Why did we care?
My colleague, Juanita, designed a stunning landing page and email campaign for our team's first dedicated mobile awareness experience. This was in 2021, when QR codes were in vogue due to the pandemic. A mobile awareness test presented a great opportunity to test branded QR codes. I found an amazing online service, Unitag, and began creating QR code templates for each app.
I was blown away when the new QR codes not only looked better, but they performed much better as well.
The stylized QR codes have three important characteristics:
- The rounded style is more in line with Spectrum and Adobe's brand.
- They use the app's color and mnemonic to quickly communicate which app will be opened.
- They include a clear call to action – such as "Scan to download Adobe Illustrator" – so that the user knows what to expect.
And the tl;dr
Within just a few months, dozens of folks from all across the company were asking me to create a stylized QR template for their app. I created templates in Unitag for most of our major apps and services, as well as for Adobe-led events. We also soon began to develop a visual language for banners and other graphics that incorporated the new QR codes.
Though this project was easy to set up, it did present some challeges for analytics.
Because our internal tool we used only produced the default QR codes (black, no logos, no CTAs), I needed to use a third-party service. This added a bit of friction to the analytics, as the scan data needed to route through this third-party and then back to our internal tool. If there were bugs, PMs needed to check in two places rather than just one. For now, the hurdle is worth it for teams because of the measurable increase in engagement, but that might not be the case forever. I hope our internal tool adds a stylizing feature to its roadmap.
