Chipotle Gets a QR Code

Who says healthy food isn't on the cutting edge?

Warbasse Design and Print2D team up to promote Chipotle's Boorito 2010
by Beth Silverstein

October 14, 2010 - Santa Monica, CA -- Warbasse Design & Print2D work together to bring Chipotle's vision for a healthier America to a mobile audience. A functional Designer QR Code introduces the mobile micro site to promote this years Boorito Costume Contest and healthy eating outreach campaign. "My design team and I eat at the 3rd Street Promenade - Chipotle every week," says Philip Warbasse CEO - Warbasse Design. "We love the quality at Chipotle and were happy to donate our expertise and services to a company that truly cares about the health of their patrons. My team really wanted to support this cause and I was all for it."

The QR Code is intricately designed with pattern fills and splashes of Autumn colors. Directions to download a reader are clearly displayed below the code.

The micro site contains a mobile streaming video that is served based on the user's device. The video is a fun look at Steve Ells and Jamie Oliver's shared interest in healthy eating. Those who wish to Tweet about, or post the video on Facebook can access links to both mobile social environments. The site also contains information about "the horrors of processed food", Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, the Boorito costume contest and counting calories.

"This integrated Chipotle Boorito mobile campaign represents a fraction of what's possible in mobile marketing," continues Warbasse, "Chipotle is clearly ahead of the curve. They see what other brands will soon realize, that the challenge for advertisers today is to focus less on communicating to their audience and more on interacting with them."

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2D Barcodes for use in television commercials. New York Times interview with Philip Warbasse

September 27, 2010 - Los Angeles, CA -- Philip Warbasse of Warbasse Design talks with Elizabeth Olson of the New York Times for an article on the use of QR Codes in television as a potential new advertising channel. The article, found here, which appeared in today's Business section of the New York Times under Advertising and Media, features a look into the future of television advertising with examples of Bluefly.com's latest marketing effort using QR Codes.

Read the full press here http://www.bonovoxpr.com/warbasse/nytimes_warbasse.shtml

I just found out QR codes are not hot today!

....perhaps Mr. Kaplan's comments should not be disregarded as completely ridiculous.

I noticed a post today in the Mobile Marketer titled "QR codes are not hot today: CTIA panelist," by Rimma Kats.
http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/7635.html

My first inclination was to dismiss the comments made by Mark. Kaplan - GEM regarding fragmentation in the marketplace and the utility of 2D bar codes. But, on second thought, I believe they bring up important points that often need to be re-iterated.

As with all new technology, there are stages of acceptance that consumers go though before they make it a part of their everyday lives. The reasons Mr. Kaplan sited for not using QR Codes represent issues we have had to address from the start and can be easily mitigated with a clear strategy in place to deliver the appropriate reader to a user's handset.

Printers, agencies, large brands and a lot of tech-savvy people are already leveraging the benefits of Integrated Media - here and now. Most of us accept that 2D bar code advertising is on the way and there is nothing to stop it. Perhaps we all need to be reminded that the real channel is "mobile" and 2D bar codes are a specialized channel within the mobile channel (after the information contained in a 2D bar code is decoded, the bar code has little if anything to do with the rest of the experience).

But, let's look at the bigger question. How do consumers come to accept and use a technology? The Technology Acceptance Model suggests that when users encounter new technology, the most notable factors that influence their decision about how and when they will use it are:
-Perceived usefulness (PU) - The degree to which a person believes that using a particular system will enhance his or her ability to experience a desired result or outcome.*
-Perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) - Defined as "the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free from effort".**

So, when we consider this model and "perceived ease-of-use", perhaps Mr. Kaplan's comments should not be disregarded as completely ridiculous. I feel strongly if one reads Mr. Kaplan's comments with an open mind they will serve to make your campaigns better.

When my firm embarks on a new Integrated Media campaign, one of the first questions my developers ask is "who's the audience?" I jokingly reply, "the audience is our Grand Parents, make them feel as comfortable as possible."

INTEGRATED MEDIA TIPS FOR THE NEXT YEAR
-Make the user feel comfortable and totally in control,
-Always include simple instructions to download the appropriate reader,
-Make sure whatever is behind that code makes the user feel good about the process!
-Remember the challenge is not the bar code, it's the mobile experience behind it.

*TAM PU modified Warbasse
**Bagozzi et al., 1992; Davis et al., 1989