Do you crave mobile videos with your Honey Bunches of Oats?

Planit Agency
March 22, 2011

A recent AdAge article discusses the increasing popularity of QR codes. Consumer appetite is growing for them, and some big brands are leading the charge to fulfill this craving.  

This begs the question—is the goal of some of these products to get people to scan the codes while in the store? For some products this might be helpful, for example a gadget QR scan to see its rating or how to use it. But cereal? First of all, I can’t stand people clogging the cereal aisle. Lately, the aisle is clogged enough with displays let alone crowds.

So if some of the codes are aimed at reaching folks at home after purchase, I wonder if people will even see them. Do we really have time to sit down and read the cereal box these days? If you have a phone on hand, with apps and internet access to use to scan the QR code on the box, my guess is you will probably get caught up in email, Facebook, Angry Birds, etc. before wanting to actually watch a Honey Bunches of Oats video. But hey, I could be wrong. 

It'll be interesting to see who jumps on this bandwagon and who really experiences success as a result of the codes on product packaging. Videos, games, and apps need to be entertaining for the right audience, and in some cases you just don't know who that will be.