Custom Branded QR Codes: Do they work across devices and readers?

We have had amazing feedback on our company QRe8.com, our XM Code™ generator, code campaign manager and our campaign reporting thus far. Nothing else can be said other than THANK YOU so much for all your support!!! 

The one area of the QRe8.com offering that we are receiving the most conversation around is our custom designed and branded XM Codes™. Most of the response has been “WOW!” Simply put, people are thoroughly impressed and can see the huge potential for where custom branded codes could go in North America because of their obvious benefits to the brands that own them. 

It must be noted that there have been some people that have insisted that our codes can’t be scanned on a typical phone through a typical reader no matter what - for whatever reason they are not able to scan our codes. 

Please note that we at QRe8 stand behind the work, service and product we produce and deliver to our clients 150% 

We also love a friendly challenge :) So please take a look at some short videos we put together of our XM Codes™ in action.

Your feedback is definitely welcome and appreciated no matter which side you find yourself on. 

Thanks in advance!

The QRe8 Custom XM Code™ Giveaway

You’re invited to enter the QRe8 Custom XM Code™ Giveaway to help celebrate the launch of our new Website and Twitter Profile!

We’d love to hear what you have to say about our new website… our cutting edge QR code generation and management tools and services—and how you might tactically integrate them into your marketing mix. And with our new Social Media channels, we’re psyched to begin interacting with you—listen to your thoughts, opinions and ideas… after all, you’re about to become our new (and soon to be loyal!) customers.

The QRe8 Custom XM Code™ Giveaway will run for 1 week beginning Wednesday, November 4 at 12:00 pm and end Wednesday, November 11 at 11:59 am. At the end of the week we will randomly draw the names of 3 
lucky participants who will win their very own “branded” XM Code™.

Entry Requirements:

Must be 18 years of age

Must have a Twitter Account

Follow these simple steps to enter:

1. Click here and follow us on Twitter (if you don’t have a twitter account you will need to set one up)

2. Copy and paste the following message into your “What are doing?” twitter box and click update:

RT @QRe8 Click Here For Your Chance To Win 1 of 3 custom designed XM Codes™ http://bit.ly/1kodkq #qrcode

That’s it! QRe8 Custom XM Code™ Giveaway entry will close at 11:59 am on November 11, 2009.
  If you are chosen as one of the lucky winners we will contact you via your Twitter account on Friday, November 13, 2009.

Happy Twittering and thank you!

Sincerely,

The QRe8 Team

QRe8.com will be on Webnation November 4 at 5:15pm

Just a quick note that I will be live on Webnation tomorrow talking about QR Codes and our newly laucnhed QR Code Marketing Company QRe8.com.

Webnation is a Discovery Channel show about all things web (duh…obviously).  They have a talk show portion on CP24 Wednesdays at 5:15pm - please check it out if you can.

To thank you for your support we will be announcing the details of a very cool QRe8.com QR Code Giveaway on the show - so please try to tune in.

If you miss it - you can always watch the repeat show at 12am or check out Webnation on CP24 or on the Discovery Channel for the webcast.

Logos Today - Fully Designed QR Codes Tomorrow?

We spoke about design and QR Codes in a few of my last posts. It is obvious that this is indeed going to be the future for QR Codes.

Brands will want to differentiate their codes from their competitors but also be able to integrate their codes into their print campaigns (whatever they may be) in a more eye-pleasing, seamless and creative way. 

The starting point for this is obviously integrating the corporate or brand logo. 

We at QRe8 have been putting a ton of effort into this recently. 

The requirements must be: 
1. The code is scanable 
2. The code is trackable 

We are a few days away from launching QRe8 - our QR Code Strategy and Marketing Company.

We have created our branded QRe8 QR Code - for now the link in the code currently points to our FB Page.

We have also created a simple branded QR CODE for the Erik’s Brain Blog - you can see it at the top left of the blog or you can check it out here.

Any feedback is welcome. 

Sincerely, 

Erik

QR Code Design: Embedded Logo’s

Based on the tremendous response I received from my post yesterday about QR Codes and design we continued to play around today.

As we mentioned in our post yesterday the BBC incorporated their logo into a QR Code last year.

We here at QRe8 have tried to duplicate those efforts.  Please let us know what you think.

First - please tell us if you can get both QR Codes to work.  I could with Quickmark.

Second - please tell us which one you think looks more aesthetically pleasing.

The Original BBC QR CODE

The QRe8 BBC QR CODE

Thank You!

Until Starbucks uses your technology, it doesn’t really exist.

I don’t really mean that literally…or do I?  Starbucks announced yesterday that it is launching two new iPhone Apps. One of these Apps utilizes QR Code technology that will allow people to pay at the cashier simply by scanning the code on their phone (for those that don’t know about QR Codes take a quick look at a previous post to help get your head wrapped around the technology).

Created by Denso-Wave in 1994, QR Codes were initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing. Soon after, the Japanese marketing and advertising community got their hands on the technology and began to use QR Codes in a truly fortuitous way to bridge offline and online marketing executions. The use of QR  Codes as a marketing medium spread quickly to Europe (primarily  the U.K. and Spain) and down-under to Australia. Brands such as McDonalds, BMW and Louis Vuitton have innovatively used QR codes with great success in terms of both ROI and brand awareness.

So why haven’t brands used QR Code technology in North  America? Well… actually they have! In preparing the launch of our  QR Strategy company QRe8 (pronounced ‘create’) we did an extraordinary amount of research on not only the technology, but looking closely at the existing applications in the North American marketplace. Following are a few examples of N.A. QR marketing applications in practice:

1. Green Day
2. Stella Artois
3. KidRobot Scavenger Hunt
4. Vespa Canada
5. Canadian Federal Government RE: Passports
6. BMO Capital Markets - actually a Matrix Code

As you you’ll note, the list includes several pretty impressive brands. So why haven’t QR codes taken off? We know that brand marketers try their very best to conserve their precious marketing budgets, therefore, the very fact they’re using QR technology means there must be value in the medium…in other words, they know they’re connecting (at lightning speed) to their target consumer.

So, why the latent adaption? The answer couldn’t be more clear:

1. EDUCATION: Nobody knows what these things are or what they do, plain and simple. That’s why Starbucks jumping in now is so important—almost instantly, millions of people will know about QR codes. This will happen each and every time big brands start experimenting. The more brands use the platform, the more people will accept the platform, and the more likely people will begin to view QR as just another part of their daily lives.
2. ACCESSIBILITY: OK—so I know what a QR Code is and I’ve seen them in action but how can I get them and use them? All Nokia handsets in Japan come with Readers pre-installed on their handsets—but not here. In North America, a user must download an App that will scan and read the codes—there is major competition in the Reader space right now. All you need to do is Google search on QR Readers. We believe (as most mobile providers have announced) that it’s only a matter of time before your iPhone or Blackberry comes with a Reader pre-installed and ready to go when you take it out of the box.
3. VISIBILITY: Starbucks will help with this one, but we need to see more QR Codes in areas where we conduct our daily lives in order for our interest to spark. As with anything, the more we see, the more it’s second nature, and the more we want.
4. POOR EXECUTION: At the end of the day, when you strip everything away, QR Codes are a marketing vehicle—pure and… nimble. Because the industry is so new, many of the applications and campaigns that have hit the market are poorly conceived. The key to success, as with any campaign, is great USER EXPERIENCE. If the user can’t scan a code, or the code leads to a broken link, or they can’t download the streaming video in the code, etc., the user will not be very receptive to future QR campaigns—especially after taking the time to learn about the technology and spending $1.99 on a Reader.
5. BRAND INTELLIGENCE: The best-loved brands establish deep relationships between what they represent—whether a product, service or idea—and the consumer that uses them. Unfortunately (and ironically) as technology advances, the human element—the high touch—seems to consistently be missing from the circuit board. Because brands essentially live in the minds of consumers and nowhere else, QR codes without question offer a brilliant opportunity to inject a human element, meaningfully pulling consumers to brands.

If we, as marketers can concentrate and execute on these 5 areas then it’s my belief that QR codes will not only gain a foothold in North America but that they’ll become one of the biggest marketing platforms we’ve seen for quite sometime. Many in the QR Code circle believe that QR technology will save the print industry. Perhaps, on the other hand, it’s the print industry that will make this technology truly relevant. Time will tell, but in the meantime I will be doing my part.

I’d love to hear your comments on where you think QR Code Marketing is going.

QR Codes and QRe8.com

I thought I would quickly talk about my latest passion.  Actually, I have been living and breathing QR Code technology for the past year or so.

We are so excited about this technology and believe in its potential as a marketing medium so much that we launched a new business a few months ago dedicated to QR Codes.  The name of our new company is QRe8 (pronounced Create).  We are among the first North American QR Code companies that focus on the strategy and execution of QR Code campaigns for our clients as opposed to simply offering a code generator tool.  This is truly where “high touch” meets with “high tech.”

If you don’t have a QR Code Reader on your phone you can easily get one.  I have an iPhone and use an App called QuickMark which seems to work very well.  The QuickMark App appears to be available on almost any kind of handset.

After you download your Reader I invite you to scan the image on the left.  Just get ready to become fascinated with the exciting world of QR Codes.

If you’ve come across examples of QR Codes in action let me know, i’d love to hear about them.