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Those funny little black and white square patterns, QR codes, seem to be everywhere, but why are they now appearing in magazine and newspaper adverts?
The simple fact is that by adding a QR code to an advert, business owners know that it will perform better, attracting more attention and enabling a new segment of mobile readers to interact with their advert using smartphones.
With mobile advertising expected to rise to £355m in Britain by 2014, it is easy to see why so many business owners are adding QR codes to their adverts. We are no longer reading adverts just sitting behind our desks. Our busy lives demand that we now stay connected when we are out and about, so, thanks to the latest smartphones (iPhones, Android devices, Blackberry, tablets, etc) we are consuming digital content on the go. We are reading adverts and scanning QR codes, going straight to a landing page on the advertisers' websites in just one click. It is easy, effective and free for advertisers to use. The mobile generation is hungry for QR codes to scan. Advertisers can use QR codes for free. This is a rare win-win.
"Of course displaying a QR code in your advert is only half the battle, the other half is to use the new insights that come with this free technology - that is tracking how your advert is performing, and using that tracking information to improve your advertising returns," says Dominic Yeadon, eMarketing Consultant at Poole-based digital agency TMB, who created www.freeqrcodetracker.com
"Every QR code scanned gets tracked, proving valuable insights into how many readers scanned it - where they were (Bournemouth, Poole, Manchester, Paris, etc), date and time, which mobile platform they use, and how long each advert kept on working for you. Remember the story about the Tortoise and the Hare? Free QR Code Tracker can show you that a long, slow-burn advert can be far better value in the long run than a one-day-wonder."
Now you can download and track QR codes for your adverts with the really useful www.freeqrcodetracker.com from TMB. Unlike other expensive tracking websites this one is completely free to use for individuals, agencies and businesses alike, with the added bonus of being able to track unlimited simultaneous campaigns over months and even years.
By teaming up with The Business, TMB is offering this service free of charge to help other business owners and agencies in the area.
It is ridiculously easy to use and manage. You can create a new QR code in seconds and there is no limit to how many you create, download and track. Just log in and watch how your adverts are performing and see graphs showing activity over time. The information is clearly presented, easy to understand and helps you see which advert is the best.
What’s more, if you change your mind about your choice of landing page once your QR code has been printed, fear not - just change the URL but keep the same QR code.
Each campaign can contain an unlimited number of adverts, you choose which media each advert appears in and which landing page URL each advert goes to. Landing pages can be your website homepage or even a simple email sign up form to enable you to capture more data.
We are really pleased to be working with The Business and to launch the Free QR Code Tracker. If you think this is genius (which we hope you will) then please sign up for a free account at www.freeqrcodetracker.com We want you to get more business from your advertising and for your company to really grow in 2012.
We’d love to hear how other agencies are making use of QR codes so please feel free to contact us on 01202 483244 or email hello@tmb.uk.com
Read the PDF - The Business Guide to QR Codes.pdf (2.18Mb)