Senokot is using QR codes on print coupons to make it easier for newspaper readers to enter a sweepstakes promotion.

The Senokot/Senokot-S Overnight Relief Sweepstakes is a three-month national promotion that is part of a broader marketing campaign to raise awareness of occasional constipation and how Senokot can help. The effort reflects the growing use of QR codes by consumer brands to give consumers easy access to relevant content such as a sweepstakes entry form, recipes or a product description.

"It absolutely makes sense to take print efforts and make these digital," said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis, Atlanta. 

"If anyone saw the closing ceremonies of the Olympics they would see the massive amount of phones that were being held up for recording, taking pictures etc - with everyone out there owning a mobile phone, the ability to scan a QR code to enter a sweepstakes vs the old paper method of filling out a form, and sending it in or hoping that consumers view the newspaper, and remember the URL to go home and do this on their PC or laptop, is a much better approach," she said. "Why not capture this action in the 'here and now' with mobile."

Ms. Troutman is not affiliated with Senokot and spoke based on her experience in mobile.

Senokot did not respond to press inquiries.

Bridging print and digital
The sweepstakes gives entrants a chance to win prizes such as Kindle Touches, iPod Nanos and more. Winners will be selected randomly on a daily basis and consumers can enter as many times as they like.

The first leg of the promotion was a coupon that appeared in more than 46,000,000 newspapers across the country and which featured a QR code enabling smartphone users to quickly link to the sweepstake entry page.

On Sept. 6, Senokot will place a 20-foot pill bottle in Penn Station, where consumers will be encouraged to enter the Senokot sweepstakes and be able to take their picture taken with the giant bottle and share via social media. The big bottle is meant to raise awareness that certain medications can cause occasional constipation.

Driving engagement
One of the most effective uses of QR codes can be on pack or at retail to provide further insight into products and services, price comparisons or incentives, which is why a growing number of consumer products goods brands and retailers have employed this strategy.

Additionally, brands are finding QR codes can be an important addition to their print marketing efforts.

For example, General Mills? Progresso brand i s featuring a QR code that can be scanned with a mobile phone to link users to recipes to support the launch of a new line of cooking sauces called Recipe Starters (see story).

Additionally, Procter & Gamble?s CoverGirl cosmetic brand used mobile bar codes on print ads in the August issue of Elle magazine to help users learn more about a product through mobile video (see story).

"QR codes will continue to become an asset that is utilized by brands to engage print marketing to digital," Ms. Troutman said. "This adaption will become a smoother marketing vehicle as brands get smarter about the use case of landing pages, and action items that need to be mobilized for the QR code to be successful

"Drugstore brands like Duane Read for instance have really stepped up to the mobile integration process in a big way, and CVS has become very much engaged with the process of mobile and integration into the stores - mobile marketing is still a young marketing avenue, and will continue to evolve."

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York