The workday was winding down, and I was putting some finishing touches on a presentation Bruce and I will be giving to the American Marketing Association on March 8. Our lead technical architect, Dustin was headed out of the office, and he stopped by my desk to say goodnight. He peeked over my shoulder at the slide I was editing on QR codes.  (Lost you already? Here’s a refresher course on QR.)

“Why wouldn’t you put QR codes on a billboard?”

I explained that to put a QR code on a billboard is not only an inconvenience, but it puts the consumer in danger. You’re asking them to search for their app while driving, aim their phone at the billboard, and then access the content you’re directing them to, all while they concentrate on the road ahead of them.

“What about billboards in a downtown area?”, he countered.

I hadn’t considered that. But he’s right. I was picturing a billboard near a highway. If your audience is walking around downtown, they’d be likely to scan a code. So we agreed that putting a QR code on a billboard on I-94 is probably not a good idea, but putting one where there is foot traffic is a great idea.

“I wouldn’t put one on a tshirt, though,” Dustin said.

I laughed, because I had ‘tshirt’ on my list of places I would suggest putting QR. I listed the example of servers in a restaurant wearing them on their shirt or perhaps on their nametag.

He explained that he once tried to scan a guy’s shirt and it was wrinkly and wouldn’t scan. He also said that you’d have to stop a busy server to scan their tag or shirt. I imagine it would be an interesting conversation piece whether it worked or not — much like how I wore the Power Balance bracelet for months even after I knew it was a sham. A conversation starter allows interaction with your brand, and that’s powerful.

The bottom line, Dustin and I agreed, is that there is a common sense element to any marketing initiative. It simply boils down to thinking about your customer and their experience. The point of QR codes is to engage the user. If you encourage them to interact with your brand in a positive way (whether it’s finding a code while walking down the street or talking to your waitstaff about their uniforms), that’s a GOOD thing.

And if you’re in Madison on March 8th for the AMA presentation, I’ll tell you the same thing.

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Anne is a Project Manager at Roll Mobile. She is a fitness fanatic and Twitter addict who is candid, random, and will give you the benefit of the doubt. Suggestions for a BLOG@ROLL topic can be sent to anne@whyroll.com or on Twitter via @RollMobile.