QR codes, the black and white boxes that can be scanned by smart devices for user interactivity and links to websites, have been around long enough to be somewhat expected in advertising. But that doesn't mean that your business can't make effective use of them in various kinds of media.
The way that you implement these codes and the material that you print them on might be key factors in determining how effective they are for potential customers.
Search Engine Journal recently featured an article by Jason DeMers about some of the fundamental principles that businesses might want to keep in mind when marrying QR codes with promotional material.
One of his pieces of advice pertains to where the codes are physically placed in relation to the consumer. In general, DeMers advises putting the code pattern on any surface that might move, thereby making it more difficult for it to be scanned. This could mean that this particular technique is not best suited to billboards or vehicle graphics.
It also might be worth keeping in mind what kind of devices are going to be used to try and scan these codes. In a tutorial on how to do this with a Samsung smartphone published in PC Advisor, the photo showing the code being captured from a package demonstrates how neatly it is presented against a solid gray background.
Simplicity can be best for this approach to marketing, and a company that has their own custom trade show displays can choose the techniques that best fit their medium rather than risk making a mistake. Allowing customers to interact with your marketing choices through the use of these codes could still be a relevant tactic in other kinds of promotion.