Should you put a QR code on a billboard?

Local-qr-code-billbard-smLots of companies are putting QR codes on billboards.  See the Durden Outdoor ad on the right.  A QR code is a barcode which contains a URL.  Scan the barcode with your phone and you’ll be taken to a website page.  The QR code on the right was placed on a Durden Outdoor billboard for the local newspaper. Clear Channel has 75,000 scannable tags on sites with heavy footfall and long dwell time (e.g. airports, shoping malls, bus stops).   Insider has seen realtor billboards with embeded QR codes,

Insider thinks you need to be cautious about adding QR codes to billboards.    They are great for transit boards, billboards in parking lots and billboards in pedestrian areas which will be scanned by non-drivers.  Not so good for freeways as these posts by rootdigitalmarketing and wthr point out.   Do we want to encourage drivers to scan a QR code using their smartphones while they drive?  The anti-billboard lobby uses freeway QR code billboards as examples why digital signs need to be outlawed.   Insider has heard from more than one digital sign manufacturer that a QR code freeway digital billboard is not wise programming.

 

 

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