Following its innovative spirit and content the web are now accessible from mobile devices since 2008 and have recently added the ability to access information about the book using a QR-Code.

As a tribute to the project we create these book covers April 23rd to mark World Book Day.

@manelr recently passed us a link to meneame  which saw an original application of QR in some posters on the streets of Dublin.

This is a very original and creative action planetpdf.com.

“You can’t manage what you can’t measure” (William Hewlett)

Será precisamente una buena estrategia de análisis la que mejorará las acciones realizadas con QR-Codes en el futuro. Usar un QR-Code no debería ser un objetivo en sí mismo.

A good strategy for analyzing QR-Code based actions will be a key factor in the future. Using a QR-code should not be a goal in itself.

Indicators for QR-Coded campaigns

• CPI. Cost per impact. In the case of printed media would be to the cost of the ad divided by the total number of readers. If we talk about billboards, OPIs, etc.. we should look for alternative systems to determine the CPI.
• % Scans. That’s what we get by dividing the number of scans over the total impacts (%).It will determine the success of a campaign, suitability, we could make comparisons  between different media, etc..
• CPS. Cost per scan. We will help determine the profitability of the campaign
• RPS. Revenue per scan. On m-commerce cases we can figure out the ROI of the campaign. If it comes to compulsive buying  (ex Tesco), we analyze campaigns with a depth, reliability and unprecedented speed.
• Other metrics. Depending on the goals of the campaign we can set appropriate indicators the same way we do in more advanced desktop websites in terms of metrics and analytics.

Use the minimum analytics tools (no more, no less). Do not dissipate your information

For studies including these variables it would be desirable to use the minimum of analytical tools, if the information is centralized “stories” are easier to read.

If we integrate the monitoring of actions using QR-Codes in our Google Analytics campaign (for example) and/or segment these users can draw interesting conclusions from different perspectives.

We could then study the profile of users who have entered our site via QR, their browsing patterns or even assign conversions rates. And what about an A/B testing on a newpaper edition

We close the post with some questions in the near future should be of concern to marketers online and offline (if there is a difference).

• What is the goal/s of the QR?
• How I can increase the% of scanned QRs?
• What if I do it bigger?
• Do we have a good call-to-action?
• Does the value proposition is interesting?
• Are we exploiting the full potential of your smartphone?

Do> Measure> Do ± 1> Measure> Do ± 1 …

These 30 years fighting AIDS represent a combined effort, with little precedents, to fight a disease.

There’s not doubt that one of the causes of the efforts undertaken and the resources involved to find a solution are related, apart to epidemic’s dimension, to it’s impact in more developed countries and the fact that has affected all social strata.

In any case, is also true that there are other factors that have facilitated the implication of professionals from different sectors. Some of them could be:

• Prevention has been, and still is, the best weapon we have against AIDS, and prohibitive policies are not applicable.
• The need to fight against moral and legal issues related to risk behaviours and stigma.
• The involvement of public figures and social movements that have given great media coverage
• The controversy generated by the stubbornness of various sectors.

All these factors combined have led the fight against AIDS further than just health field. They have also facilitated the incorporation of professionals from other fields not usually involved in the fight against diseases. Communication professionals have been one of the most relevant.

Throughout these 30 years, there have been many initiatives communication related. From advertisement campaigns promoting condoms to Hollywood films or radio/tv soap operas.

The need to promote behaviour change, the availability of funds and the involvement of communication professionals, have facilitated the growth and development of communication strategies addressed to social change.

Innovation undertaken in the fight against AIDS has had as a result the development of communication tools specific for social intervention (social marketing, entertainment education…), and also the implementation of traditional communication tools into this field.

Lesson’s learned in this field have also been applied to other social fields (fight against discrimination and stigma, development projects, gender equity…) and nowadays, we can find a mature sector at this level.

Smartphones Apps, community managers, data analysts.. are now frequent elements in social field. Probably there are implementation errors and more could be done. Like in any other field. But good thongs are also being done. Like in any other field.

Talking anout QR codes, we think that they are another element that could be used in communication campaigns. Linking real world with digital, using web analytics in off-line actions, improving conversion, facilitating access to more information in different languages… offer great potential. Like in any other field.

Whether for promotion of an organization (fundrising, recruiting…) or for direct intervention in sensibilization or information campaigns, we are in front of a great tool. In addition, QR codes are a free solution, that could be used by small organizations with not-so-big budgets.

Just as an idea, you can access UNAIDS twitter account from the QR Code shown on top of this post.

Follow them, twit using some of the hashtags shown above or collaborate in some of today’s initiatives.

More than one million people die of AIDS-related deaths every year. It would be better if you collaborate throughout the year, bust at leas for today:

1) La innovación debe formar parte del ADN de la empresa.

La innovación reactiva, por ejemplo a un descenso de las ventas, no es innovación. Es un no-tenemos-más-remedio. En estos escenarios tan habituales últimamente, se suceden la improvisación, la falta de método, las prisas y los excesos de intuición.

Cuando una empresa no está vendiendo todo lo necesario y espera salir a flote innovando debe ser consciente, como mínimo, de que va tarde.

No importa si se innova mediante una red de proveedores o un responsable interno, si no que la cultura de la impresa incluya preguntas de este tipo: ¿qué vamos a estar vendiendo dentro de 1 año?, ¿qué puedo hacer hoy que no podía hacer ayer?, ¿cuál es mi razón de ser?. La innovación debe ser cultura, debe ser actitud.

En periodos en los que las cosas van bien hay que anticiparse al mercado, investigar nuevos recursos, tendencias, tecnologías, pensar, repensar, etc. Se debe incentivar y dotar de recursos a los responsables del futuro de la compañía. Hay que innovar también en las fórmulas de gestión.

Como en todo área de una empresa siempre ayudará que se tenga un buen un plan y una metodología de trabajo.

2) Los profesionales de la innovación deben ser personas curiosas por naturaleza

Cuanto más variopinto sea el perfil del profesional de la innovación mejor.

La multidisciplinariedad es un grado y contar con un background personal y profesional variado ayuda a generar ideas más ricas. No hace falta decir que el trabajo en en equipo diverso y plural (cultura, género, edad, formación, etc.) aportará distintos puntos de vista y nuevas variables.

No estamos describiendo aunque pueda parecerlo la figura de “genio loco”. Para innovar en cualquier campo se debe conocer a fondo su historia, sus técnicas, su mercado, su momento, etc. Dalí revolucionó la pintura y otras artes plásticas pero ya dominaba a la perfección todas las técnicas de las disciplina. A Picasso la inspiración siempre le cogía trabajando. Einstein afirmaba: “No tengo talentos especiales, pero sí soy profundamente curioso”.

No siendo Dalí, ni Picasso, ni Einstein deberemos dar alas a nuestra curiosidad y trabajar duro para hacer que nuestros pequeños proyectos sean, aunque sea por un instante, algo más innovadores.

3) Los profesionales de la innovación deben tener orientación al negocio

El ciclo de la innovación empresarial se cierra cuando una idea se convierte en negocio. Los excesos de creatividad y/o de codicia no suelen ser buenos compañeros en procesos de innovación.

Los profesionales orientados al negocio son más receptivos a propuestas innovadoras porque son conscientes de que no todo seguirá siempre igual y piensan a largo plazo.

Siempre que hemos expuesto ideas a socios o propietarios de compañías se han mostrado más claros, directos y sinceros que un mando intermedio respecto la la exposición de sus objetivos y estrategias.

4) Los profesionales de la innovación deben ser generosos (pero no tontos)

Lo “open” mola. La cultura de publicar, compartir, las licencias creative commons, etc. son poderosísimos recursos que nos puede llevar a dónde nunca imaginamos y antes de lo que esperamos.

La herramientas con las que trabajamos no son nuestras (ej. PHP, WP, Google, etc.), no hemos pagado por ellas, pero las usamos a diario. Tampoco somos dueños de nuestras ideas porque una vez la hemos publicado ya son de todos. Sólo somos dueños de nuestro tiempo y decidir dónde lo invertimos.

Por nuestra experiencia hay empresas y profesionales se aprovechan de este espíritu abierto y confunden (consciente o inconscientemente) lo “open” con lo “gratis”. No hay que ser naif y estar atento con quién hablamos. Es preferible que nos roben una idea a que nos roben el tiempo.Tendremos más ideas, pero no viviremos más años.

Ser bloggero y realizar tareas de divulgación no remuneradas no implica ser una organización sin ánimo de lucro ni contar con un modelo de negocio.

5) Hay que ser valiente (de verdad)

La apuestas hay que hacerlas a lo grande. Las maquetas, los tests, las betas, etc… son parte del proceso pero si se llega al punto en que hay que probar una idea hay que hacerlo a lo grande. La probabilidad de éxito de un test es directamente proporcional a la energía dedicada.

La fe se puede definir por creer en aquello en que no ves y cuando se innova a menudo hay que tener un poco de fe.

La certidumbre será un bien escaso en el futuro y si se quiere ser competitivo habrá que aprender a gestionarla personal y empresarialmente.

En el último First Tuesday al que acudí, Xavier Verdaguer apuntaba la pregunta estrella de los business angels americanos: ¿Qué haces tú que no haga nadie en el mercado? y la contraponía con la del inversor español típico: ¿Qué haces tú que ya haga alguien en el mercado y esté ganando dinero?. Así vamos.

En QR-Planet hoy cumplimos un año como consultoría especializada en códigos QR e innovación en el sector editorial, publicidad y marketing. 

¡Gracias a todos/as por enseñarnos tanto y hacernos pensar!

Contagio es lo que se está produciendo entre las diferentes marcas, medios y anunciantes que están incorporando códigos QR a sus distintas estrategias. Como hemos augurado repetidas veces en este blog, el uso de los QR está creciendo de forma exponencial. Nunca lo habíamos comparado con una plaga, pero el comportamiento es muy similar.

Hace 2-3 años era el momento de los valientes y REALMENTE  innovadores, ahora se suman los “me-toos” y los que en su momento dudaban del futuro y el sentido de los QR-Codes. A todos ellos: bienvenidos.

En este caso el QR enlaza al site de la película no está adaptado para usuarios de smartphones, pero a diferencia de otras acciones que hemos analizado ocupa un lugar adecuado en la marquesina y tiene un tamaño suficiente para ser notado.

Una vez perdido del miedo al contagio es el momento de añadir un nuevo objetivo a las campañas basadas en QR: aportar valor a la captura. 

We saw the photos at http://twitter.com/about/employees and we designed this QR. Click on each module (little square) and you will know all twitter team and access their acccounts.

One of the most common mistakes we are seeing is to use QR-Codes without telling what’s on them, what amb I going to get if I scan it? A video, a catalogue, an mp3 file?

The “mistery effect” or an appeal to curiosity may eventually make sense, but in any case has to be the rule. Can you imagine magazines full of ad saying something like “Call 1-800-xxxx and we will surprise you!”

We don’t like using “anti-examples” because companies using QRs are innovating and deserve nothing but #respect, but there are a bunch of ads out there with little QR-Codes placed at the corner of the page with no explanation whatsoever.

Most of the time a couple of lines saying “Capture the QR and listen to their last song” or “Capture and watch the trailer” will help the user to decide whether he is interested in the content or not. It will probably increase the amount of captures and improve conversion. Call-to-action have to be clear and direct.

We don’t think that reader will feel like Brad Pitt on Seven and shout “What’s in the box?!!” holding up their smartphone, but sometimes a little hint may help.

We have:

• MAGIA MAGIA – The Magic Company
• Facebook Fan Page
• MAGIAMAGIA TUBE – Youtube Channel
• Twitter

However it does not make us better magicians.

We are really exited today, since we have published our first App about Magic in the Apple Store, called “Magia para todos”. In this app, which we made for children and adults, we explain over 50 magic tricks in videos.  For further information about the application go to:  www.magiamagia.com/app. In order to promote and let people know about it we are using different ways and channels. Among them there are of course: QR-Codes.

Because it is a “virtual product” that will be “sold and used” on a mobile we do believe that QR is one of the most direct, natural and hopefully effective ways. It is an attractive “call to action” on screen  and of physical world as well, and we can measure its impact in each case.

The fact that theere are multiple app markets, a lack of reliable information and no real sales indicators makes launching an app quite a complex and incertain task (at least for us). We have planned on-line (inside and outside App Store) and off-line actions.

If anyone has any experience, idea or just want to help us out with the launch is more that welcome.

As alway we face the challenge willing to learn and hoping (like all iOS developers) to become the next Angry Birds

In order to participate you have to capture a QR-Code and fill out a simple form with your name, email and phone, obviously you become part of a database, etc.., but the promotion is clear, simple and straightforward.

When capturing the QR user accesses http://ahora.preparatuequipajeconorange.com/, a mobile-friendly website where he/she can enter the draw, interact with the brand and link to their social networks, etc. from the smartphone.

This is another example of a big company betting on QR-Codes and this happens every day.

These actions are every time better executed. In the case of orange “call to action” is compelling, attractive and technically and is well done. However, they are not using any tracking-system (they could measure the impact in different areas and/or supports if they did) they are not respecting the “quiet-zone” of the code but they are just beginning to squeeze QR-Codes potential.

It seems that both this campaign and Telefónica’s, on which recently we posted about, are and evidendes carriers put aside a supposed agreement by which they would use a common system of proprietary 2D codes (EZcode / Bidi) in favor of an open system as QR-Codes.

We have been quite a long time posting about applications, strategies and real-world cases pretending to be serious and prefessional bloggers (we are). But today, we present…. the TOP-10 useless ideas we came up to using QR-Codes.

We have a good idea (if we get lucky) after 10 bad ones. If you want us to think for you you know where we are.

¡Happy holidays!

* All codes al readable