Module 3 - Foursquare and QR Codes!

As a consumer, while I’ve heard of Foursquare and obviously seen QR Codes on various materials, I can’t say either had been of much interest to me until now. While I love my social media, I discovered a substantial ‘barrier to adoption’ with each of these apps. Single biggest learning – keep it simple – if gaining access is too complicated, users will abandon the effort before they get to the good part!

Several months ago, I started the process of signing up for Foursquare – I know this because when I went to sign-up earlier this week, the system noted that I already was registered. That said, the process of actually downloading the app was laborious and time consuming to say the very least. I guess if I had kept my iPhone operating system up to date it would have been far simpler, but it took me hours to upgrade and download the app – it’s only available on iOS 5 or iOS 6. As it turns out, it was so very worth the wait! I immediately checked out the ‘Explore’ feature and selected ‘Specials’. I was thrilled to find myself the ‘mayor’ of a local spa and offered a complimentary OnTheGo facial! I found myself scrolling through local listings – gathering great ideas, as well as special offers, for future nocturnal adventures. I loved to see the names people came up with to label their homes – I named my location ‘Deco Dame’ (my apartment is a 1931 art deco building). While I can certainly see this SM platform taking off (I’m definitely selling my ‘yellow-pages’ stock!?!), it hasn’t reached critical mass ... yet. I found very few ‘friends’ were registered, but the interesting thing to note is that from a marketing perspective, the platform is effective even in the absence of critical mass – the geomapping in combination with incentives were enough to keep my interest. However, from a PR perspective our objective is to garner ‘earned’ media and amplify messages. Once Foursquare gains more members, and reaches a certain level of active users it will represent a great new tactic in the PR practitioner’s toolbox. That said, I believe that there may be a risk that users may access it more for its local listings and incentives, and ignore the social media features. There may be some parallels with the ‘Groupon’ and ‘Social Living’ discount programs. They were developed based on the concept of users promoting offers to ‘connections’ and therefore reaping increased rewards. I don’t know the statistics, but while I have signed up for a number of these programs, and take advantage of their offers occasionally, I never ‘refer friends’ or ‘share’ – not sure I want my network to know I’m getting bargain botox – even if it means I might get mine free!

Once Foursquare increases its number of active users, I could see it used to build awareness of mobile blood donor clinics, pop-up seasonal stores, or local fund-raising events. The feature that allows users to take a photo to accompany their ‘check-in’ could be particularly effective for driving traffic and building awareness.

QR Codes were far less complicated. I understood how QR Codes worked – access to additional information -- but simply never felt compelled to download the required app (the app is built-in on many devices, but interestingly, not in the ubiquitous iPhone). The only time I was ever tempted to take the additional step to obtain the app, was when it was included on a ‘for rent’ sign and I was curious to see more – but not that curious, I didn’t bother in end.  Mostly the QR code merely takes the user to information they could access just as easily via Google!   The uninspiring B&W symbol, compounded by the need to download an app, plus the process of scanning, makes me think that the QR Code may be of limited use to PR practitioners. The novelty has worn off.

My feeling is that AR may supplant the QR code. The TNW article lists a number of new AR applications, which will allow users to scan objects (rather than boring B&W symbols) with their phones, incorporating (or ‘augmenting’) fictitious visual elements into the real-world visuals. An example of use in PR might be fundraising for a new museum wing – the user scans the building and a time-lapse visual of the wing being constructed would appear. Another example might be to scan the museum and a list of the day’s special exhibits or lectures could appear. My father is a huge fan of old airplanes – the Hamilton Air Museum could incorporate a feature into its exhibits that allow users to scan the plane and see AR visuals of the famous pilots that flew them.  A drug company could incorporate AR into a convention display – a user would scan their image as it appears in a mirror – the program would then show the effects of disease on their organs. The key is to provide easy access to additional, relevant content!