Has anyone used QR codes on marketing materials? Are there any big risks to this? We are thinking of adding it to a marketing piece to encourage people to go paperless. I've done alittle research and it seems similar to listing a web address, or putting a link on a website, and I'm trying to think of pitfalls.

Sorry - I must be a little slow, but what is a QR code?

I have not seen it done yet, but it will be interesting to see if it picks up speed.

Randy, a QR code is a new marketing gimmick(?) where a QR code is a 2-D barcode that can be scanned by a smart phone's camera and transfer information. Based on the type of code it is, it might direct the viewer to a website, make a phone call, or more.

You can put them on business cards, direct mail pieces, probably even a statement or OD notice.

Good god - no wonder our society is going to [censored] in a hand basket. Are we ever just going to get back to basing our economy on how many widgets we can produce

I hadn't heard of them either, until this came across my desk this morning. I think it got sent to me because no one else was sure what to do with it! And then I found all this info on the net about how if you aren't job-hunting with all your info (business card, resume) right there on a QR you're hopelessly out of date! Yikes!

Anyway, I'm thinking that if it can take you to a website, it can be used for fraud, right? I'm wondering if the question is not how to use it, but whether we want to or not - or is this one of those things we should be telling customers "we will never ask you to scan a QR....."

While I am not always a fan of the Arts & Crafts department, lets just step back here a moment and look at this.

You are controlling the end message, this is your QR code. You put it on a business card and your customer scans it and sees more about your loan officer... perhaps their background, their lending philosophy(sp), more info about your bank and it's solid reputation.

Maybe you are reaching out to a younger demographic with a direct mail piece and the code direct them to a microsite of your website geared towards a potentially more tech savvy customer. Again, if it is your QR code, you are in control of the code and the end message and content.

Its just another form of electronic marketing, and all the same advertising rules would still apply.

I think at this point the use may be limited, but with the growing popularity of smartphones, a more tech savvy I-want-to-see-the-info-right-now-and-know-more, potential client may be impressed with your bank, if that is a route you like to go.

I'm not so worried about the message we control - I think it's great that the customer can wave their phone over it and be taken directly to where we want them to go. I'm thinking down the line to when someone claiming to be us can con the customer into going to a fake site, or an employee can scan a code and bring a virus into our system just as they might by downloading software or opening attachments. And there will be customers naive enough to create their own QR code which contains enough personal information to let an unauthorized scanner then access the customer's account with us, just as if they had stolen a wallet with DL, etc.

I just heard about QR codes the other day...I was looking at a European shopping site and it talked about using your smartphone to learn more about products in stores by scanning the QR code on the tag. I had no idea what they were talking about and of course went off to find out!

We have been using them for marketing to the college-age market. In our advertising (from anything to newspaper, flyers, signs, t-shirts) we have the QR and when they scan it takes them to the website for information. But I'm getting old and some days I just want to stop the insanity.

Don't forget - if you use QR Codes, the URL you are directing them to should be a mobile-ready/friendly page otherwise it defeats the purpose. This is an added step/cost many don't factor in.

In fact I have this cartoon on my desk as it may work in a tech presentation. This is from June 18.

http://www.gocomics.com/moderately-confused/2011/06/18

Great cartoon! Definitely one for the cube wall.

I was at Menards this weekend (regional home improvement store) in the yard buying retaining wall blocks, and sure enough, there were QR Codes attached to the price tags of the products... it actually took me to a sight that told me how many I needed for certain size and type of project, and other info... it was kind of impressive.

This can already be happening though & we would never know. Someone could already be sticking QR Code stickers onto marketing materials behind our backs.

I think the best thing is to have them, and then educate the community.


I would be interested in knowing any compliance issues - but they're so new, I'm not sure if any have been created yet?

Ditto on the compliance issues. This type marketing piece just came to me yesterday and I had to ask what the "design" in the corner was! I was quickly educated on QR codes and smartphones. But since this thread is about a year old, have any problems come up to be aware of?