The hubze squad has given you to test out customized QR codes for your marketing at a bargain, were you able to take advantage of it? You may think that QR codes are boring, pixelated black and white boxes that people would not understand. But not these QR codes! The best thing about customized QR codes is that it can reflect your branding more closely and it could take on any color you want, just as long as you have sufficient contrast between the QR code itself (the black part) and the background (the white part). This means that you could have a QR code in yellow and blue, sporting your own business logo or a photo of your product.

But the hubze squad has always maintained that QR code campaigns will not work if you do not take time to think about the content that you are going to give the customers who will scan it. Admit it, who wants to scan a QR code if it would take them to a boring website or a YouTube video of your TV commercial. Nowadays, people are no long curious about QR codes enough to just snap any code that they see. So you better think about the benefits you are going to offer them when putting up QR codes with your marketing materials.

Want some inspiration? Here are the top five QR code marketing ideas we have come across recently:

1. Run a contest via QR codes.

Ted Baker in Dublin wanted to give their customers an all-expense paid trip to any one of these fashion capitals: New York, London and Paris. So they had a QR code designed specifically for the promotion that showed landmarks in these three cities.

What makes this customized QR code stand out is that not only is it the starting point for people who wants to enter the contest, but it also reflects what the contest and the brand is all about.

2. Give out information that your customers do not know.

Take a cue from tourism bureaus, universities and museums. Use a QR code to provide a guide to your products and services, very much like how a museum would put up QR codes to tell visitors about a particular exhibit or artifact.

3. Give your customers some added value.

QR codes are a great way to tap the vast resources of the Internet for your products and services. This is not just a way to link your website or Facebook page, but it could also serve to add more value to your products.

For example, JC Penney included a QR code in each of their gift tags during the last holiday season. When you scan it, you are prompted to record a personalized greeting for your recipient. When your recipient scans the QR code, they hear your recorded greeting!

4. Make it easy on your customers.

One of the earliest uses of QR codes is to link your product to a related how-to video. This is great for toy models and furniture, which needs to be assembled. You can create a video showing your buyers how to assemble the furniture they bought.

You could also create a video tip for your products. For example, you could teach your customers how to clean the silver jewelry they bought from you using common household products such as toothpaste or dishwashing liquid.

Selling food stuff? Why not create a short cooking demo that utilizes your products as ingredients. Not only will your customers learn a new dish, but you are guaranteed to be able to create more demand for your products!

5. Expand your retail space.

No store space in a high traffic area? No problem, you can use QR codes to still get people to buy from you even if you are not physically around. This is how eBay and some other retailers such as Tesco in South Korea and Cold Storage in Singapore was able to sell to people waiting in line at movie houses, subways and even through another store.

Cold Storage put up special posters on the walls of two MRT stations in Singapore, showing their products and a QR code. People will be able to purchase the featured items just by scanning the QR code next to it. They can expect the goods to be delivered to their homes.

Online auction giant, eBay, does not even need a physical store to sell in the real world. eBay has put up a display window in New York called the Inspiration Shop. Same thing, people could scan the QR codes next to each item and purchase them on eBay.