After rolling out a QR code-centric campaign during IPL, Dunzo saw 10x traffic on the campaign's landing page. PepsiCo and OYO have also used the tech as their advertising strategy
After rolling out a QR code-centric campaign during IPL, Dunzo saw 10x traffic on the campaign’s landing page. Image: Shutterstock
During the nail-biting finale of the 15th edition of IPL, millions of television viewers were left confused when their screens went hazy. What followed was a QR code on their screens. Quick commerce platform Dunzo flashed a QR code for 20 seconds with a copy that read, “Inconvenience is regretted. Convenience is not.”
The cue was to scan the QR code to land on the brand’s app. Many viewers thought this was too similar to American crypto exchange Coinbase’s Super Bowl ad which was released earlier this year. Whether it was or not, and if 20 seconds was too less of a time for the audience to scan the code, is a topic for another story. Viewers noticed and engaged with the ad, and that’s all Dunzo wanted. As a result, Dunzo saw 10x traffic on the campaign’s landing page, which was hosted on their website.
According to reports, Dunzo invested around Rs 40 crore on advertising and marketing during IPL this year. Considering the final ad slots are sold at premium rates, industry estimates indicate the brand could have spent anywhere between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 14 lakh on this spot. Dunzo’s chief executive officer and co-founder Kabeer Biswas believes brands need to, “...Engage, entertain, and inspire consumers." He adds, “Coming up with an engaging piece of content or a vanilla brand message for 20 seconds doesn't cut through owing to the attention span of the people today,” he adds. Especially if QR codes are used in mainstream advertising.
Read more: A peek into Dunzo's marketing playbook
He believes television continues to remain the top choice for families in India and QR codes are becoming popular in the country. Hence, Biswas and his team rolled out the QR code-centric campaign. Dunzo has been using QR codes even in print ads. He explains the strategy. “There are various stages in a marketing funnel before a consumer places an order on Dunzo. Use of QR codes in advertisements removes a few layers in the funnel and can lead to better conversion and engagement.”