In the dark and silent auditorium, where young and old come together in anticipation of the lights dimming and the big screen coming to life, your audience sits patiently pretending to not be on their phones. A focused audience and mobile devices at the ready creates the perfect setting to boost your cinema advertising with QR Codes.

The benefits of using QR Codes on cinema advertising

Whether it’s a regional placement for local theatres or aired in metroplexes around the country, cinema advertisement is an effective tool to display your product, services, and upcoming films. QR Codes can help you take it to the next level by giving you the flexibility to add significant amounts of information to your ads without encumbering your design or heavily editing your existing content. You can add them to cinema commercials, movie posters, or trailers. Additionally, a QR Code allows you to keep track of your ad metrics in order to continue optimizing your future campaigns.

1. Grow your brand awareness

Streamline your film marketing and cinema commercials, and make sure the audience takes your brand with them long after the lights come on and the screen goes dark.

By helping convert leads into customers and facilitating word-of-mouth marketing, brand awareness is the gateway to a successful ROI (return on investment). But one of the drawbacks of print advertising is limited space and time for content marketing. A long message might lose your audience’s interest or a content-heavy ad might overwhelm them. That is why QR Codes are one of the most effective ways to share engaging content by taking it a step further and allowing your audience to become more involved. As a small matrix square that can take up as little as 2 x 2 cm of space (0.8 x 0.8 in), it gives you the opportunity to share more content-rich ads without burying moviegoers in a tsunami of information.

And as mobile-friendly legends, QR Codes make your content mobile-optimized and ready to consume on the go. See how industries are already putting them to good use here.

2. Build your brand up on omnichannel marketing

To convey your brand’s uniqueness, building a multi-channel marketing strategy that takes viewers from print to digital ensures you don’t miss out on potential audiences once viewers have left the theatre.

The Social Media QR Code can help engage moviegoers by giving them the option to follow film updates, exclusive movie premiers, or promotional deals on their favorite social media platforms anytime.

3. Boost concession sales with promotions

Turn buckets of popcorn, movie posters, or the big screen itself into a treasure trove of coupons.

You can incentivize moviegoers to visit your concession stand, come back for another feature film, or visit local shops with a Coupon QR Code strategically placed on movie snacks or cinema commercials.

Back in 2017, AMC theatres tapped into the potential of digital coupon marketing by promoting exclusive deals on their Twitter account. But what if you could make the process even more efficient and effective? For people to access said coupons, they had to already be aware of an ongoing promotion or follow AMC on Twitter. With a Coupon QR Code on cinema advertising, you access your target audience immediately. Just one scan puts discounts and deals directly on their mobile devices, ready to redeem when needed. You can also customize a button on the QR Code page that links them straight to your social media channel of choice, getting you more followers and potentially loyal customers in one go.

4. Easily integrate it into any design

QR Code Generator PRO gives you even more artistic flexibility when generating your own Codes. You can use your brand colors with custom frames and edges, put a logo or image in the middle, and include a unique CTA (call to action). QR Codes are adjustable in size and image file type, so they can be made to fit any medium you use.

5. QR Code campaign tracking

How many new followers did you generate from your cinema ad QR Code? Which ad was most effective at motivating moviegoers to access exclusive content? Maybe your business invested in cinema advertising and you simply want to know the impact it had on your sales?

When you use a Dynamic QR Code instead of a Static one, you can view real-time tracking data for any visual media. Metrics such as location by city and country, time scanned, operating device used, and unique vs. total scans enable you to monitor how well your QR Codes are working and how you can improve them for the future.

How to create a QR Code on a cinema advertising?

  1. Go to QR Code Generator and select the type of QR Code you’d like for your cinema advertising activities. We recommend starting with the URL QR Code.*
  2. Type in the website in the required field to link with your QR Code.
  3. Your QR Code will be generated automatically.
  4. Now, customize the design of your QR Code by adding a frame and a “Scan Me” logo.*
  5. Select colors to match your style or company brand identity.
  6. Select ‘Download’ to receive your QR Code file in .jpg format.
  7. Integrate your newly-created QR Code to the visual of your choice.

*Sign up to choose more QR Codes such as Event, Video, and Coupon, where you have the option of adding more information, more visuals, and edit or replace all the information without reprinting a new QR Code. You can also choose from a variety of frames and upload your own logo

QR Codes on cinema advertising best practices

When designing your QR Code on cinema advertising, there are a few valuable tips to keep in mind so that your efforts get the best results. For more detailed instructions, visit our QR Code design guide.

1. Customize your design

It’s highly recommended to customize your QR Code with all of the styling options available. This helps QR Codes match your aesthetic.

2. Use the appropriate size

Using the right size for your QR Code ensures that there are no scanning problems. QR Codes should be no smaller than 2 x 2 cm (around 0.8 x 0.8 in) because they can always be scaled up—even to the size of a billboard ad! We’ve also got four different image file types to download QR Codes to help you find the right size and image type to fit all designs: PNG, JPG, SVG, and EPS.

3. Add a CTA (call to action)

One big mistake QR Code users have made in the past is printing them without a short written explanation of what someone would gain or learn from scanning one. Make sure to incentivize viewers to scan your Code, or else all your efforts will be for naught.

See QR Codes on cinema advertising in action

Curious to see how you could use QR Codes to boost your ROI? Here are five use cases to help inspire you.

Offer great deals and discounts

Displaying coupon or discount codes is the best way to catch customers’ attention.

Turn your concession stand snacks into an incentive for audience members to become returning customers by printing a Coupon QR Code on it. You can either choose to display a text code if you have an online store or a barcode to be redeemed and scanned in-store. Plus, this Code makes it easy for people to share your promotional deals with their friends and family via social media or email.

Turn movie posters into interactive content portals

Audiences might find a poster interesting enough to want to check out the trailer. They will make a mental note of it, but are likely to forget by the time they can look it up. Sure, mobile devices are always at the ready, but by printing a Video QR Code on movie posters, you make sure they don’t have to search for the trailer. They simply scan and access it immediately.

Increase traffic on your website

Make fiction feel more real. Give audience members direct access to explore the world of your next fantasy film with a Dynamic URL QR Code integrated into your movie trailer. You can link to a specific page on your website, like an interactive map, for instance. Plus, you can view the scan metrics to understand where your traffic is coming from and whether your poster design was a success or not.

Turn leads into clients

With a Video QR Code, you can take your business’ cinema ad to the next level. The average runtime of a commercial is 30-seconds, which is usually enough to share your message in a creative way. But what if you could engage your audience for longer without overwhelming them in one go? Video QR Code allows you to share a multitude of videos with just one scan, turning your ad into an interactive experience.

Boost your follower count

Your audience doesn’t have to go through the hassle of searching for your username on social media platforms anymore. Add a Social Media QR Code to your movie theatre previews to give audience members a chance to connect with you online.

FAQ

It really depends on the size of the material it is printed on. As a rule of thumb, QR Codes should be a minimum of 2 x 2 cm (around 0.8 x 0.8 in) and maintain the quiet zone, so any scanning issues are avoided. From there, you can go as big as you need to. For QR Codes on cinema advertising, you should probably opt for a bigger size than a smaller one, since people at the back of the theatre need to be able to scan it comfortably. QR Code sizes could be sufficient, but make sure to test your complete graphic design on different devices to check whether it’s readable and has a pleasant aesthetic for all types of users.

There are a few things to keep in mind when making a QR Code: purpose and design. The purpose of the QR Code is defined by the existing need it would meet. A variety of QR Code types can help you offer the information necessary to engage your audience in a mobile-friendly format. If you have a business, you should ask yourself which content needs optimization in its delivery to your target audience. How can you make consumers’ shopping experience more comfortable? Do you want them to connect to your online platforms or to help people book your services with ease? Equally important when considering the technique behind making a QR Code is the design. With a variety of color and frame options, as well as the choice of incorporating your logo into the matrix, and reshaping the edges, you can either make your Code standout or integrate it seamlessly into any existing design.

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