Learn from Their QR Code Mistakes!

QR codes are literally everywhere and brand are trying to use them for their respective marketing campaigns. The advantages are obvious, but it seems that not every marketer plans ahead and so they make mistakes. Embarrassing ones at that.

Way back in July, Red Bull came up with a QR code campaign. The company placed ad posters on bus shelters and in the subway. Contrary to what Mashable and other copycat publications reported, the QR codes were placed in sections of the subway that had mobile signals, thereby having Internet connection on hand to receive the scan. It seems that Red Bull learned from JetBlue’s mistake of placing QR codes in dead spots!

Continental Airlines, despite using QR codes for their boarding passes since 2008, was not so lucky. There was nothing wrong with their QR Codes per se, but there was a problem with the site that scanners get taken to. The airlines did not test if the site was optimized for mobile phones, so basically it was a dead-end for most users and a great waste of time.

And what about inappropriate places to put a QR code? The BeQRious staff generally agrees that the award for the stinkiest place to put a QR code on goes to Betfair. The online betting firm made Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney put a QR code on their bikini bottoms. Try scanning that without seeming perverse.

But at least Betfair’s QR codes were visible. Esquire Magazine put QR codes up at the exact same place where mailing labels are to be placed, obscuring the QR code altogether!

BeQRious, through its articles, has been advising business owners and marketers on how to carry out their QR code campaigns properly. Proof is this article we wrote early last year: Real World Examples of QR Code Fails

Also remember that you can get a cheat sheet on how to do QR code marketing right here: The Dummies’ Guide to QR Code Marketing.