Imagine watching the Super Bowl and seeing a $13-16 million 60-second ad spot showing nothing more than a QR code bouncing around the screen. That’s exactly what Coinbase did for the 2022 Super Bowl, and the result was a staggering - 20 million hits on the company’s website, in just one minute!
K Tyre too, inscribed QR codes on the walls of the ITO metro station in Delhi, allowing commuters to scan and access their website. Similarly, Cleartrip nudged customers to avail discounts for their trips by using QR codes. The company launched a nationwide print ad campaign featuring QR codes that customers could scan to access exclusive offers.
“QR codes are powerful tools that greatly help in garnering additional reach. With the rise of smartphones, QR codes are a great way to share your videos, creatives or a dedicated campaign landing page. They help bring offline content to online platforms on the spot! At Muthoot Finance too, we actively use QR codes in our print ads to disseminate our ongoing TV commercial. Even in the print ad of our current campaign – ‘Muthoot Finance Sunheri Soch Season-3’ we have integrated our Sunheri Soch Anthem video as a QR code. It greatly helps get incremental reach through pre-committed print investments,” says Abhinav Iyer, Senior General Manager - Marketing & Strategy, Muthoot Finance.
Other brands like Bajaj Auto, Swiggy, PNG Jewellers, Greenply Industries, Soulflower and ITC Mangaldeep also jumped on the QR code bandwagon, using them in innovative ways to connect with their customers.
“Mangaldeep, being a leading incense brand known for its innovative solutions, has launched an augmented reality-enabled Maha Kumbh 2025 campaign. It is a 360-degree campaign that users can access on their phones by scanning a QR code. The code has been used to amplify the reach of this experience through online promotions, print and WhatsApp community marketing. Since its launch in the last week of Jan 25, the campaign has received over 2 lakh visitors, where approximately 10% of the traffic has come through QR scans,” says Gaurav Tayal, CEO of Matches and Agarbatti Division, ITC. He further added that Mangaldeep is also leveraging QR codes to talk about their CSR initiatives, such as the Sixth Sense panel, by adding QR codes to its new Temple range product launches.
Brands are also leveraging immersive experiences to make QR code promotions more engaging. PNB MetLife’s innovative marketing strategy for their ‘Aapka Aage Ka Kya Plan Hai?’ campaign is definitely worth highlighting. To promote their brand and encourage people to plan for their future, they created an immersive 3D experience that could be accessed via QR code. But what’s really interesting is how they chose to promote this experience - across metro stations, buses, and outdoor hoardings in Delhi, specifically during the Delhi elections.
“For the first time, PNB MetLife created this immersive 3D experience easily accessed by a QR code that was seen across mediums. To raise awareness and initiate a conversation about retirement and our Gain retirement plan, we ran a TV ad with a QR code during the Delhi election results and utilised high-visibility avenues such as metros, buses, and outdoor hoardings. On the very first day of the campaign, over 1,00,000 consumers engaged in the immersive journey, and we also witnessed nearly 2X increase in our website traffic,” says Sourabh Lohtia, Chief Marketing & Communication Officer, PNB MetLife.
Bandhan Life Insurance took a different route, leveraging the power of music to make QR codes more engaging. Their ads featured a catchy jingle and animated expressions, demystifying life insurance and resonating with their audience. By incorporating a QR code, customers could scan and purchase life insurance in minutes, streamlining the process and resetting customer expectations.
Akhil Almeida, Head of Marketing, Bandhan Life Insurance, explains, “Our goal was to make life insurance more accessible to the masses in emerging India. We took a traditional medium – print ads – and added an innovative twist by incorporating a QR code, enabling consumers to scan and complete their life insurance purchase in just minutes. The results were striking: a 2.5X increase in customer queries, a 1.8X improvement in Return on Ad Spend, and a remarkable 70% reduction in Customer Acquisition Cost.”
The response to QR code campaigns has been overwhelmingly positive. Brands have reported significant increases in engagement, website traffic, and sales. 
As QR codes become increasingly ubiquitous, it’s clear that they’re here to stay. Hemant Chavaan, Head- Marketing, E-commerce and CSR, PNG Jewellers, states, “We have been leveraging QR codes for multiple purposes over the years, effectively driving engagement and streamlining user interactions. Our strategic use of QR codes includes redirecting traffic from newspapers to specific web pages, facilitating Google reviews for improved customer feedback, collecting responses via feedback forms, driving potential candidates to career pages during career fests & walk-ins and promoting monthly schemes by directing users to our website.”
From advertisements to packaging, QR codes are popping up everywhere, and it’s easy to see why. They offer a quick, seamless, and interactive way to connect with customers, making them a game-changer for marketers. By providing a direct link between the physical and digital worlds, QR codes enable brands to increase engagement, improve customer experience, and drive business growth. And with the majority of Indians now owning smartphones, the potential reach of QR codes is staggering.
Dunzo also leveraged QR codes, putting them up on TV screens to drive engagement with a unique campaign during the 2022 IPL finals. The 20-second spot disguised as a television glitch featured a QR code against a black backdrop with the message, “Inconvenience is regretted. Scan for convenience.” The QR code led viewers directly to the Dunzo app, resulting in a staggering “10x spike in traffic on May 29, 2022,” revealed Kabeer Biswas, CEO of Dunzo, in a LinkedIn post. Biswas also mentioned that the campaign helped surpass the brand’s highest order volume by massive margins and also doubled its weekly orders to 2 million.
QR codes are a dynamic and idealistic creative format, offering an interactive bridge between passive TV viewing and active consumer engagement. Sharing this sentiment, Nikhil Kumar, Chief Growth Officer, mediasmart (an Affle company), says, “We were among the first to launch QR code ads using our Creative Sync technology. This innovation quickly gained interest from digital-native brands in luxury retail and automotive sector, helping them create unique opportunities to drive awareness and engagement.” Kumar also acknowledges the fact that, while the potential of QR code is immense, the technology also comes with its own set of challenges. For example, the success of a QR code relies heavily on factors such as the design of the QR code, the strength of the CTA, and the required change in user behaviour for scanning the codes on CTV. If any of these aspects fall short, it could cause potential delays in the adoption of the technology.
“As the acronym suggests, QR is Quick Response. This is the brand’s way to quickly connect with the consumers and boost engagement. Of late, the trend has become pervasive due to the proliferation of smart phones and the ubiquity of QR codes. It’s a sign of the times. Brands need to build a sustainable relationship with the consumers. There is a need for a smart and quick way to connect, and QR codes provide that seamless and instant bridge to a brand’s portal or app. This interactivity is not only convenient but also boosts engagement,” says Sanjay Trehan, Digital & New Media Advisor.
But what makes QR codes so effective? For starters, they’re incredibly convenient. With QR codes, consumers can access information, make transactions, or interact with brands in real-time. And because QR codes can be easily tracked and analysed, brands can gain valuable insights into consumer behaviour and preferences. This data can then be used to refine marketing strategies, making QR codes a powerful tool for brands looking to stay ahead of the curve.
“QR codes are very versatile and can be recognised at long distances. This makes them ideal for usage in advertising, even on digital media. Brands are trying to use them to provide a quick way to get to a digital destination. We will see more creative uses of QR codes and even more creative design of QR codes,” says Independent Brand Strategist, Ambi Parameswaran.
Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc states that QR codes are emerging to be very participative. Because of payment gateways like PayTM, PhonePe etc, people are used to scanning QR codes to pay or check out catalogues. So via means of percolation or through television, people who are on their phones are getting into a participative mode through QR codes. He adds, “Pick your phone, scan the QR code and get landed on a site and all brands are using it to a good advantage. The ones who use better creativity get a better bang for the buck.”
Of course, like any marketing tool, QR codes are only as effective as the strategy behind them. Brands need to ensure that their messaging is clear, concise, and compelling, providing a strong reason for consumers to scan. The content behind the QR code must also be relevant and valuable, making the experience worthwhile for the consumer. And let’s not forget the importance of strategic placement – QR codes need to be placed in locations where they’re most likely to be seen and scanned.
What website addresses and links were to brands five or ten years ago, QR codes are today. In fact, one could rename them as a ‘Quick-spreading Rash.’ Adding to this sentiment, Ashok Lalla, Brand and Marketing Advisor, says, “The way QR codes are used can determine whether consumers see value in scanning them or feel they have just been click-baited into scanning them. Simply sticking a QR code in the middle of an ad and saying ‘Scan to discover <blah blah>’ won’t get any real traction. There has to be a compelling ‘reason to act.’ Likewise, QR codes requesting feedback or reviews won’t work with a bland ‘Show us some love’ kind of message.” He further adds that the novelty aspect of QR codes has faded. Brands now need to put serious thought into the messaging around them and not treat them as call-to-action devices for them to be effective marketing devices. “Used well, QR codes can become a potent part of a marketer’s arsenal for their brands,” states Lalla.
As technology continues to evolve, we can expect QR codes to become even more sophisticated. Imagine QR codes that integrate augmented reality, artificial intelligence, or the Internet of Things (IoT). The possibilities are endless, and brands that embrace QR code marketing will be well-positioned to reap the benefits of this innovative technology. So, the next time you see a QR code, don’t be afraid to scan it. You never know where it might take you.
