 QR links help increase ‘awareness’ of books and authors
Industry leaders, publishers, marketing groups and retailers are welcoming a high-tech tool that is popping up everywhere as a tech-savvy way to engage consumers, increase sales and raise awareness of Christian books and authors. Regarded as the more sophisticated cousin of traditional bar codes, QR (Quick Response) codes are small black graphical squares on white background—encoded with information, which can be text, a Web site address, video or other data. With the advent of smart mobile phones, the postage-stamp-size icons are an increasingly popular avenue for interacting with an audience because the codes allow consumers to take a QR picture on a store shelf and compare prices, features, inventory or other attributes via the Web. Common in Japan, where they were introduced in the 1990s, QR codes are “really a tool for publishers,” according to Evangelical Christian Publishers Association President and CEO Mark Kuyper. “I believe raising awareness of authors and content will remain a top priority among publishers, and QR codes could prove to be a very effective way to accomplish that goal using a device that most Americans have available at a moment’s notice—their mobile phone,” he told Christian Retailing. “Some early experiments using this technology indicate there is good opportunity to increase awareness and sales,” Kuyper said. He added that publishers and retailers should use the codes because they help consumers learn more about an author and their book’s content. “It can also lead to an immediate sale of a print or digital book,” Kuyper said. Steve Sammons, executive vice president of consumer engagement for Zondervan—which has used the QRs in advertising its books in publications such as Christian Retailing—said that the two-dimensional codes “offer a wonderful opportunity to connect the offline print world directly into the online world, without much effort at all.” There were many unknowns regarding the speed with which the U.S. market will embrace the technology, he told Christian Retailing. “But if we look at our Asian and European counterparts, the U.S. will follow their lead. There are many examples of how retailers and publishers are leveraging this capability. Best Buy provides QR codes … to allow customers to use their mobile devices to get a more in-depth understanding of the product.” To promote the February release of Michael W. Smith’s A Simple Blessing: The Extraordinary Power of an Ordinary Prayer, Zondervan features the codes in magazine ads. Lindsey Nobles, Thomas Nelson’s director of corporate communications, told Christian Retailing that the publisher was “still experimenting” with the codes. Max Lucado’s latest Thomas Nelson book—Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference—features the codes.  Kirk Blank—president of Munce Group, which serves nearly 500 stores nationwide—told Christian Retailing that the marketing group was “in the process of developing plans to utilize a QR code with a vendor partner in the spring” for its member stores.
“We have seen that there are benefits and challenges with utilizing a QR code,” he said. “For now, a QR code is a fun way to communicate in a fresh way with consumers. While QR codes are becoming more popular, the majority of people still don’t know what they are, nor do they know how or if their phone can read them. “Another challenge for QR codes is measurability,” Blank added. “It’s difficult to track scans, but page views can be measured. We are considering these benefits and challenges as we develop our plans.” Parable Group CEO Steve Potratz told Christian Retailing that the marketing group “likes” the codes. “We think they can provide a great opportunity to engage our stores’ customers and enhance our presentation of quality life-changing products,” he said. “Right now we are still in the planning stages, but we would like to roll out use of QR codes with our February promotion. QR codes provide a new and additional way to help consumers fully understand the value key products will deliver. “We have to realize that few customers and store staff understand what QR codes are,” Potratz added. “We need to be prepared to educate them first.” Brian Hill, co-owner of Lighthouse Christian Store in Dublin, Calif., also likes the new codes. “I think there are a lot of possible uses for them in the store and in our advertising,” he told Christian Retailing. “So far I have printed QR codes on a postcard we mailed out that took the customer to the videos for the product being advertised.”  The impact of the technology on the Christian product industry “depends on if publishers and marketing groups really get behind it,” Hill added.
“Retailers currently can only do so much with them,” he said. “I’ve used them a few times, but to really use them I need publisher support since the publishers are the ones creating the media content that I am linking to. If I use them, I am running the risk that the publisher may take down the content or move it to a different URL and then my code would no longer work. “If these codes become widespread and publishers begin printing them on the product, then suddenly my entire selection of books, Bibles, DVDs and music becomes very interactive,” added Hill, whose store is a Munce Group member. “What the listening centers did for music, these codes could do for other products without an investment from the store. … I have suggested them to Munce and most of the publishers. ” CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey, though, said that publishers and retailers “need to think through their technology and marketing strategies before spending a lot of time now on QR codes.” “The technology … gives customers more control over information—product, price, place—and more leverage in negotiating or making purchasing decisions,” he told Christian Retailing. “QR codes may offer a new dimension to marketing that captures the imagination of some people because it is new, trendy, and gimmicky. “But like any technology use, businesspeople need to think through not only how it all works, but also how to deploy the technology to best meet the needs of their customers,” Riskey added.
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