Trend Overview The rising penetration of smartphone users emerged a "mobile-only" mindset in marketing industry (Joynson-Hewlett 2019). One mobile-first strategy, QR (Quick Response) code, is greatly revolving in communication trends with ‘14 million users have scanned QR codes at least once’ (Cata, Patel & Sakaguchi 2013). QR codes are generally two-dimensional barcodes, which can direct users to websites and hyperlinks through cameras and digital scanners (Mohammed 2016). With 45% of QR codes users are millenials (Sharon 2019) and their diverse journeys (Palmer 2019), many well-known brands chose to operate QR-powered campaigns to deliver unique experiences. Figure 1. Taco Bell ‘Edible' QR Code (Behance 2012) Figure 2. The Walmart Pay QR Code in Walmart app (mobile payment services) (Eckert 2016) Figure 3. Instagram Nametags QR Code (Ratna 2019) Why brands should capitalize QR Code Since customers nowadays have the opportunity to receive key messages through different channels, it is crucial for brands to bridge the gap between online and offline marketing, ‘..making otherwise static advertisements “clickable.”’ (Mediascope 2011). The basic ability to open a personal URL link exposes consumers to instant additional information in the most updated and comprehensive way (Hossain, Zhou & Rahman 2018), eliminating unwanted barriers that can nullify customers’ responses such as time delay (Meydanoglu 2013). Scanning QR codes offers more personalized marketing, which can avoid sending irrelevant messages, reduce information asymmetrical, enable wider communication (Johnson & Quinn, Inc. n.d.). Hence, by providing the seamless process of switching from one to another platforms, brands will develop increased consumer engagement, strengthen connectivity and loyalty within consumers, improve customer satisfaction (Mediascope 2011; Meydanoglu 2013; Palmer 2019). Figure 4. Zego Z-CODE system on snacks (PR Newswire 2018) Another benefit of QR codes lies in the simplicity of advanced traceability. The increasing QR technology motivated the development of various software programs make barcodes extremely measurable, offer brands the detailed statistics to appropriately adjust campaign plan (Larkin 2010; Petrova, Romanello, Medlin & Vannoy 2016). Moreover, QR codes help brands to estimate customers’ interest faster and trigger their curiousity. On provided websites, in which brands have intergrated questionnaires or surveys, consumers are more likely to provide personal insights via this tool (Meydanoglu 2013; Klein 2014). The creativitiy of producing QR codes are also endless, enabling brands to come up with distinctive ways to conversate with customers and increase interest towards promotional materials with its ‘visually enticing appearance’ (Larkin 2010; Petrova, Romanello, Medlin & Vannoy 2016). Figure 5. Facebook’s QR Code (Falcon 2019) Figure 6. Diesel’s ‘Scan for Authenticity’ QR Codes denim (Joshi 2019) Image 7. Louis Vuitton QR Code in collaboration with Japanese designer Takashi Murakami (Ruano 2009) One feature of QR codes that significantly affect brands’ choice is the production cost. Not only easily created, but QR code is also relatively cheap: ‘2D barcodes are a really cost-effective mechanism because you can produce one for free’ (Cooper 2011). For raising awareness and building engagement with customers purpose, QR codes can be utilized as an ‘additional dissemniation channel’ to immediately convey your rich online content affordably (Komarov & Dorofeev 2015). Selecting these simple imagery codes is an eco-friendly choice as they can be printed on various surfaces, simultaneously reduces budget for print ads and other outdoor materials (Singh & Bamoriya 2013). Figure 8. One example of how to create QR Code (Leroux 2011) Vietnam - The potential market for QR technology In Vietnam, the notion of QR codes marketing is rather new; however, with an impressive number of 130 million mobile users, Vietnam would be a promising market for these 2D codes (Mai Chi 2018; AHS n.d.) Figure 9. Reproduced from Globalwebindex 2019 One of the most potential fields to apply QR technology in Vietnam is online payment. The implementation of QR Code has widely expanded to 18 banks, including huge ones such as BIDV, Vietcombank, VietinBank, etc (Mai Chi 2018). Additionally, internal businesses also stepped foots in the QR trend by operating e-wallets, namely Momo, Moca, etc (Vietnam Insider 2018). Hence, the application of QR codes payment has a wide range of categories, and most recent, airplane tickets (VnExpress 2018). Image 10. Reproduced from VnExpress 2018 Figure 11. Reproduced from VNPay n.d. Figure 12. Adapted from VnExpress 2018 In 2019, Vingroup launched VinMart 4.0 virtual stores, an instant shopping method operated through its mobile application VinID’s feature called ‘Scan & Go’ (Nguyen 2019). The 4.0 supermarkets feature over 100 product images with a specific QR codes for customes to scan and paid directly through VinID app (Nguyen 2019). These QR codes also provide basic information such as brand, price, facts, creating a revolution in retailing to utilize consumer purchase (VIR 2019). Figure 13. VinMart virtual store simulation (Unique Outdoor Advertising n.d.) Figure 14. VinMart 4.0 promotion at Hoan Kiem Lake - Ha Noi (Unique Group n.d.) Figure 15. Reproduced from VinMart 2019 Figure 16. Reproduced from VnExpress 2019 The creative possibilities with QR Codes are unlimited; however, it is crucial to consider carefully the context and content embedded in your code to effectively convert into consumers’ action. In Vietnam, there is a higher competitive differentiation for brands that embrace QR technology in their strategic marketing faster, still, issues of lacking knowledge and low recognition level among Vietnamese consumers should be tackle first. References
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