Mobile marketing and technology company Nellymoser creates these types of ads for magazines and conducted the research, so the company obviously has skin in this game, but its findings are interesting for showing how marketers are changing the ways they use these action codes. (The report doesn’t focus on how well action codes are actually, you know, spurring action but I’ve asked for some follow-up data.) Some findings:

—Mobile action codes are much more likely to be used in ads than in editorial content—the ratio of advertising codes to editorial codes was 25:1 by December 2011. Editorial codes were primarily used to run sweepstakes.

—Most action codes were used to showcase a video (54 percent), often a video created specifically for mobile use. 30 percent were used for data capture and list building, especially sweepstakes. “While sweeps can be run with one action code, there is a growing trend towards sweepstakes that span an entire publication with multiple advertisers and editorial sections participating, each with its own code,” the report says.

—Nearly 40 percent of codes were created by the beauty, home and fashion industries and the codes were especially likely to appear in women’s magazines.

Full story here

USA TODAY newspapers feature AT&T QR codes

USA TODAY and AT&T are working together to help to provide an enhanced experience for news consumption, which includes printing QR codes onto the pages of the newspaper in order to allow readers to use their smartphones so that they may gain further information relating to the content and the latest news.

Readers of USA TODAY can now use their devices in combination with a QR code scanning app – such as the free AT&T Code Scanner – to be redirected to additional interactive multimedia content. The partnership between the newspaper and telecom companies lets readers enhance their experience by bringing the best of both worlds together; the excitement of the mobile device news experience that is up to date and interactive, with the comfort of reading a traditional printed newspaper.

Over the next few months, these QR codes will continue to be printed into every section of the newspaper. Furthermore, the barcodes will also have a featured spot in the USA TODAY Sports Weekly, in addition to certain additional publications.

According to the USA TODAY executive editor of content distribution and programming, Chet Czarniak, the newspaper is very proud of their ability to include themselves among the first American publications to use the interactive barcodes on a daily basis. He added that they are looking forward to being able to provide an enhancement of the overall experience through the partnership with AT&T.

Czarniak said that “This initiative furthers our goal to bridge digital and print by providing our readers easier access to special features.”

 From Marketing Charts. Full story here

QR Code Scanners, Unsure of Usefulness, Ignore Info

57% of consumers who have scanned a QR code say they did nothing with the information, compared to 21% who shared the information with someone and 18% who made a purchase, according to [download page] a survey released in January 2012 by Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB). In fact, of those who have scanned a QR code, just 41% said that they found the information they received useful, while 42% had mixed feelings and 18% said the information was not useful. On a more encouraging note, though, 70% of these consumers found QR codes easy to scan, compared to just 7% who found them difficult.

Overall, only 21% of the survey respondents said they had heard of QR codes, although 81% recalled seeing one when presented with an image. According to an October 2011 survey from strategic marketing firm Russell Herder, 72% of consumers said they had seen a QR code, but nearly 30% did not know what it was.

Discounts and Gifts Drive Interest

Data from CMB’s “9 Things to Know About Consumer Behavior and QR Codes” indicates that even though only 1 in 5 respondents reported an awareness of QR codes, 43% said they would be interested in using a smartphone to scan one in order to gain access to discounts, coupons, and free items. Roughly 1 in 4 also cited an interest in scanning a QR code to get more information about a product or service, to gain access to exclusive content, or to make a purchase or buy something.

Curiosity Leading Factor

Among consumers who have scanned a QR code, the top reason for doing so was curiosity (46%), followed by getting more information (41%). 18% scanned a QR code to take advantage of a discount, coupon, or free gift, slightly ahead of the proportion who did so to gain access to exclusive content (16%).

Interestingly, although 18% of QR code scanners have made a purchase after their scan, just 6% cited buying something as the reason for scanning.

Newspapers and Mags Top Sources

Magazines and newspapers (35%) were the leading sources for those who have scanned a QR code, ahead of packages (18%) and websites (13%). Direct mailings (11%), billboards or signs (11%), and emails (4%) proved to be relatively less significant sources.

About the Data: CMB collected data from 1,228 consumers, aged 18 and older, in the US, through panel company Research Now. The data was collected through a 15-minute online questionnaire in October, 2011. As part of the research, iModerate Research Technologies conducted 22 conversations to elaborate on and provide additional context on QR Codes.

The last 20 years have been tough for print, in large part because print outlets have failed to become early-adapters to new technology. So, here is a new technology with the promise of solving a fundamental problem in newspapers and magazines - measuring response. Publications should welcome and embrace 2-D bar codes. At Mediabids, we have. We believe they will revolutionize how print ads are placed and even paid for.

Here is a good description from the most recent Forbes:

The codes, which are sometimes called QR codes for "quick response," are a sibling technology to the familiar bar codes found on product packaging. 2-D bar codes, however, store data in two dimensions, letting them stash more data than regular bar codes, including information like Web site and e-mail addresses.

Here's how it works: People scan or "snap" the codes with a cellphone camera. The phone's browser then activates and is automatically directed to a designated Web site linked to the code.

Though popular in Japan, where they are viewed as a simple way to pay bills and download videos, 2-D bar codes remain a very niche technology in the U.S.