A QR code flashed across a black screen. Excellent creative execution, or why do it in the first place?
In the marketing world, especially for digital-first brands, ‘Break the Internet!’ is an honour badge. Moreover, it’s every advertiser’s dream to create a viral video that gets plastered over Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ (ha, yeah, because people care about G+).
Dunzo’s QR code commercial during the IPL Finals brought back memories of a similar initiative by Coinbase, a crypto exchange platform, during the Super Bowl. Coinbase had a QR Code jumping on the screen during the annual playoff championship game of the National Football League. It was probably too good a tactic to not replicate here in India.
Also read: UGC (User Generated Content) Is The New Black
Quick commerce platform, Dunzo, which competes with Swiggy Instamart, Zepto, and BlinkIt, had a similar QR code displayed on the screen during the Indian Premier League final broadcast. During the ad breaks where brands did their best to tell their story in 10 seconds, a 20-second spot disguised as a television glitch that only displayed a QR code against a black backdrop with the message, “Inconvenience is regretted. Scan for convenience.”
Dunzo executives claim that the initiative helped traffic to the app surge ahead by 10X. This is a classic marketing ploy of Dunzo by creating something deeply intriguing which is bound to be discussed and possibly go viral. Dunzo’s advertising and promotion strategies often hinge on moment marketing where its messages or advertisements are created by using relevant content from current events.
The secret is effective marketing strategies and advertisements. A big part of the advertising industry is creativity. And Coca-Cola, the brand that has managed to rule the world of non-alcoholic beverages, is perfect for analysing advertisement creativity.
In 2010, Coca-Cola celebrated the iconic 1990 World Cup goal of the retired Cameroonian Footballing legend Roger Milla. That year’s World Cup track ‘Waving Flag’ had footage of footballers across the globe and their excitement after scoring a goal for their national team. This ad’s closing line was “Coca-Cola: Open Happiness”.
QR codes on TV ads: Real-life examples
There are a lot of TV advertisement examples of how QR codes are used in TV ads.
- Lacoste TV commercial with QR code that enables the user to purchase goods
- ‘Love or Money’ uses a TV commercial with QR code to market tickets to viewers.
- KTVU’s short TV commercials promote app downloads
Here’s What We Think:
Today, nobody usually watches TV without their smartphones in close proximity.
From a marketing point of view, a brand must always be relatable and inclusive, with consideration of ‘Every person archetype’ while staying contemporary and bold. When marketing initiatives are relatable and told lucidly, the brand manages to appeal to many people who find their truths in the insights on which its campaigns are based.
Especially for targeted digital campaigns, understanding the relevance of communication to the user using clicks and related actions have become necessary. There’s, of course, virality, quality of engagement, etc., which determine the efficacy of the communication. Like the Burger King QR Code deal, using the QR Whopper in their commercial, any brand can too promote giveaways, run a coupon marketing campaign, or connect people to its online store that redirects views to a specific landing page with the Dynamic URL QR Code.
