By Marc Alexander

QR codes have gone from the odd box nobody scanned to something people happily use in restaurants, on packaging, in store and on posters. Plenty of brands use them. Few treat them as part of their marketing and measurement. In this article Marc Alexander explains why they should.

Used well, QR codes do three things for marketers:

  • turn offline assets into clickable media
  • give you behavioural evidence that brand activity is working
  • feed cleaner data into your analytics and marketing mix modelling (MMM), so you can defend budgets

1. QR codes turn passive media into clickable journeys

Any surface your brand controls can become a clickable touchpoint: TV, outdoor, print, direct mail, windows, packaging and events.

Instead of expecting people to remember the brand, search later and find the right page, a QR code takes them from "I like that" to exactly where you want them in one scan. You choose the destination: a product page, an offer, a lead form or a booking journey.

2. With campaign parameters, scans become marketing data

This is the part most teams miss. If your QR code goes straight to https://yourbrand.com/whatever, those visitors show up in analytics as Direct or Unassigned. It worked, but you can't prove which channel, creative, branch or campaign drove them.

Instead, point every campaign QR code at a short URL that redirects to a URL tagged with campaign parameters (UTMs). For example:

In the QR code: https://your.brand/tv1

Where it redirects:

https://yourbrand.com/landing
  ?utm_source=qr
  &utm_medium=ooh
  &utm_campaign=summer_launch
  &utm_content=city_centre_billboard

Use utm_medium for the channel (branch_window, direct_mail, event), utm_campaign for the campaign concept and utm_content for the creative, placement or location. Every scan now carries that context into your analytics, and you can report on QR journeys like any paid social or email campaign.

The free UTM builder makes the tagged links, and the guide to UTM parameters covers naming them consistently.

3. An everyday example: estate agency windows

Most estate agents put a QR code on the property cards in their windows, point it at the property page and stop there. Fine for the customer, a missed opportunity for marketing.

What happens when you tag it

Suppose every window QR code uses a structured link:

https://your.agency/kensington-12a
redirects to
https://youragency.co.uk/property/1234
  ?utm_source=qr
  &utm_medium=branch_window
  &utm_campaign=sales_core_stock_q2
  &utm_content=branch_kensington_panel_a

Every scan from that card tells you it came from a branch window (not a portal or email), as part of the Q2 sales stock push, from the Kensington branch, panel A. In your analytics or CRM you can then see:

  • how many sessions, enquiries and viewings came from branch window QR codes
  • which branches get the most engagement from passers-by
  • which window designs drive more scans and enquiries

Instead of "our windows look nice", you can say something like: "Window QR codes brought in this many viewing requests and valuation leads last month, mostly from these three branches and these two designs." Rolled up into MMM or wider reporting, branch windows stop being décor and become a measurable channel.

4. Why this matters for measurement and MMM

When budgets are squeezed, every channel gets asked what it did. Digital channels can answer with clicks, sessions and leads; offline often can't. QR data helps by:

  • giving you behavioural evidence that people respond to offline assets
  • adding inputs your MMM or econometrics can use, such as weekly_tv_qr_sessions, weekly_store_qr_signups or weekly_window_qr_valuations

The model still works from spend, impressions, promotions and seasonality, but it can now see whether sales or leads rise when QR engagement rises, and which formats drive it. That makes it more believable and more useful, and a better story for leadership than "the model thinks outdoor is worth it".

5. How to start

Agree a simple tracking scheme

Before the next campaign, decide how you'll set utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and utm_content for QR codes. Build a small spreadsheet or internal tool that takes channel, campaign name and placement or creative, and outputs the correct URL.

Always use short links

Long URLs make dense QR codes that are harder to scan. Put a short link (your own branded domain, or a shortener that keeps UTMs) in the code and let it redirect to the tagged URL.

Design for scanning

Make the code big enough, with good contrast, where the eye naturally lands, and add a clear call to action: "Scan to book a viewing", "Scan for 10% off".

Create one simple QR report

Agree a basic weekly table with your analytics or data team: channel, campaign, location or creative, QR sessions, and the leads, sales or revenue that followed. That's enough for day-to-day optimisation and for MMM. If QR traffic is already landing in Direct or Unassigned, Marc's GA4 mini audit checks channel grouping and UTMs and will show why.

The bottom line

Your customers know how to use QR codes. Treat them as campaign touchpoints, back every one with a short link and a tagged URL, and report on them regularly. When someone asks whether the posters and windows work, you'll have the sessions and revenue to answer.