By now most of you have seen these strange little boxes somewhere in your life. You may have seen them in one of your favorite  consumer magazines. They’re even showing up in some trade books.

For those who don’t know what a QR code is, it’s a 2D bar code that allows you to connect to additional info using your smart phone  that has a camera. Since there are more smart phones being sold now than PCs, maybe it’s time you consider doing something that will take advantage of this technology. One of the nice things about QR codes is that they are contextually relevant. In other words, you can target info based on where you place them and each can be individually tracked.

Here are six real world practical ways manufacturers can utilize QR codes in their marketing activities:

• Trade advertising - Put a QR code in that will take the reader to a testimonial video or a product demo.
• Trade shows - Pre-show and at-show promotions. Add a code with show specials or other reasons to visit your booth, like a new product introduction.
• In-store signage - Other than the big boxes where they control most of the “look and feel,” use signage to drive them somewhere like a video that shows them why your product is better than the competition.
• Product packaging - Again, you can make a case for your product over the competitors, or you can give assistance to those who aren’t sure which hole saw or drill bit to use.
• Product literature - From sell sheet to direct mail, use to connect to reasons why they should buy, i.e. videos or other important features/benefits to help them prefer your product.
• Premiums - For your next distributor open house or counter day,  have your guys wear tee shirts with a clever saying and a QR code. It’s a great way to stand out in a crowd.

These are easy to use, free, each are trackable and they are a good way to set yourself apart.

If you’d like to learn more about QR codes, these additional posts may be of interest:

QR Codes: Are Manufacturers Missing an Opportunity?

What’s Augmented Reality?

White Paper: Trends in Mobile Media

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 8:00 am and is filed under Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends, Traditional 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.