During Q1 2012, Nellymoser reached these key conclusions based on this study:

• QR codes and other types of action codes have become established in magazine advertising. For five straight months, 8% to 9% of magazine ad pages contained a code. This is up significantly from March 2011, when 3.55% of ad pages contained an action code.
• QR codes are the clear market leader. Digimarc watermarks and SpyderLynk SnapTags entered the market with large campaigns in single issues.
• Almost all action code experiences have been mobile-optimized.
• Four types of campaigns dominate the use of action codes:
• Video demonstrations and branding (e.g., a look behind the scenes)
• Data capture and list building, with sweepstakes being an important use.
• Links to e-commerce sites and store locators for brick-and-mortar locations.
• Social media sharing with links to Facebook and Twitter.
• About 45% of all action codes used in magazines (619) came from companies in just four industries: beauty, health, home and fashion.
• More than 85% of action codes are placed on the bottom half of the page.

Nellymoser intends to update this report on a regular basis to identify trends.

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