Think through the strategy first
What value or worthwhile experience are you going to deliver?
Make sure to optimize the experience for mobile phones
Content needs to tie in with print and branding
Don’t just go to a website, this will probably not add value
Provide instructions (such as “download a QR code reader available at http://www.castlepress.com/qrcodes and scan with your smartphone”). Don’t assume that everyone is going to get it with no instructions.
Make the process easy; don’t make them jump through too many hoops to learn about your product
Make it pay for itself (what do you expect to get)
Craft a campaign that is relevant and offers value, benefit and meaning to a consumer and a decent user experience
Use different codes for different media so you can track usage by media type.
What can a customer get out of a QR interaction (detailed product information, retail store locations, coupons, enter a contest, see a video, listen to an audio file, or make a purchase)
All of these different types of deliverables become methods by which a consumer can engage and interact with a brand
Is your goal acquisition of new customers, building loyalty, building brand awareness, giving instructions or what?
Think of this as another tool in your marketing channel just like emails, telemarketing, direct marketing, advertising, television, radio, banner ads, and social media. They all have a place at the marketing table. This is just a mobile phone tie in.
You can use a static QR code but change its destination site so it directs to different content every week or month.
How can advertisers expect to build a long term consumer adoption if codes are used and/or displayed on only a sporadic, or worse, one-time basis?
Like other forms of marketing test, refine, test and refine until the tactic or strategy delivers the desired results.
What’s the purpose, what’s the customer experience and what is the value we are delivering?