Tutta Bella QR Code for Happy Hour Menu

Here we have yet another example of a poorly-conceived QR code campaign.

But before we get into the muck, I should start by saying that I’m a huge fan of the graphic that Tutta Bella used to make their QR code more visually appealing. Rather than just a black-and-white square filled with weird boxes (like most QR codes), Tutta Bella made theirs red and blended it into a tomato graphic. Nicely done.

This graphic incorporation of a QR code is great!

Unfortunately, this is where the goodness stops. Firstly, the only way to interact with a mobile device is by scanning a QR code. What about smartphone users that don’t have a QR code reader installed yet? What about non smartphone users? There should also be a simple URL and perhaps an SMS call-to-action.

As for the QR code, rather than taking the mobile user to a mobile-optimized webpage that presents the menu in an aesthetically-pleasing format across all mobile devices, this QR code points to a 4-page PDF.

What’s wrong with pointing a QR code to a PDF? Well, in principle, it’s okay as long as it’s easily viewable on mobile devices.

This PDF, however, is not friendly for mobile users. I had to scroll in to read, back out to navigate and see what part of the page I was looking at, and the whole time I had this nagging feeling that I was missing something.

Even if a PDF is formatted to look good on mobile devices, you’re pretty much just looking at a picture. A webpage however, allows you to easily navigate to and from other pages, watch videos, expand and contract text, fill out forms, and other fun stuff like that.

Finally, who’s going to look through four full pages on a small screen just to place an order? PDFs sound like work, especially if you have to pinch and swipe, squint and furrow, zig and zag just to relax at happy hour.

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Posted in Mobile Marketing Review, QR Code, Restaurants
Tags: Mobile Marketing, mobile phone, QR code, tutta bella