WeChat, a networking app, is popularising use of QR codes through social media
Scan-tily clad - WeChat promotes its QR codes Image: WeChat |
Tencent's ubiquitous networking app, WeChat, combines the social elements of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp into one platform, and is now utilising QR codes to break into the lucrative world of m-commerce.
Quick Response (QR) codes are a type of matrix barcode that allow users with imaging devices (such as smartphone cameras) to scan codes and look up information about the product or service online.
Users scanning the QR codes are able to share their scans with their contacts across the WeChat network, creating an easy platform to share brand experiences and personal tastes.
Wochacha, a price comparison app that also uses QR codes, already boasts more than 140 million users.
Mobile coupon company Imageco estimated there were 113.6 million QR codes scanned in October last year, representing a 38% rise on September scans.
Foreign brands such as Audi and Nike are already using the codes to increase offline-to-online engagement. Users snapping billboards or posters can submit their scans for a chance to win a free Audi A3 test drive or join a Nike+ running club, for example.
Like all marketing campaigns, however, simply inserting a QR code into an advert is unlikely to drive significant user engagement. Advertisers will have to find creative ways to entice users to use their smartphones.
Israeli agency Visualead is already working with Chinese companies to integrate codes into animations on digital screens, as well as blending the codes with photos and art to make them more visually appealing.