When QR Codes emerged into mainstream US marketing last year as an extension of bridging print–> digital  mobile marketing, I was excited. With a personal focus on mobile engagement I saw myriad possibilities for instantaneous and individual marketing solutions using QR Codes and I immediately started brainstorming & wrote about it all here.

I silenced the all the skeptics and remained optimistic. But after a few months of experimenting, running a few formal pilots at work with different brands and being the consumer recipient of a lot of let downs, the challenges of trying to change consumer & advertiser behavior at the same time proved to be difficult and slow.  As a strategist, I feel as though I’ve done my due diligence here when it comes to testing new technology and assessing adoption and usage; and I’ve not seen the adoption and effectiveness rates I was hoping for and that’s why QR Codes are getting a dot dot dot. I’m an open minded person and there may be a future for us, but for now this promotional drivers’ got some maturing to do across the board. I submit 4 reasons why and what might aid in greater effectiveness: (more…)