Tag: qr code ad

QR codes test tattoo artist skills

| February 25, 2013

QR Codes test tattoo skillsA Turkish small business has used the barcodes to filter out applicants who aren’t accurate enough.

An upscale tattoo business in Istanbul has launched a hiring campaign that uses QR codes to help to test an individual’s accuracy, even before he or she is allowed to actually apply for the job.

The print ad barcodes were used as a unique and innovative strategy to stop sloppy artists from applying.

The typical application process for a tattoo artist would involve filling in the form, having an interview, and performing a test to make sure that he or she is adequately skilled. However, this can lead to a lengthy, uncomfortable, or even angry process as there are far more people who apply for the job than are actually up to the standards of the business. Some of this struggle has been overcome through the use of QR codes.

The tattoo artists who wanted to apply were required to fill out blank QR codes in the print advertisements.

The tattoo business, Berrge Tattoo, hired Istanbul based marketing agency, BÜRO, in order to help to create the smartphone friendly campaign. It integrated the use of a print ad, QR codes, and the innovative website to add an additional important step to its hiring process. The result was highly creative and completely unique.

The QR codes within the ad, itself, became a central part of the hiring process. There were blank barcodes printed in flesh color in the ad, which were required to be completed in order to make it possible to scan them with a smartphone using a scanner app. Scanning a properly completed barcode directed the individual to the application form for the position. However, if the task was not completed with enough accuracy, the code would not resolve and the individual would not be able to apply.

This use of the QR codes was very helpful in weeding out those applicants that paid the least attention to detail and accuracy, before the company was even required to receive their application forms or meet them for an interview. As the majority of scanners allow for a 30 percent margin of error, there was still some room to make mistakes, but those applicants would have the opportunity to prove themselves in their interviews and actual tests.

QR code ads conflict with gas station warning signage

| February 12, 2013

QR Code gas station confusionSmartphone friendly barcodes are being used in cell phone unfriendly locations.

It is becoming increasingly common to see a QR code posted in places such as in magazine print ads, on billboards, and on product packaging, but their latest addition to gas pumps is causing some consumers a great deal of confusion.

These quick response barcodes offer everything from discounts to free products when scanned.

However, the problem that consumers are having with these tempting opportunities is that they are located in areas that also display warnings that it is not safe to use cell phones and other electronic devices. The issue has been growing throughout the United States, appearing most recently in Minnesota.

The QR code ads promote opportunities for discounts but are posted in areas where cell phone use is banned.

Consumers are finding themselves quite confused by the conflicting information, as the signage both encourages them to scan a QR code and tells them not to use the device as it risks sparking a fire in a very dangerous location.

According to Jerry Rosendahl, State Fire Marshal in Minnesota, there is no real link known to exist between the use of a cell phone and the ignition of a fire at a gas station. He explained that there has never been any proof that the devices pose any risk of this nature. He stated that the concept that there was a problem seemed to have arisen when “Somebody had service station video of a person talking on their phone, getting out of their car and then they had a flash fire so they naturally jumped to the assumption that it was cell phones.”

The Fire Marshal’s office does not issue the signs that are posted at gas stations as they do not believe that the use of mobile phones causes the danger that the signage suggests. This means that it is the gas stations, themselves, that are choosing to post both signs that feature a QR code and those that warn consumers not to use their smartphones because it could cause a fire. According to Rosendahl, the largest risk of using the device near the pumps is that they cause consumers not to pay attention while working with gasoline, a hazardous material.