By Tony Dobrowolski, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Sunday September 4, 2011

PITTSFIELD — By now, you’ve probably seen them printed in catalogs, displayed in store windows or gracing the label on your favorite can of cola: Those black-and-white squares packed with even smaller black-and-white squares.

You’re not looking at a shrunken crossword puzzle; you’re looking at what’s called a “Quick Response” code, or QR code, for short. It’s encoded data, which functions sort of like a bar code — but for mobile phones with code scanners.

“These little black squares are showing up everywhere,” said David Crane, the owner of Excelsior Printing Co. in North Adams, a Berkshire-based business that likes to stay on top of new industry trends. “I didn’t even notice them until six or nine months ago.

“It’s definitely a growing area,” Crane added. “A lot of our customers are starting to integrate their print with this mobile media.”

But, in the words of Excelsior Printing’s Julie Fruscio, “A lot of people don’t know what they are.”

Yet.

When the supermarket clerk scans your bag of potato chips, the bar code brings up the price. A QR code behaves in a similar way, but instead of a price, it dials up a spot online — a Web page or a video on YouTube or a Facebook page — on your phone’s Web browser. And the response is quick — thus its name, Quick Response.

Businesses — including a growing number in the Berkshires — are finding the codes to be an effective marketing tool, printing them in their newspaper advertisements or on fliers. Regular folks are using them to share important information — on wedding invitations, for example.

Here’s a just few ways they’re being used:

• Real estate agents use them for property listing fliers: Scan the code and up pops the details about a house or a video tour of the inside.

• Restaurants or stores use them to connect to a discount coupon.

• Theaters use them in advertisements as a direct link to buy performance tickets online.

• On business cards, people use them as links to their Facebook or LinkedIn pages or to their phone number or email address.

• Couples print them on wedding invitations to let their guests download the information or directions to the ceremony.

• Newspapers use them to accompany stories so readers can immediately go online to view related content, such as news videos or documents.

Elsewhere, they’re showing up in newspaper ads, billboards, commercial cars and trucks, magazines, business cards, T-shirts and resumes. There are even temporary tattoos of QR codes — yes, you can scan the code on a person’s arm.

QR codes were created in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota, and were originally used to track vehicle parts. Eventually, the codes were adapted for everyday mobile phone use. While the United States is just beginning to become acquainted with the QR code, in Japan and Europe, they’ve been popular for years.

To the business community, especially, these codes are making a lot of sense.

According to various sources:

• Twenty percent of all consumers use their mobile phones to browse and research products.

• Thirty-seven percent of all U.S. smartphone users bought something on their phones during the last six months.

• In 2009, mobile commerce in the U.S. tripled to $1.2 billion.

• By 2015, it’s predicted that $119 billion in goods and services will be purchased via mobile phones.

“In six short years, that’s 100 times what people spent in 2009,” said Ashley Sulock, the communications director of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. The chamber recently held a QR code workshop to show about 50 members how this kind of mobile marketing works.

In a unique twist, the chamber conducted a poll at the workshop — in which the attendees used their mobile phones to vote. And by the numbers, QR codes remain — for most — something new.

Sixty-seven percent of the 24 people who voted said they had seen or used QR codes, compared to 49 percent in a national poll that was cited by the chamber. Sixty percent of those who voted at the workshop said they had used QR codes to access additional information, while 12 percent said they had utilized the technology to obtain a coupon or discount.

In the national poll, 53 percent of the respondents said they had used QR codes to obtain either a coupon or a discount.

Fruscio, of Excelsior, who helped Sulock run the workshop, said that response indicates people will use QR codes if they can receive something in return.

“If they’re engaging, you know they’re interested,” Fruscio said.

For those concerned with security, Fruscio said the owners of QR codes can determine the geographical locations of those who access their information, but none of their personal data.

“They don’t tell Big Brother information,” she said. “You don’t know much more about the clicker than where they are and what time of day they click.”

Are you planning a redesign of your marketing collateral in the near future? How about your statements and invoices? If so, this is a perfect opportunity to incorporate new elements, such as customization, segmentation and 1:1 personalization to increase the effectiveness of these documents.

Before You Begin: Ask Yourself These Questions

What could a redesign do for you? Even if you are not already considering a redesign, you might ask yourself the following questions:

• How much of the document or package is irrelevant to the recipient?
• How much money could you save by replacing large, bulky packages with streamlined, personalized documents?
• Do you have lots of unused white space? How could you make more effective use of this space?
• Are there areas that could be used for targeted messaging? How could you use the space to cross-sell or upsell products?
• Do you have marketing partners who could share the cross-sell opportunities and the cost?
• Are there areas of the document that are confusing?
• Where could you use highlight color to clarify the request and motivate recipients to action?

Redesigns are a perfect time to take stock of your marketing effectiveness and evaluate new techniques. Sure, a redesign might not be high on the priority list right now, but after taking a closer look, that just might change.

Lets look at the example of First Market Bank.

This Virginia-based bank decided to redesign its customer loyalty notifications to make better use of its white space. It decided to add personalized messaging and fill this space with 1:1 cross-sells and upsells based on customers’ purchase history. The impact was immediate. First Market Bank Market Share members averaged one more store visit per week than regular loyalty program customers and spent 11% to 17% more per week than those in the regular program.

Bye-Bye Bulky

In addition to adding cross-selling and upselling opportunities, redesigns are also a good time to eliminate redundant or irrelevant material. Why spend money printing big bulky packages that your customers just throw in the trash because they can’t read or understand them?

Mobile Marketing 101: Decoding the QR Code

August 30th, 2011
8:30am to 10:00am
Beacon Cinema, Pittsfield, MA

Join Us for this interactive workshop to learn the latest in mobile marketing by exploring the benefits, best practices, and effective uses of QR Codes.  Don’t forget to bring your cell phones and smart phones! Please note: you do not have to have a smart phone to attend or benefit from the program.

Presented by: Julie Fruscio, Business Development and Marketing Coordinator, Excelsior and Ashley Sulock, Director of Marketing and Communications, Berkshire Chamber of Commerce

Cost: FREE for Berkshire Chamber members or $10 for non-members

RSVP at www.berkshirechamber.com or click here