May 25, 2021
During the early aughts, marketers and supply chain engineers slapped QR Codes (Quick Response Code) on anything that would hold still from a minute. It was exciting stuff because the QR code gave marketers, including us, a magic link from their print advertising and outdoor ads to the mothership website.
Masahiro Hara developed the technology in the early nineties. It quickly found a lasting place in the toolkit of supply chain engineers. The QR codes proved invaluable because error correction allowed machines to read them even if the rectangles were stained or partially torn.
As popular as QR Codes became in manufacturing, they faded out of favor with consumers, who were slow to adopt the technology. And to be honest, the tech was a pain. On many devices, the user needed to download an app to make their phone camera compatible with the QR codes. But they’re back now with a vengeance. And, you can thank your nearest deadly virus.
In our no-touch society, QR Codes offer a way to make payments, read menus, and pay highway tolls. Consumer adoption followed suit. It also helped that the new character capacity has jumped from 20 to 7,000. QR mania has caught on nationally, too. In 2020, the industry clocked 11 million scans, up from 9.76 million in 2018. At Biotica, we’re not quite ready to go full-QR yet, but we will be testing them on print advertising, outdoor, and web design.
Sara Manone, Executive VP at Trekk, suggests testing the adoption of QR Codes as a prelude to trying immersive technologies like VR. Any questions on how you can put QR Codes to work, call us anytime . For more information, download the “ HubSpot Guide to QR Codes .”