QR codes: How will mass market respond?

Maybe you've seen them before: those black-and-white squares that resemble bar codes, asking you to scan with your smart phone to win a prize?

The technical term for them is “quick response” codes, but more often you'll hear them referred to as QR codes. Tech-savvy marketers are using them to generate customer interactions with smart phone users. Just take a picture of this QR code, the ad might suggest, to be taken to a special website with an exclusive offer!

At the same time, skeptics are wondering whether the technology will truly stick. Will customers respond to deals offered through QR codes, or is this just another tech fad?

Valpak Direct Marketing Systems Inc., the Largo-based subsidiary of Cox Target Media, may soon have the answer. Over the next two months, Valpak will send enveloped coupons featuring QR codes to 80 million households across the U.S. The company hopes the little black-and-white boxes will not only increase customer response, but expand its base as well.

“The QR code will not only engage our audience, but also engage a younger audience — the current generation of smart phone and social media users,” says Michael Vivio, president of Cox Target Media.

Kudos to a Gulf Coast business for attempting to adopt the latest and greatest in the world of marketing tech, but Coffee Talk remains wary of QR codes' persistent “fad factor.”