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Top 10 Reasons ScanLife EZcodes Are Better Than Quick Response (QR) Codes For U.S. Marketers

June 22, 2010 • Atlanta, GA USA – ScanLife’s EZcode brand version of quick response (QR) scan codes will win the defacto standard battle in the United States rather than the QR code first developed – and now ubiquitous – in Japan.

EZcode • Twitter Example (Text SCAN to 43588 for free scanning app)

I agree with Mashable Associate Editor Jennifer Van Grove (6/11/10) writing about City of New York Blankets Times Square with Giant QR Codes:

• Unfortunately, the QR codes miss the mark and don’t provide an optimized experience for scanners on the mobile device – which pretty much, includes the entire target audience.
• These QR codes are certainly impressive to behold and are a nice first try … we hope future endeavors will yield QR codes that provide scanners with much more exciting and mobile-friendly content.

New York City – that’s an “A Plus” for a great innovative idea and great timing with Internet Week 2010; and a “B Minus” for implementation.

Here are my top 10 reasons why EZcodes will be the scan code of choice by U.S. marketers and why the City of New York (“NYC”) should have used EZcodes instead of QR codes in their Times Square buzz-marketing campaign. (In this That’s GREAT! blog post, I have also included a recommendation for ScanBuy to help ensure that their ScanLife EZcode wins the defacto standard in the U.S.)

EZcode v QR Code

1. Analytics. Analytics. Analytics. – When you create EZcodes at ScanLife.com and the codes are scanned with the ScanLife app, ScanBuy provides you with data and analytics (e.g. gender, age, household income, zip code, smart phone model, mobile carrier, number of scans and date scanned). If you use a free QR code generator on the web, you don’t get analytics. Clients – and their Agencies – need data to help evaluate campaigns. (ScanBuy also includes data and analytics for QR and Datamatrix codes created at ScanLife.com and scanned with the ScanBuy app.) Any code created by ScanLife and scanned by the ScanLife app will generate “most data 100 percent of the time; and income and zip date about 10-15% of the time,” according to a representative of ScanBuy. My guess is that NYC used a free QR code generator that does not provide any analytics regarding the scanning of the QR codes in Times Square. [Kindly comment to this blog post, if you know otherwsie ...]
2. Size Matters – EZcodes can be as small as a dime. “Typically QR codes are anywhere from 2x the size of an EZcode to 10x the size of an EZcode, but the QR codes that [ScanLife] generate can always be a minimum of 1 inch,” according to a representative of ScanBuy. Typically, QR codes that are not generated by ScanLife, are larger because the information is include in the code itself (rather than the EZcode that “points to” a database for the content or call-to-action).  Using an EZcode scan code leaves more room in print media to use for something else. “The size of an EZcode does not increase based on the information which it is linked to, while other formats are directly proportional to the amount of data delivered [except when generated by ScanLife],” says a ScanLife in its “EZcode Benefits” brochure. See page 2 of this brochure for a terrific chart showing a comparison of size examples of EZcodes versus QR scan codes.
3. EZcodes Are Easier To Scan On A Smart Phone – the simplicity of an EZcode density design make it easier to scan. While EZcodes and QR codes may be equally easy to scan in a magazine, that’s not true of outdoor boards, clothing and other uses.
4. EZcodes Are Faster To Scan On A Smart Phone – the simplicity of an EZcode also make it faster to scan. Seconds count to get the call-to-action completed.
5. EZcodes Are Easier to Reproduce – the simplicity of the EZcode design means it’s easier to reproduce – even as small as the size of a dime, for example. If you make a QR code the size of a dime, it’s likely that the QR scan code will not scan!
6. ScanLife App Is Pre-Loaded on Many Smart Phones – Since the ScanLife app (free) that reads EZcodes is pre-loaded on many smart phones, you’re a step ahead. Plus, the ScanLife app reads every major barcode format including: Quick Response (QR) and Datamatrix scan codes. Millions of mobile phones with the ScanLife app can read EZcode scan codes. [Scanbuy reportes 25 million as of 6/23/10]
7. No One Ever Gets Fired For Buying From IBM – You’re in great company with EZcodes. Major marketers using EZcodes include: McDonalds, American Airlines, Sears, CitySearch, US Air Force, Case Western University, Sprint, Guinness, Billboard magazine, Morgans Hotel Group, and Car and Driver magazine.
8. Pre-Built Scan Code Tools – With EZcodes, in addition to launching a webpage, you can (easily) create a tweet; run a sweepstakes; automatically initiate a pre-determined phone number; send a text message; automatically open a message with the address and text fields pre-filled; launch a carrier specific menu; send all basic contact information to the address book;automatically save a calendar entry (and more). In the NYC Times Square campaign, I would have preferred pre-filled in tweets to create audience engagement, or at the very least, a NYC mobile optimized websites, as Mashable suggests.
9. EZcodes Are Smart (Change Info – Even After The Code Has Been Published) – You can print an EZcode scan code in a magazine without knowing the info that you will associate with that EZcode. Plus, even after the scan code is in use, you can tweak your content. Perhaps the production deadlines for the NYC spectacular signage was before NYC knew what content it wanted to provide, so it had to go with an existing URL at the time of production. Had NYC used EZcodes, it could have changed the URL that it “points to” during the campaign!
10. GREAT! Recommends EZcodes – Just because you are starting to see QR codes in the U.S., doesn’t mean that’s the best choice. Once you do your research, you’ll agree that the scan code of choice for U.S. marketers will be easy an easy decision – EZcode.

QR Code • Twitter Example (Text SCAN to 43588 for free scanning app)

Recommendation For ScanBuy To Help Ensure The Success Of It’s EZcodes

ScanBuy offers two pricing strategies for using EZcodes:

• pay a flat monthly fee, or
• pay a one-time project fee based on the scale and scope of the project and the window that the EZcodes will be used

The challenge with these two pricing options is that you have to have a conversation with ScanBuy for every project. At best, this is cumbersome in the get-to-know ‘em phase. (Personal usage of EZcodes is free, but no analytics and not all EZcode uses are offered.) At worst, some potential marketers will fail to test EZcodes and opt for a free QR code generator without knowing what they are missing.

I recommend that ScanBuy eliminate its free personal usage EZcodes and add the following ScanBuy Membership plan:

• $49 12-month ScanBuy membership; includes up to 5,000 scans per year (a penny a scan) and then 2 cents per scan. Offer a free introductory special now through 12/31/11 (via promo code); or $24.95 for the first 12 months including up to 5,000 scans free. Offer pre-pay options for various buckets of additional scans within 12 months. (e.g. pre-pay $50 for 5,000 additional scans.)

• The 12-month $49 membership offer enables an affiliate marketing program to be implemented to generate revenue to cover marketing this expense (even if discounted to $24.95); and, more importantly, enables offering the same EZcode service to every customer (offering analytics and all versions of EZcodes options) so Clients and Agencies can test a full-working robust account without having to disclose its marketing plans to ScanBuy.) Codes can be retired – and re-cycled – if the annual 12-month membership is not renewed.

• After 5,000 scans, the ScanBuy member can either pay monthly via credit card; cancel the account (all codes for this customer will no longer work); or – in the case of a major account, request and receive special one-time project or monthly pricing. (Large projects/accounts will need to know fixed costs up front in order to budget for the project.)

• Even once large projects end, ScanBuy members can still opt to pay the two cents per scan to keep the codes active (or, pre-pay for a bucket of scans for predictable savings.)

The annual $49 12-month membership revenue will generate substantial revenue for ScanBuy beginning with annual renewal of membership. Plus, by the 13th month, it’s a an easy business decision to renew the EZcode membership and to pre-pay for EZcodes in exchange for predictable savings.

[For 101 Uses For Quick Response (QR) Codes: Creating Audience Engagement With The Next Killer U.S. App, please see my That's GREAT! blog post of June 12, 2010. To download the free ScanLife app for your smart phone, text SCAN to 43588; search your app directory for ScanLife; or go to getscanlife.com]

Related That’s GREAT! blog posts: [Added 8/2/10]

• That’s GREAT! – 101 Uses For Quick Response (QR) Codes: Creating Audience Engagement With The Next Killer U.S. App (6/12/10)
• That’s GREAT! – Top 10 Reasons ScanLife EZcodes Are Better Than Quick Response (QR) Codes For U.S. Marketers (6/11/10)
• That’s GREAT! – Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Integrating 2D Quick Response Codes In Your Marketing Plans (8/2/10)
• That’s GREAT! (8/20/10) Product Camp Atlanta: Social Media Meets Quick Response (QR) Codes: 25 Great QR Ideas In 10 Minutes (Then We Brainstorm 25 More Ideas)

Postscript:

• Here are some comments – via Twitter – to this blog post: @christianoliver, @christianoliver (Since most scan codes take you to a URL, your mobile still needs a data connection to the internet.)

• ScanLife VP of Marketing David Javitch posted (6/21/10) a comment on the LinkedIn Group: 2D Codes for Global Media regarding the difference between Japan and the United States regarding scan codes and camera phones:  “… The main reason that Japan worked so well is because all of the operators preloaded a reader on devices which run on 2-3 operating systems, and that had great AF [Auto Focus] cameras (needed to read complex QR codes). They also focused on the QR code as the primary point of interaction.  In the US for example, AF cameras just started hitting the market in the past 10 months, and there are 6 different operating systems that all handle the camera differently (even different devices on the same OS work differently). UPC code scanning has also become quite popular here which is great because it creates adoption, but it also adds another layer of complexity.  So, we need to prioritize both the handsets and the barcodes which are most likely to be used by consumers and businesses. Right now, that is evolving very quickly based on what the market wants, and we will continue to be flexible to do what is best for the industry. The market will standardize, but that will likely happen on different timelines by region.”

• GoMo News – BA’s barcode causes confusion – Datamatrix or Aztec? (7/20/10) [UK based]

Disclosures:

• ScanBuy provided GREAT! with a free ScanLife EZcode scan code business account.

• [As of July 2010] GREAT! is a value-added reseller of *Scanbuy’s Scanlife 2D and 1D Platform for Quick Response (QR);EZcode; and Datamatrix codes. GREAT! provides two (2D) scan code implementation, scan code management and scan code consulting to clients and their agencies. Contact us.

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