QR Codes Used By Ralph Lauren

Now that QR Code usage have hit the fashion world, we’re wondering who’s up for it next. We can’t believe this news escaped our radar because Ralph Lauren is a huge brand name in the fashion industry and if they’ve started to use QR Codes for their marketing tactics, we want to know. And from this fact alone, it’s safe to assume that more people WILL start using them for their very own marketing efforts as well.

Ralph Lauren launched a campaign related to the U.S. Open using the Japanese QR Code marketing method called QR Codes in August last year. It’s something some people coin as the point-and shoot style of obtaining information…and hopefully, for the advertisers, shopping as well. QR Codes are basically 2D barcodes except that it leads on to more detailed and sophisticated information that is more than just the price of a product.

During the period of their QR Code campaign, Ralph Lauren fans were invited to scan the QR codes on the many magazine advertisements, print-outs, business cards and also billboards. With the QR Code, users got access to information, articles, videos, sports scores about the U.S Open game. Of course, we’re not forgetting the merchandising part of the bargain, are we? Of course not.

Apparently, Ralph Lauren, the man himself, discovered the wide usage of QR Codes in Japan during one of his visits there. Sources reveal that he was besotted with the idea – of integrating fashion with technology that he instantly wanted to use QR Codes for his campaign. To these advertisers, they’re merely giving the consumers more convenient ways to purchase things on the go.

In all sincerity, the success rate of this marketing campaign is questionable simply because the number of QR Code enabled mobile phone users in the U.S. is far less than that in Japan. In Japan, the people scan everything – from living things to buildings. But in our personal opinion, the biggest objective of Ralph Lauren using QR Codes for this marketing campaign is not to reap instant rewards. It’s more of a positioning maneuver that the company is concerned with. After all, they are the first few companies within the fashion industry to step into this zone – and it’s commendable. And even if they did not successfully make a lot of money out of it, the amount of money spent on printing the QR codes is negligible….and they got a fair amount of PR out of it.

So, all’s well, we guess.