Indian Brands Are Embracing QR Codes Now More Than Ever
5 min read 18 May 2023, 11:02 AM ISTSeveral prominent Indian brands have already embraced this technology by incorporating QR Codes into their marketing campaigns, and some have even left a mark
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While QR Codes in India are not a new concept, the technology has gained massive popularity ever since the pandemic hit the shores. QR Code technology made a comeback as contactless experiences were the need of the hour, and brands soon began to realize their full potential. Considering the growing popularity, app stores and the internet started to flood with QR Code generators and scanners for businesses and users to leverage.
According to a recent study, QR Codes are expected to play a crucial role in the marketing landscape by the year 2033. Several prominent Indian brands have already embraced this technology by incorporating QR Codes into their marketing campaigns, and some have even left a mark. Among them are Swiggy, Bajaj Auto, Dunzo, and Tata Neu, all of whom have successfully utilized QR Codes to promote their products and services.
The 1990s, technology develops into a fad
QR Codes are found almost everywhere in the vastness of India. They are spotted on the trees next to a roadside Paan shop or resting atop a stack of needlework made by women weavers. They are even protruding out of a pile of freshly cut fruits on a fruit cart.
Not only are QR Codes used for quick payments and contactless experiences, but they are also a convenient and efficient way to connect with customers and drive marketing ad campaigns and engagement. Here are some Indian brands that have nailed the art of using QR Codes in advertising and marketing campaigns.
Swiggy Instamart - a step-up with QR Codes for ads
In a recent exciting promotion for Rose Day, Swiggy Instamart, a food and grocery delivery startup, placed QR Codes on standees, posters, and boxes. The QR Code campaign enabled customers to instantly scan and buy gifts for their loved ones.
"In 2023, Swiggy Instamart anticipated a 4x increase in orders and aimed to complete about a million rose orders through various marketing channels, including using QR Codes for placing orders easily," said Karthik Gurumurthy, head of Swiggy Instamart.
QR Codes allow brands to establish a way to connect with customers through special ad campaigns on special occasions such as Valentine's Day, Diwali, Christmas, etc.
Dunzo QR Code campaign - the new buzz
Recently, the rapid e-commerce start-up Dunzo used QR Codes in India to make a splash in mainstream advertising. During the 15th IPL season, Dunzo ran a successful marketing campaign. The screen of the viewers conked off, blurred out, and a QR Code appeared out of nowhere with the statement, "Inconvenience is regretted, Convenience is not." The QR Code appeared on the screen for merely 20 seconds. It sent readers to the landing page for the app when scanned. This QR Code-centric campaign increased Dunzo's website traffic by 10 times.
Kabeer Biswas, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Dunzo says that brands should "Engage, entertain, and inspire consumers." Kabeer further added, "Before a customer places an order on Dunzo, there are various stages in a marketing funnel. Leveraging QR Codes in advertisements cuts down on some funnel layers, which can improve conversion and engagement."
It's safe to say that QR Codes are easy to create and use. They allow brands to enhance customer engagement and track the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by leveraging analytics. Through analytics, brands can paint a clear picture of metrics such as conversion rates, click rates, engagement rates, etc.
Bajaj Auto's video QR Code ad is the new norm
The Bajaj Pulsar brand, known for its innovative advertising in India's auto industry, made fresh waves once more. The television commercial for the brand-new Pulsar N160 featured a QR Code at the end that took the audience to another video content piece.
Speaking on thetechnological advancement, Narayan Sundararaman, head of marketing at Bajaj Auto, said, "It was a straightforward concept that evolved from recent developments in our customers' lives. Our customers are quite technologically aware. This was something we wanted to take advantage of. And then we got them to scan a QR Code that took them to a slightly longer piece of our content."
In a world where customer attention spans are shorter than that of goldfish, brands choose to be visible in real-time and promote engagement with just a few clicks. Fortunately, QR Codes can help engage customers by offering customized content and experiences.
QR Codes are used to share links to product demos, website landing pages, or video links to the brands' YouTube, Instagram, or other marketing channels.
Traveling is now easy with Clear Trip's QR Codes
Recently, Cleartrip released a national print ad touting its QR Code. "Choose trips over things by scanning any QR Code in this newspaper to avail offers/discounts and unlock travel offers," the ad said.
Pooja Manek, founding member and creative at Talented, believes that using a QR Code in a print advertisement is a revolutionary concept that has its roots in technology. It helped Cleartrip in connecting its offline with online marketing initiatives. According to reports, on the first day of the campaign launch, Cleartrip produced an average of about 200 clicks per hour.
Shubham Khurana, Brand Head at Cleartrip, said, "The initial plan was to allow users to scan our QR Codes in the newspaper to receive a discount on the app. The idea turned into action in just ten days." Speaking of the QR Code technology, Shubham added, "We aim to use QR Codes in our future ad campaigns."
Winning IPL 2023 tickets with Tata Neu's QR Code campaign
As the buzz around the 16th season of IPL spread like wildfire, cricket fans across India participated in a variety of contests organized by several brands. Tata Neu ran one such contest. The company placed QR Codes across its brand chain for customers to win tickets to their favorite matches.
Shoppers at Big Basket grocery, Croma stores, Tata 1 MG, Tata-owned apparel stores, and diners at Taj could find QR Codes in their invoices, product packaging, and restaurant tables. All the cricket enthusiasts had to do was scan the QR Code and win tickets
Tata Neu's QR Code-centric campaign helped the brand boost its customer engagement, attract new customers and maintain its brand value.
Waving the magic wand of QR Codes
As the world goes digital and technology continues to evolve, QR Codes and QR Code makers will fly high alongside, waving their magic wands. QR Codes can extensively maximize a brand’s marketing efforts, enhance customer engagement, improve brand revenue and customer acquisition, run ad campaigns and loyalty programs, and offer excellent customer experience. Hence, businesses must leverage the QR Code technology to deliver an unparalleled customer experience while meeting their marketing objectives.
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