QR codes // no quick response here.

What exactly is a QR code anyway? What are they designed for, and how are they relevant to me, in my life? 
  

Worthy questions for this newly embraced advertising technology that continues to perform poorly, according to Kevin Moreland in an article on the B&T website here. QR codes (like the one pictured to the left) appear to be popping up on advertising material everywhere lately. In some instances they are referenced, with a line of text to tell us where they lead, but at other times they just seem to hover awkwardly towards the edge of the page. My prediction, the vast majority of people don't know what they are for or even how to use them. What a lost opportunity.

QR codes have been appearing on all types of advertising material, including press, posters, buses, billboards - the list goes on. Essentially any flat surface you can put advertising material on, advertisers have planted a QR code there. But do they really add any value? This I believe has a lot to do with context and the destination.
  
So where do they lead?
  
A number of possible destinations. The better invested QR codes may lead to an app on your iPhone, or they may lead simply to a website landing page. They can connect you with a social media page (such as Facebook) or a product purchase page. Essentially they are a shortcut that uses your smartphone to connect you straight from this offline advertisement into the online world. Quite a clever idea really, the only problem being that they have been marketed really poorly. While the QR code still feels new the destination must be much the same; an exciting and engaging game app or interactive social media page. Take me simply to your corporate website or a landing page and I will drop off, this I guarantee you will work just as quickly as the QR (quick response) code.
  
Not quite the glorious entrance to the advertising market we were hoping for, but then again QR codes never were intended for a life of glamour. They were invented by a subsidiary of car manufacturer Toyota to track mechanical parts in the production process in the mid 1990s. The code can hold a great deal of information and can be quickly and easily scanned to access this information; a great asset for the manufacturing industry. Since marketers have gotten their hands on them, however, they've became more of a novelty, a joke really.
  
It's time to pick up the game. Like anything in this new media context that is the present day, we need to add value; to be appealing to our audience and encourage them (effectively) to interact with our brand. 
  
QR code, so far you have fallen short, but you can blame advertisers for that.

Context matters // smartphone & tablet usage.

We know that there has been a shift in available media technologies with the growth of tablets and smartphones, broadening our media consumption to a number of different screens. Often these are used simultaneously; it is quite common to use your mobile phone or tablet whilst also watching TV. The growing importance for marketers here is to understand how these devices are being used and where.

Overall smartphone and tablet ownership is fairly low across the country, however, it is important to understand how and where these devices are being used to help predict future trends as ownership levels grow. According to an article that appeared on AdWeek here, writer Lucia Moses suggests that "context is everything."

  

Lucia draws the varied uses of these devices to their technological and functional capabilities, while suggesting marketers need to understand these qualities completely in order to utilise them. Smartphones are identified as being used for more shortened task-related activities (checking emails, going online and sending texts). In this case short and "snackable" types of advertising are most effective, including display ads and text messages. 72% of people also use their smartphones whilst travelling; they are a personal device that accompanies us everywhere.

  

By contrast, the tablet is more likely to be used in the home for longer, deeper experiences. As such, longer form video advertising is more effective than shortened display ads. Tablets are also more likely to be shared throughout the family. 

The diagrams below draw out some of the key trends and factors in tablet and smartphone usage, the consumer motivations and contexts behind these.