QR Code vs. NFC ... Round 3

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QR Code vs. NFCMobile triggers go toe-to-toe ... Round 3

Not ready for prime time
The willingness to throw these two technologies into the ring has more to do with the public’s discontent due to a poor perception of QR codes than anything. Whether there is merit or not, people pay heed when a large corporation like Google speaks. Worse yet, QR codes have not become fully established and adopted nearly as much as they could be—they have fallen from favor because of poor construction, misuse and mostly because of many inadequate marketing campaigns behind them.
On the flip side, NFC is not fully prepared to challenge QR codes. Very few people currently have an NFC equipped phone. (Look for more solid market penetration somewhere in 2013, which is when Jupiter Research predicted, in 2008, that up to 700 million NFC-enabled mobile phones will be sold). Other challenges such as cost reduction and security must be sorted, and will—in time.
Color commentary
Eric Weymueller , co-founder of contentAI studios in Portland, Oregon http://contentAI.com believes bridging end users from the real world to any mobile application needs to be as intuitive and simple as possible. The team at contentAI had the benefit of using Google's "Places" NFC test campaign last December.Per Eric, “While it is very early-days for NFC, simply because there aren't many NFC devices in the market, it was fascinating to observe the ease at which an NFC engagement occurs, compared to a QR code. NFC is a gesture based engagement ("wanding" a tag) that requires no exclusive concentration (E.g. no "focus."). And, it is being applied to a wide range of mobile engagements, from payments to smart posters to electronic keys for hotel rooms. This cross-platform usage is what will drive NFC into becoming a standard—something users don't think about, they just do.”Content AI believe that NFC will help drive mainstream adoption of mobile engagement with real world objects where combined NFC and QR code campaigns will become a defacto standard. However, many QR code advocates are fighting NFC rather than embracing it. The best campaigns they have seen so far include NFC, QR and Bluetooth.People need to start thinking about launching a mobile campaign with some trigger in the middle. Per Eric, “What's crucial is that there is a cohesive plan to the campaign. We like to think of this as moving from Chapter One to Chapter Two in a book. Chapter One's job is to get someone to want to get to Chapter Two. Chapter Two's job is to "pay off" the "set up" from Chapter One.”
 Predictions
NFC is being promoted as becoming commonplace—it is foreseen permeating our lives with wireless payments, door locks (hotels are already using this) and, other real world devices, including "smart posters.” It will be as common as a credit card swipe (QR codes will probably never gain that level of habitual use). On the other hand, QR codes will reign win it comes to printed collateral and because there will always be a market for a low cost solution.
Today, we can launch more QR code campaigns than NFC simply due to market penetration. That will level out over the next year or two. A deciding factor for QR codes will be if the technology can leverage itself to be a part of the larger mobile lifestyle.

Chris Lehan is the Director of Product Development at Impressions Incorporated (a multi-color printer in St. Paul, MN specializing in the complete production of customized printing and paperboard packaging). http://www.i-i.com
Follow me on Twitter @chrislehan