In Q2 2012, 58% of all action codes were accompanied by information that described what happens after the scan. This is considered by many to be a best practice and follows the pattern of many other calls to action.

There is a clear trend moving away from having other content around the QR code, which is an indication of wider acceptance. Only 13% of codes were customized and only 6% were accompanied by an icon. Few codes were accompanied by an SMS campaign.

Action Codes In Print

More than 85% of action codes are placed on the bottom half of the page, the traditional location for a call to action.

The diagram below divides a magazine page into quadrants and shows by percentage where the codes appeared. Numbers that overlap quadrants indicate that a code crossed quadrant boundaries.