A few months back I posted an article on a few forums about QR codes. I was somewhat surprised to see how much activity it caused. What astounded me most of all was the resistance I got from colleagues at other agencies. A number of them were decrying QR as being old-tech, passed it's best. As it turns out it was an interesting debate, with most people taking away the notion that QR are a powerful tool and ready to be exploited right now.
I regularly receive updates from a number of sources in order to keep up to date with the latest digital news. I was quite excited and rather vindicated when I saw this headline today: 4549% YoY rise in QR code scanning.
Surely a stat like that is going to get attention. It may well be that QR has had a long gestation and that even today, many thousands of smartphone users still do not know what they are however people are learning fast and they are willing to embrace this massively engaging technology.
Another driver involved in the success of QR is the fact that big brands have adopted it and are making it work hard for them as the street level presence on massive campaigns. The research also indicates a curiosity factor, code scanning is fun! Scanning a code and therefore interacting with a campaign is no longer seen as a chore or interruptive but part an parcel of the urban leisure experience.
