Hi, I'm Rich Anderson and I've recently joined at Gravity. I'll  be writing this 'One's to Watch' blog as a regular update for all things digital, social, technical and mobile. Enjoy!

So it's not just us in the industry who use QR codes?! Their effectiveness is a cause of much debate, though according to a new study, they are starting to trigger higher response rates than other direct marketing tactics. Admittedly, the study was based on magazine readers, where a captive and targeted audience is inevitably more likely to respond to richer content. It's a start at least. 

QR codes can provide additional engaging content, but my quarrel is the thoughtless frequency with which non-targeted QR codes are used in such basic format like a link to a website or generic video. Too often I find that the effort of scanning exceeds the rewards.

Another problem is the locations in which some brands are placing them. I've seen a few similar instances to this blog of ridiculous QR codes. 

It's a relatively new technology that many consumers don't quite understand. Brands should try to use them only when they add value rather than adding them in every promotion or else consumers will become immune to their potential influence.

Facebook CRM

It will be a while before Facebook can compete with Google's pay per click, but it seems they're taking the right steps with their latest 'Custom Audience' adverts. This allows companies to utilise their lists of email address, whom Facebook then targets with specific ads.

By targeting existing customers this strengthening of relationships might prove particularly helpful for businesses trying to convert existing customers into Facebook fans. Add into this Facebook’s existing demographic targeting and it’s clearly an effective way of shaking up traditional eDM. It’s likely other platforms will follow suit.

Augmented Reality

Just like the cinema industry, the demise of shopping centres due to the rise of e-commerce has forced the focus to be put back on the retail experience as a last ditched attempt to compete with lower costs.

Milton Keynes shopping centre have trialled using augmented reality to engage shoppers by challenging them to capture virtual i-balloons via their smartphone camera which, when pointed in the correct location, show up AR-style on their screen. The balloons are floating around the shopping centre (invisible to the naked eye) and transform into real discount vouchers to use at selected retailers within the shopping centre.

I doubt it will save them, but it's an interesting idea and a nice example of how organisations can use this fast evolving technology.

By Rich Anderson @rich_anderson9