Whenever something new comes out in the world of communications, marketers are scrambling to figure out ways to incorporate them into their various channels. Sometimes it works, but often I see a shoehorn approach, where the sleek, new shiny object is forced clumsily into an existing idea. Months later, the technology is deemed ineffective and many times the technology is abandoned. So it is with QR codes. In case you don't know, the QR code is the ugly little box that often appears on signage, brochures and anywhere else a blank space might appear on an otherwise less cluttered marketing message. The promise: Scan here with your mobile joomla_4ice and be rewarded with something wonderful! The payoff: Too often eager scanners were greeted by corporate websites-many not even optimized for the mobile joomla_4ice being used to scan the code. It's to the point where most people I know no longer even consider scanning a code. And why should they, when marketers haven't taken the time to give their audiences a proper reward for taking the time to interact with them?

Well, just about when I was ready to declare the QR Code dead, I'm starting to see them used in very powerful and compelling ways. One example that got my attention lately was the Bowflex Upper Cut. The product, which is designed to teach people how to do a myriad of pushups, comes with a poster that shows each style of pushup and also has a QR code which leads the scanner to an instructional video to use the Upper Cut effectively. As a marketer, imagine the power of capturing scan information for future campaigns. As a user of the Upper Cut, imagine the impact of rewarding content and the satisfaction in a product whose value goes beyond the item in the box you received on your front porch.

QR codes, like all new communication methods, are only as good as the planning and creativity that go into them. By taking the time to consider your audience and caring enough about their time and circumstances to reward them for interacting with your brand, you can build a solid community of brand advocates. Waste their time, and they will simply stop paying attention to you.

Photo credit: http://www.columbian.com/