Have you watched a movie in a cinema since they started reopening after the global lockdowns? If you haven’t, chances are you’d find a small square matrix on your ticket the next time you see a movie. If you haven’t seen them before, it’s called a QR Code.
In this blog, let’s talk about QR Codes in cinemas. Let’s discuss how they are used and how you can use them to modernize your customers’ cinema experience.
What are QR Codes?
In 1994, automotive parts manufacturing company Denso Wave invented the QR Code. It is a square barcode that can contain a huge amount of information in various formats. In the beginning, QR Codes were used for inventory purposes. Later on, they would become marketed as a marketing tool.
Although QR Codes were marketed for mainstream use before, they didn’t really take off until the Covid-19 pandemic. Because of the need for contactless transactions, coupled with the rise in smartphones and the ability of modern smartphone cameras to scan these barcodes, individuals and businesses started using QR Codes.
Now, they are used to make payments, lead customers to landing pages, promote social media accounts, and more.
Benefits of Using QR Codes in Cinemas
QR Codes have many benefits for cinemas. Here are some examples.
Contactless
One of the primary benefits of QR Codes is that it allows contactless transactions. The staff behind the counter and the customer only transact using the QR Code. No more exchanging bills or cards. No more talking. For people who are wary of catching diseases from others, this is one of the biggest benefits of using QR Codes.
Fast Scan
Scanning QR Codes takes only a few seconds, so you can generate moviegoers’ online tickets in a short amount of time. This is especially useful when your customers have just arrived and the movie is about to start!
Scan Using Your Smartphone
For functions like authenticating online tickets and snack vouchers, you will need scanning equipment. But for other purposes – for example, following you on social media or downloading your mobile app – moviegoers only need to scan the QR Code using their native smartphone camera. As long as their device/operating system is capable of scanning QR Codes, they’re good to go.
Use Case for QR Codes in Cinemas
Like most industries, it’s not hard to incorporate QR Codes in cinemas. There are many different ways you can use these squares in your services.
Buy Tickets Online
Customers will receive an email that contains their unique QR Code, which they either print or save on the phone. The cinema staff will then scan this QR Code to generate your ticket. Here are the benefits of using QR Codes for buying online tickets:
- your customers are guaranteed to get the seats of their choice
- your customers don’t have to fall in long lines to get their tickets
- you get the verify the authenticity of the ticket purchase
- you get to control ticket scalpers
Pre-order Snacks
Along with buying their tickets, customers can also pre-order their snacks online. Once the customer has paid, they receive the voucher for their pre-ordered snacks. Make sure the snack bar has enough supplies for these pre-orders, however. The last time we went to the cinema, the snack bar ran out of our reserved hotdog sandwiches so we were given two buckets of popcorn instead! Needless to say, we were too full by the end of the first half of that basketball anime.
Payments
QR Codes have been popularly used for payments, too. There are cinemas that enable customers to pay by scanning a QR Code. This works as long as the customer has an account on the same payment platform.
Download Cinema Mobile App
Many cinemas now have their own mobile applications. In fact, for companies, apps are now a necessity. This enables customers to get first dibs on exclusive content, app-exclusive promotions, and reserve their tickets. On your app, your customers can watch trailers and check the movies that are available in their city.
Is your app available on different platforms? Check out this previous blog on how to create a QR Cloud that leads to multiple links!
Sign Up for the Newsletter
Newsletters are a great marketing tool. To get your customers to register to receive your newsletter, you can set up a QR Code that collects email addresses. You can easily do that using QR Pages. If you would like to know more, we have written an article about QR Pages as well. Feel free to read it after reading this blog.
Follow Your Socials
Another famous use for QR Codes is leading your customers to your social media pages. The best thing about this is that they don’t have to manually search for you on their socials. All they have to do is scan the QR Code and follow you on social media for updates and announcements.
Create QR Codes on QR Cloud
Here’s how you can start making your QR Codes on QR Cloud, a QR Code marketing suite.
- Log in to your QR Cloud account.
- On your dashboard, go to QR Codes and click create.
- Choose the type of QR Code you want to make. In this case, Text QR Type would be appropriate.
- Encode the needed information.
- Customize the appearance of your QR Code as needed.
- Perform a test scan to make sure the QR Code works.
- Download and print your QR Code.
Bottom Line
QR Codes are now being widely used in cinemas. They can be used in purchasing reservation tickets, snacks and merch. They can be used to lead moviegoers to download your mobile app or follow you on social media.
QR Cloud is a marketing suite that helps you do more than just generate QR Codes. If you want to learn more about QR Cloud and check if we’re the perfect marketing partner for you, sign up to our Pro Plan and get your first 7 days for free!