If no-one told you anything about Quick Response Codes, you probably could have no idea what those awkward looking black and white symbols meant. Unlike more traditional UPC bar codes, QR Codes have not been commonly used in the nation until relatively recently. And, as you might expect, they are already largely ignored by consumers.

Until very recently, QR Codes happen to be mostly generic. They carry no obvious call to action, company identification, or any other clues as to why they appear and the way consumers are supposed t react to them. So unless the consumer is tech savvy, the code appears to have no added value to the message in which it appears. Most readers just turn the page, drive by the billboard, or disregard the postcard and never offer the code a second thought.

One reason for this really is that the codes were originally employed by Japanese car manufacturers to keep track of thousands of parts. The Japanese didn’t even start using them in marketing until the late 1990’s.

Eventually, Japanese companies wised up to the potential marketing power of these unique codes. (Marketers in the country are already much slower to catch on, however.) Now American marketers are finding ways to leverage this information-rich tool with customized generate qr code Codes. Quite simply, a customized code is one which uses all of the same technology of the generic ones but with the added value of image-driven graphics. By adding logos, color, photographs, and other tools custom codes tell the consumer that there is more to the message than first meets the eye.

QR Code design starts with the technical aspects; the use of precisely placed simple areas of the code. But with a custom code, artistic elements are added. QR Code art takes that plain looking, but highly technical, piece of imagery and adds distinguishing elements such as a logo or color or possibly a photo to make the code connect with the rest of the message. The end result is that the consumer feels more compelled to use the code, to scan it with a picture smartphone and see what the hidden message is.

Some companies use custom codes strictly as a way to obtain the consumer to a site. Others count on customized QR Codes to make special offers to an elite component of their market, like mobile phone users. A small company might choose a custom code to provide contact information as well as a map to their whereabouts. Still others might change their customized codes weekly to try different appeals or special offers. The application of customized QR Codes is also changing. Once found only in print advertisements, the codes now appear on billboards, postcards, t-shirts, and also, in at least one case, tattooed onto the shoulder of a fitness trainer indulging in some guerrilla marketing.

As the usage of these unique codes is growing and also the codes show up in a growing number of places, differentiating the code will become more and more urgent. Drawing attention through QR Code art in keeping with the company image can go a considerable way to making custom QR codes a lot more useful as a mobile marketing tool.