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QR Codes best for a one to many communications
A recent trip to Fenway Park made me think about QR Codes and best way to get a link to information into a phone
Last Friday I went to see the Red Sox play the Mariners. I decided to enter the park via Yawkey Way and in the hubbub of souvenirs and sausages, someone handed me a business card sized handout asking me to participate in a survey.
As I got to my seat in the center field bleachers, I took out my phone and typed in the link for the survey. I was disappointed to see a desktop web page and not one optimized for a mobile phone. The Red Sox have missed out on a great opportunity to get survey data from engaged fans. Because I’d have to wait until I got home, that card was lost with receipts and other detritus from my trip to the game. Immediately I thought of better solutions.
First would be to make the survey readable on smart phone. My second thought would be to put a QR Code on the card so you don’t have to type the URL. But wait - in addition to the card, why not put the QR Code on the fancy HD Jumbrotron they just installed. Everyone with a barcode scanner could immediately participate in the survey. Given it’s Boston, there’s a fair number of geeks in the stands that could it.
This brings me to the ongoing discussion of whether QR Codes will “take off”. I use one on my business card and very often people will comment about it and ask me my opinion.
Frankly I haven’t seen many innovative applications, but that could be due to a lack of pre-installed bar code readers on phones. It’s certainly cheap enough for a ‘publisher’ to deploy, and doesn’t require an RFID tag like NFC.
If you could be a free beer at the ball park by scanning a code, more people would figure out what they are and what to do.
