Rating: Get up and go pushes QR codes to old foggies
Over the weekend, GoMo News likes to carry out is own mini survey of how QR codes are being used in the real world. The shining example we spotted this time was from a supplement entitled Get up and go distributed by the UK’s Sunday Telegraph and published in association with Lyonsdown. What’s so special about a printed publication using QR codes, you might ask? Especially since publishers have long cottoned onto the benefits of using 2D barcodes. The clue lies in the publications’ tag line which is ‘For the Older and Wiser’. This publication is evangelising the benefits of QR codes specifically to older generations. Runner up in the creative use of QR codes was the Co-operative supermarket chain which strategically placed a QR code on a bag of spuds (potatoes).What the authors of Get up and go have done is to add QR codes to the end of three articles in the supplement.
Scan them and readers gain access to additional content, and get the opportunity to comment or view other people’s comments via the website.
GoMo News was particularly intrigued by the publication’s recommendations for QR code reading software. Firstly, it only mentioned two mobile OS – iOS and Android. What about BlackBerry or Symbian?
For Apple smartphone users the supplement suggest readers try QRReader whilst for Android smartphone users, it suggested readers should try QR Droid – which initially we thought was an obscure choice.
Then we noticed that Droidla’s QR Droid (which is free, naturally) actually has been downloaded over 5 million times. The publication has missed a trick because there’s also a QR Droid Private version.
The difference is that the private version of QR Droid doesn’t ask the smartphone owner for ‘Your personal information’.
We’ve noticed that the older generation particular reticent about providing personal data so we think the publication should have suggested the private version.
In addition to the articles, one of the ads also carried a QR code. It actually belonged to the ad for Ethical Forestry promoting investments.
If you think that promoting QR codes to the elderly is daft as they are all technophobes, think again. There on page 3 is veteran DJ Tony Blackburn promoting the iPhone as his favourite gadget.
Finally, the QR code on the bag of spuds directs the smartphone user to a recipe site.
We’d like to have printed the exact URL for the Co-op’s recipe but sadly NeoReader didn’t save it to its history pile.
Possibilities for use of QR, and for that matter DataMatrix codes for helping or capturing the ‘older’ audience are barely being explored so far. I could provide a vast number of suggestions, all of which we’ve applied over the past 8 years, but there’s also a huge potential to help the hear of hearing and blind people too.
A code can show enlarged text or play a text through the phones speaker i.e. instructions or relevant data – it’s not just about linking to content there’s more capability than that for code interaction as GoMoNews knows having seen what they can achieve with the right application behind the reader – but that’s the next stage, as mobile codes are only now gaining the momentum they deserved to attain some 5 years ago.
Mark Hendriksen
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We think we’ll see more of “how they look” along with “how they’re used” topics coming up. As the codes take on a visual personality of their own, and matches the look of the product or page they’re printed on, more people will warm up to scanning them. The way they look now, like a store bar code, makes some people instinctively feel like a checker at a supermarket when they scan it. That’s one of the reasons MS Tag was created, to make them look more attractive on a page. The same can be done with QR codes. How they’re used and how they look will both become part of the equation.
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QR code is a great invention people made. I’m making mobile apps currently and find it really cool to implement QR codes into them. I’m amazed at QR code coupons Snappii app builder allows to create. They are really helpful for small businesses.
Hey Tony, Once again great article. QR code usage is definitely on the rise and as more mobile users start using smart phones we can definitely see an increase in the usage of QR code marketing and Mobile app. development. Cheers
Toronto Mobile app. development (QR code specialists) http://mobiletoronto.ca