Weekend QR code round-up – breweries taking up the tech

Rating: One beer QR code links to a Xmas video

There’s nothing like testing mobile technology in a real life context to gain a feel for how well it’s actually performing. Over the last few days [February 2012], GoMo News has been pointing its cameraphone at a number of 2D barcodes we spotted in our travels. And we quickly detected a pattern. Those in the brewery trade in particular have definitely recognised the potential offered by the likes of QR codes for gaining a closer contact with their customers. After all, what could be easier than scanning in a 2D barcode whilst wiling your time away at the bar? There’s a definite need for some fine tuning, though. Some of the codes we scanned didn’t actually point us in the right direction.An honourable mention must surely go to the Hot Chestnuts ale produced by the Welton brewery and spotted in the Wheatsheaf.

There on the beer clip (which attaches to the real ale hand pump) was a QR code which we soon discovered pointed to an online video here.

Now this wasn’t an ordinary promotion. The link points to a video specially made by the Ewell St.Mary Morris men with a very definite Xmas theme appropriately named Hot Chestnuts (a bag of).

It’s not just the chestnuts which are hot because the video accidentally features Ewell’s hottest barmaid, too. But we digress.

This use of 2d barcodes earns an eight out of a ten because we don’t feel enough attention was paid to the fact that the actual footage would be downloaded to a mobile phone. Over a regular 3G connexion it took ages to arrive.

Equal top place went to Community Pubs Month for a QR code on a beer mat here.

Actually this whole event is organised by CAMRA – the real ale pressure group.

GoMo News has definitely spotted the hand of CAMRA in many beer promotions.

This one was quite clever because if you successfully scanned it in, it allowed handset users to participate in a mini quiz.

Given the obvious audience was mobile phone users, GoMo News didn’t quite feel the site hosting the actual quiz was mobile friendly enough for its purposes.

An award for having the right idea which didn’t quite make it has to go to the Itchen Valley brewery here. Again this QR code was on a beer clip.

The blurb next to the QR code promised to explain more about that particular individual ale.

Except when we got to the brewery’s site, that particular ale wasn’t covered. Oops.

Finally we get to Greene King’s ‘Proper Pint’ promotion which is a quiz being held in conjunction with the current six nations rugby contest here.

This use of QR codes really should have won but for some reason the way the QR code was badly positioned on the bar clip, it took us probably 12 attempts before we could finally read it.

What we think

Despite our criticisms, we thing that one of the best QR code campaigns in the UK in 2012 will very definitely be beer related. And it will help to drive up overall awareness of the potential QR codes offer in the UK.