Problem Addressed
When it comes to campaigning, the use of QR codes is relatively under-researched. Hence, through these two tests, we aimed to find out more about what makes people scan them and how they fit into local campaigning.
In 2024, we ran two tests, one in Warwickshire and one in Maidenhead, testing what sort of issues make people scan a QR code on a leaflet and whether doorknocking or the position of the code on the leaflet have any impact on scan rates.
Approach & Implementation
Warwickshire Test
We distributed 900 leaflets around 6 neighbourhoods in the same area, with 3 different sections on local initiatives, each having their own QR code linking to a relevant link. One section was about a school initiative with a linked petition, one was about a local shop with a linked online consultation about it, and the last one was a local newsletter signup.
Each leaflet was addressed to a specific address and they all had unique and traceable QR codes, allowing us to map where all of the scans were in relation to each of the topics on the leaflet. We were interested in how close these scans were to the school and the shop in question, and whether any of the types of calls-to-action are more successful.
Maidenhead Test
In Maidenhead, we wanted to add to these insights by testing whether offering this leaflet with a QR code during a doorknocking session has any different impact on scan rates. Moreover, we were also interested in whether the position of the QR code on the front or the back of the leaflet matters. We tested this by distributing 390 leaflets with information on the candidate and their missions, with a QR code link to Labour’s missions in the election.
Evidence & Evaluation
Results for the test in Warwickshire revealed that hyperlocal relevance was the strongest driver of engagement. We had a 7.3% scan rate overall, which is well above the approximate 4% industry average. QR codes connected to the school and shop accounted for the vast majority of scans. The results also showed signs of substantial geographical clustering – 25 of 27 school petition scans came from households within 400 meters of the school, while 24 of 33 shop consultation scans originated within 100 meters of proposed sites. The newsletter signup performed worse regardless of location, generating only 6 total scans.
In the smaller Maidenhead test, the performance was significantly reduced compared to the Warwickshire test, with only 4 scans in total out of the 390 leaflets distributed. The data was insufficient to draw any conclusions, which could be partially due to the nature of the leaflet, which was very informative and text-heavy, potentially making the additional QR code link redundant.
Overall, our tests highlight the importance of hyperlocal issues when trying to raise engagement with QR codes and with campaign content in general, as most of the scans we registered were in very close proximity to the landmarks they were about and they were related to very specific local issues.
We’d love to hear your thoughts on our test. Your feedback is essential to improving our work, so if you have any comments or suggestions, please get in touch at [email protected]