judges Mark Lewis and Matt Fitch of BBH London. “It’s really simple but it works on multiple levels. At the end of the day it’s a joke, but it succeeds in getting across a very serious point about the re-sale value of your car”.

Digital news outlets may be taking over from print journalism for many people but that doesn’t mean that print can’t still be a viable medium for creative and impactful advertising.

VW ad

Posted by Rob in Advertising, Branding, Tech

Where will technology take us in the future?

Futurist Peter Schwartz and a group of thought leaders discuss how technology is facilitating collaboration in new ways and how that is rapidly changing the way society works, the way business is conducted and everything in between.

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujlfePzD77E

Posted by Rob in Apps, Design, Tech