Mobile Commerce / Multichannel
A Shortcut to the Demise of the QR Code
- 13th February
- Campbell Phillips 154
QR codes have not seen the universal popularity that mobile technophiles originally hoped for. Now that Shortcut is on the scene, they may be gone before they get the chance.
QR codes have been popular for some time with publishers, advertisers and web consultants as the best way to add digital interactivity to analog media. However, the technology is yet to become wholeheartedly adopted by consumers universally, as they are often thought of as ugly, glitchy marketing gimmicks.
A Swiss entrepreneur, Herbert Bay, doesn’t like QR codes either. He also thinks he has discovered a way to replace them completely.
His company, Kooaba, has been working on image-recognition technology for six years, ever since its inception in Switzerland’s Federal Institute of Technology. The resulting software has recently been launched as an app that Kooaba hopes will redefine the way we link offline and online media.
The app is called Shortcut and it allows users to photograph newspaper pieces, magazine articles, print advertisement and even billboards before linking to related digital content via a mobile device.
Here’s a video of Shortcut at work:
Bay spoke about the potential of his company’s new app in an interview with GigaOm.
“The pitch when we talk to newspapers and printed publications is that we can make them interactive – and they don’t need to place any QR codes anywhere,” Bay said. “In addition, they can sell their advertisers on that interactivity… it removes the need for QR codes.”
The Shortcut User Interface. Credit: GigaOm
The app is already compatible with papers like USA Today and The New York Post, among a list of 1000 publications. Kooaba has also partnered with the international media sales company Publicitas, in order to bring advertising media into its repertoire. Having said this, Shortcut could technically be applied to any media, including books, movie posters, CDs and DVDs.
“The thing with a startup is deciding where to put your resources,” said Bay. “Newspapers and magazines are low-hanging fruit for our app, so we’re focused on those for now.”
The app has the potential to force QR codes into obsolescence, however it will soon be fighting fiercely for territory as more similar technologies begin to appear. If Google Goggles became the norm, for example, there would be no need for either QR codes and apps like Shortcut will suffer intense competition.
By developing more intuitive ways of linking on- and offline media, it’s not just publications that will see the benefit. Retail marketing promotions will be able to incorporate an extra level of interactivity as well, by linking in-store customers directly to social media or directly to product catalogues.
For more news and information on mobile technology, see Power Mobile.
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This is a limited alternative to but one of the myriad of uses of the QR code, and it speaks to the general public’s still limited knowledge of what QR codes can do/be used for. Newspapers and print media are going the way of the Dodo, yet this is going to “kill” QR? Not bloody likely…
QR code is a great invention people made. I’m making mobile apps currently and find it really cool to implement QR codes into them. I’m amazed at QR code coupons. They are really helpful for small businesses.
QR codes have the advantage of sending users to targeted, evergreen content chosen by the content creator or marketer, and accessible through various media or apps. Shortcut appears to send users to what Kooaba thinks is most relevant, putting power in the hands of Kooaba’s technology rather than the codes themselves. I’m interested to follow the company and see how it proceeds, but I’m skeptical that it has the power to “kill” alternate ways of accessing relevant mobile content. Every company would love to be “the” route from print to mobile, but it may be in the best interest of consumers for there to remain multiple ways to engage.
@Robert & @Kerry – agreed.
If anything has prevented QR codes from being ‘wholeheartedly adopted by consumers universally’, it’s big firms lingering addiction to impression-based, intrusion marketing, seeing QR as just another place to throw up a billboard, or trick me into watching a commercial on YouTube (looking squarely at you, Bacardi).
My latest QR client is a ski/snowboard tune-up shop in Whistler, BC. We created a QR code and a mobile site experience that makes it very easy for folks to get their gear tuned while on holiday. The code will be placed on gift cards (with pre-loaded discount) and tri-folds, and placed in hotel rooms and B&B’s (bars, etc) surrounding the village. The mobile site has an input form for door-to-door pickup/drop-off service, or alternatively, provides the user a route (based on geolocation) to the shop, should you prefer to drop-off yourself.
How is this Shortcut app in any way relevant to my need/use for a QR code in this example? I mean it’s absolute Twitter gold, but I don’t why you’d think it’s going to ‘kill’ QR codes, which are used for so much more than link/article/ad sharing.
Agreed, tonnes of versatility in a QR code vs shortcut. However was impressed by the augmented reality application launched by Blippar recently.
I think the image recognition technology is better than a barcode and QR.
QR code is a great invention people made. I’m making mobile apps currently and find it really cool to implement QR codes into them. I’m amazed at QR code coupons Snappii app builder allows to create. They are really helpful for small businesses.