Maximizing Engagement and Revenue: Guide to Shoppable QR Codes in Video/CTV

We get a lot of questions about different applications for shoppable QR codes so we reached out to our agency partners at Undertone, who specializes in High Impact CTV, to help provide some best practices for using QR codes on CTV ads.

"Undertone’s High Impact CTV uses QR Codes to transform non-clickable formats like CTV into ads that are actionable. Our partnership with SmartCommerce enables the Click2Cart technology within the QR code. Adding shoppable QR Codes allows viewers to seamlessly add products from the CTV ad, right into their shopping cart. We also use these shoppable QR Codes in our new Pause Ads on TV and various Digital Out-of-Home formats. Below we’re sharing Undertone’s creative expertise to provide you best practices to set your QR Code campaign up for success." – Todd Cohen, VP National Video/CTV, Undertone 

7 Best practices around QR codes in CTV:

1. Large Size

   Ensure the QR code is visible and large enough to be noticed by the viewer and detected by the scanning device.

2. Canvas

   Place the QR Code in a canvas around the commercial, and design it to help the QR Code stand out. CTV ads run on TV’s, a large canvas; use some of this to inform the viewer on how they can put those items directly into their shopping cart.  

3. CTA

   Call to Action for the shoppable QR code should be short and to the point. Briefly inform the viewer that this QR code is shoppable – how would they know that they can scan the QR code to put the product directly into their shopping cart? This aligns expectations for the viewer on how scanning will help them start their order.

4. Incentives

   Ensure there’s a compelling reason to scan. Is there an enticing offer? Is there a limited-time offer that they need to scan right now to take advantage of?

5. Animation

   Consider animating the QR code or near the code for added visibility.

6. Duration

   Keep the QR code on screen long enough to be scanned. Consider leaving it on screen for most of your :30 CTV ad, giving them time to grab their phone to scan. When running Pause Ads on TV, leave up your QR Code with Click2Cart functionality during the ad experience, giving viewers lots of time to put those items directly into their shopping cart.

7. High Contrast:

   Utilize contrasting color and values between the QR code and background colors to both help the QR Code get noticed and improve the success rate of scanning.

If you’re interested in learning more, and/or for custom recommendations on how to take advantage of shoppable QR Codes in CTV, click here to schedule time with our Undertone team.