I am a great fan of QR-Codes; and wish that more publishers would adopt the technology and implement these snazzy snippets of interactive information within their advertising and media campaigns. I recently posted an article talking about how XMPie was now supporting the creation of QR-Codes; and other 2D barcodes from directly inside uDirect.
Recently I heard about Microsoft Tag, Microsoft’s own 2D Barcode technology. At first sight it would seem that Microsoft has simply reinvented the wheel and created another style of 2D Barcode; however looking closely things seem slightly different.
For starters a Microsoft tag actually uses less space to encode a single byte of information; using different coloured triangles opposed to black/white squares.
Secondly it produces smaller sized codes as you can see below:
What’s more interesting is that Microsoft Tags do not actually encode the data (URL or other text) inside the mark. What they actually do is contain a unique reference which needs to be decoded my a Microsoft Server; which in turn points to the actual URL or reference point.
Using a server in this way effectively allows you to track the usage of a code within the field – by analysing the server you can see how many people have used the mark etc.
So in essence Microsoft have not reinvented the wheel; this is a new technology.
But wait; hold the boat one second. Microsoft Tags are unique effectively because they allow a managed and traceable service. However refer back to my original posting and you will see that my using standard QR-Code and a Cross Media Marketing tool; such as XMPie PersonalEffect you can easily create personalised QR-Code, that contain a unique URL (personalised or response URL).
Thus you can create unique codes, and then include then within your campaign. Add to the mix XMPie’s Marketing Dashboard; you can then track how successful the QR-Code has been within a campaign – not just one element to a campaign. The power of integration wins again!
So, in conclusion …. it is better (in my opinion) to stick with QR-Code as they allow you to encode a greater variety of information (URL, SMS, VCARD etc) and track their use within an integrated campaign tool.