Many companies have seen new opportunities in Quick Response codes: link to their website, contact information, exclusive and customized content… The possibilities are broad and generating QR Codes is not the hardest thing to do. However many of us feel overwhelmed by QR codes these days. They seem to be everywhere and their usage can be more than questionable sometimes.

The problem doesn’t come from QR codes themselves but rather from the ways they’re sometimes used. QR codes should be an easy and interactive experience between you and the audience you’re willing to reach. The thing is that they can be really annoying and complicated to use in certain conditions. An ad agency in Croatia wanted to put QR Codes in cars’ license plates! By scanning them, you would get touristic information about the region the plates are from… Dangerous much? Thank God this idea never actually went through. Some companies also put QR codes in their website which makes us wonder if some of them just want to use QR codes for the sake of using them. Their overuse by some can cause lack of interest in the technology and can affect companies that use them in a more reasonable and efficient way.

So, what’s next? Will QR codes survive thanks to those who use them wisely or will they just be forgotten and replaced by the next big thing? What’s the “next big thing” anyway? According to many, the Near Field Communication technology offers the most opportunities as far as mobile marketing and business. The possibilities are actually way greater than what QR codes have to offer and NFC don’t need a visible code, it can be directly embedded in an actually nice looking picture (smart poster)!

The problem? Adoption is slower than expected and some leading smartphone brands can’t handle the technology as of today… oh and it costs more to implement as well! Maybe QR codes, NFC Technology and other and future ways of scanning can actually coexist and be used for different means.

It is now our responsibility to use QR codes wisely and to start anticipating quick changes in mobile marketing!