QR Codes and Charitable Giving
Posted on by Timothy Boyle
I was walking through Logan airport on my way to my terminal when I spotted a large QR code. Obviously due to my QR code obsession this caught my eye. I took a quick glance without reading the advertisement and hesitated, contemplating if my precious time was worth spending to read the poster and take a photo for blogging purposes (assuming it was either a great use or a terrible use). Luckily I decided to allow the post to consume the two seconds of my time needed to read the poster and the 10 seconds needed to snap a photo and scan the code. As it so happens it was a fantastic use of a QR code and from those supposedly precious seconds of my life this blog post was born.
The ad I happily stumbled on was an almost perfect use of a QR code, not just in the normal execution of the code, but also in the cause.
The advertisement here was from Make-A-Wish asking airport passengers to make a donation to help sick and less fortunate children’s wishes come true. Not through donating money, but through donating spare air miles. A great cause, and done well.
Their QR code use was outstanding as well. The first thing I noticed was that the QR code was emphasized, egging people on to scan the code. This is important if you really want to get the benefit of using a QR code, making the QR code the centerpiece will ensure people understand the purpose of the ad: to get you to scan (and in this case donate to a good cause).
The next thing that is done well here is the call to action. The ad is uncluttered with graphics and wording, and all that remains is a brief sentence describing the cause and a call to action to donate air miles to said cause.
Upon scanning the code you are taken to a mobile optimized landing page, ensuring easy navigation. This easy navigation ensures that far fewer potential donors will give up while in the process of donating due to the hassle of navigating a desktop website on a mobile phone. With a mobile optimized site entering in your information and making a donation is incredibly easy.
From the main landing page you are also given the option to donate or volunteer, in case you want to help but lack air miles to give.
This almost perfect use of QR codes in the Make-A-Wish poster almost makes me think that the person in charge of marketing for them has read our best practices sheet.
Make-A-Wish certainly succeeded in the advertisement campaign, and anyone planning on using QR codes, or who already is, particularly for charitable causes, should look at this as a guiding light for their own.
