Air Wick?s leveraging of a program with a QR code in a pop-up home in a shopping mall promotion capitalizes on the attention-grabbing power of personalized content but risks excluding consumers who lack know-how in scanning the codes.

Air Wick is tapping QR codes as part of a campaign in a three-dimensional home in Mall of America in Bloomington, MN that showcases Life Scents, a set of constantly changing fragrances in multiple rooms curated by lifestyle experts around a different immersive scent experience. The program points to the need for marketers to include alternative ways for less mobile savvy consumers to share in campaign experiences, lest they feel left out.

?QR codes are fun to scan and add some extra spice to the mobile interactivity,? said Shuli Lowy, marketing director for mobile with Ping Mobile. ?It also ensures that people will open the link on their mobile devices, which is likely what Air Wick wants them to do. 

?However, not everyone knows how to scan QR codes and even those that do likely don?t do so often,? she said. ?How often do we actually see brands using QR codes? Consumers that don?t use QR codes regularly may be more prone to deleting their QR Code scanner app ? adding one more barrier to engage with the program.?

Air Wick did not respond to media inquiries.

Visitors to the Life Scents installation, open daily through March 29, will receive a Life Scents package to use at home.

By scanning a provided QR code, they can find tips and tricks shared by the Air Wick Lifestyle experts. Visitors are encouraged to share their favorite Home is in the Air tips and hacks via Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter, using the #HomeIsInTheAir hashtag.

The pop-up experience includes workshops on the role scent plays in setting a mood and completing the décor of a room.

Visitors will be able to try out the Air Wick Scent Decorator, a tool designed to promote self-expression in the home. Users are asked to choose any combination of images that match the environment they are looking to create at home. After selecting images, they receive a page detailing the desired mood, as well as Air Wick fragrances, home decor tips and information on do-it-yourself projects.

A QR code is a method through which to send someone a link. The link can be a regular Web page, a personally customized webpage or a social feed.

Retail brands have used QR codes to stoke engagement in a plethora of programs. 

During last year?s holiday shopping season, Macy?s drummed up excitement for Black Friday shoppers by enabling users of its mobile application to scan QR codes in-store to receive digital gift codes and prizes as part of an instant win experience.

Customers had the chance to unlock gift codes worth up to $250 when they used their Macy?s mobile app to scan QR codes available in-store.

How engaging the campaign is or is not has little to do with the QR code and a lot more to do with the campaign/Web page the brand sets up on a backend. 

In its use of QR codes, Air Wick, a unit of RB, formerly Reckitt Benckiser, is sending those who interact with their pop-up shop to a unique page filled with personalized content. 

Although personalized content is always a great method to grab consumers' attention and more likely to make those who came to the pop up shop follow up with the link, the marketer?s responsibility is to be aware of those who may lack QR code scanning expertise. 

?It is highly recommended to give consumers alternative methods to access their link aside from the QR code,? Ms. Lowy said. ?If Air Wick wants to make sure the consumers end up viewing the link on a mobile device they can do so by sending consumers the link via SMS.?