QR code response rates in print magazines higher than direct mail

Over 2,200 mobile action codes, such as QR Codes, image recognition and digital watermarks, were used in the U.S.'s top print magazines in the second quarter of 2012, up 61% on the previous quarter.

The number of ads containing mobile action codes rose from 5% last year to a current 10% as more and more magazines and advertisers embrace print-to-mobile marketing strategies.

New figures from mobile marketing and technology services firm Nellymoser reveal that such action codes in magazines are delivering a better response rate than traditional forms of direct mail.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, typical response rates are 4.4% for direct mail (overall), 4.3% for catalogs and 3.4% for a direct mail letter. However Nellymoser's study, conducted using their Companion App, found that average response rates from mobile action codes ranged from 4.5% to 5.9%.

"The response rate ranged from 0.7% to 26.8%. The average, weighted by circulation and removing the high and lowest scores, was 6.4%," explains Nellymoser on its website. "The app remained open about 10 minutes for each visit. During those 10 minutes, they viewed nearly 19 mobile pages -- an average of about 30 seconds per page. This suggests that the user was actively interacting with the magazine while using the app. Each visitor returned to visit 1.4 additional times for additional engagement (an average of 2.4 visits)."

Of all the mobile action code types, Nellymoser found that QR Codes dominated the second quarter with a more than 80% share. The use of Digimarc watermarks is on the rise up from just five codes in the whole of 2011 to 96 codes in the first half of 2012.

Tags: barcode, marketing strategy, mobile marketing, print advertising, print magazine, print-to-mobile, QR Code