Nellymoser: US Print Magazines Usage of QR Codes and Other Action Codes Up by 61%

Nellymoser, a mobile research marketing company, has come out with the results of a new study that reveals that QR codes and other action codes were used more than 2,200 times by top print magazines in the United States in the second quarter.

That number represents a 61% rise from the first quarter when only 1,365 ads had the codes. It also shows that 10% of all magazine ads now include a QR code, doubling the 5% in the previous quarter.

Nellymoser’s executive vice president Roger Matus, who also co-authored the study, says that close to 600 brands and all the top magazines are embracing a print to mobile as one of their core strategies.

In the first quarter, only 451 brands used action codes.

Matus adds that the QR codes and other action codes bring static pages to life and helps in engaging the readers more.

Nellymoser expects more than 1,000 action codes published in the top 100 magazines in the country starting September 2012.

A closer look at the study also reveals that QR codes are the most popular of all action codes with more than eight out of every 10 ads using QR codes. Other action codes counted for the study includes image recognition and digital watermarks.

As for the industries, it seems that home, health, beauty and automotive brands are the most receptive to QR codes and other action codes, with around 49% using them for their ads. Other industries using action codes include food and beverage, fashion, pets, pharmaceutical, travel and financial.

Nellymoser further found that 40% of these codes lead to video content such as product demos, an entertaining clip or a look behind the scenes. Other popular content were social media sharing on Twitter, email and Facebook and sweepstakes offers for both opt in mailing and list building. Less than 15% of these action codes helped people to locate a store or allowed them to buy online.