How QR is Taking Over Live Sports

In recent years, the use of QR codes has become so ubiquitous that aiming your smartphone camera at these codes has become a natural behavior in various contexts. Their popularity has has become apparent in retail establishments, on print marketing materials, and even at large scale live events. 

It’s clear QR codes are taking over, and their presence at live sports for various use cases are no exception. Last year Coinbase opted to swap out a traditional Super Bowl ad for a colorful QR code ping-ponging around a blank screen. That same year the University of Central Florida added QR codes to their football jerseys in place of player numbers. With college basketball tournament season quickly approaching, there’s no better time to invest in QR technology. 

If you’re looking for ways to increase live fan engagement, QR codes provide an immediate and seamless solution to connecting with audiences in real time. Here’s a closer look at how game QR codes can give you the edge you need to engage sports fans more effectively than ever.

5 ways to enhance fan experiences with QR codes 

Whether you want to give fans a direct link to purchase tickets or help them pull up game stats in lightning speed, a stadium QR code can make any audience interaction more efficient. Here are six big ways to use event QR codes to enhance the fan experience.

Not only does this improve fan experiences, but sports-related businesses similarly stand to benefit from increased audience engagement. QR codes  turn these connections into immediate conversions to increase sales, add touchpoints to gather customer contact information, enable CRM capture, and overall provide in-depth customer analytics to drive business decisions.

1. Scan for live engagements

QR codes for games can link the audience directly to post a pre-filled tweet, add an Instagram or TikTok filter to their content, or an augmented reality experience. From their couches to stadium seats, fans can automatically connect with brands and create user generated content with a unique touch. 

2. Scan to vote

Fan polling and voting is an integral part of live sports entertainment that keeps fans engaged with games no matter where they are. Make real-time fan engagement simpler than ever when audiences can scan directly to polling apps and cast their votes for players of the game, predictions, and more. You can also connect game QR codes to your native app to incentivize downloads as a part of accessing exclusive interactive benefits for participants. 

3. Scan for contests and sweepstakes 

Make it easier than ever to launch and manage activations by having fans scan directly to quizzes, contests, and sweepstakes. Let your fans “spin to win” a prize or a discount on tickets or team merchandise, or let them enter a contest for a future prize. These activations are also a key opportunity to collect audience contact information for your CRM; initiate engagements that excite audience but also enable you to keep them in your pipeline for future interactions again and again. 

4. Scan to order ahead

Nobody likes to miss a moment of the game when their favorite teams are playing. Keep your audience’s eyes on the game by enabling them to order ahead. People can skip the lines and simply scan to order food and merchandise from their seats for pick-up. 

5. Scan for exclusive access to future events 

If you want to make your fans feel connected to your brand, give them exclusive access to future games and tournaments. Fans can scan to reserve their spots at an upcoming game and see calendars for future events. There’s no better way to reward your super fans and build community than creating exclusive rewards. 

Benefits of using QR codes for your business 

Even superfans need a little encouragement to continue rooting for their favorite teams. With game QR codes, you can keep them engaged and continue building lifetime customer value. Here’s how:

• Increase sales for your stadium, for team merch, or for future tickets. QR codes enable purchases right from the palm of your customer’s hand and in seconds, ensuring you maximize conversions of customers in your funnel.
• Use QR codes for app downloads; increase traffic and download numbers and continue your marketing efforts in-app.
• Supercharge social media interactions by encouraging users to visit your social pages. Bolster your social media efforts with low lift when you boost user-generated content with scan experiences.
• Optimize your marketing with data and metrics tracking. By leveraging QR codes, you get new insights about how your fans engage with your content and learn how to optimize your activations. Unlock advanced knowledge around high value customers, identify opporuntities for reactivation, and iterate through your learnings about how fans behave in the stadium or from their homes. 
• Turn each interaction into an opportunity to gather fan contact information for email and text marketing. Contests and exclusive content are a perfect exchange that engages fans and provides meaningful tools in return.

Why Flowcode is the best provider 

Flowcode is a trusted provider of QR codes for games, and clients love integrating Flowcodes throughout their stadiums. Whether on seatbacks, on jumbotrons, on print signage, or on food and merchandise items, Flowcodes are utilized in stadiums across the country. Here’s why Flowcode is your best choice in QR codes for games:

• Flowcode was used at the All-Star Game and the Super Bowl. We are trusted to power activations for major leagues like the NFL and the NBA, proving our expertise in the space.
• We offer highly custom codes and customer support to activate your campaign. Get unlimited scans, and never worry about creating a new code if you need to make changes. Our dynamic codes are evergreen, so you can simply swap in a new scan destination.
• We provide advanced data and analytics that tell you more about your fans. Find out when and where they’re scanning and what action they take after opening your scan destination.
• Advanced features like geo-gating make it easy to turn on event-specific activations without a hitch. Smart rules enable you to launch sweepstakes that are only on for a few minutes at a time. Leverage these advanced features to create complex activations with minimal work.

QR codes can create omnichanel fan engagements at every live sports event. Adding QR codes in stadiums and on TV can create a richer fan experience, build community, and provide robust data and insights on your fanbase. Don't miss out on maximizing the reach of your content and marketing when you create QR code campaigns and activations that are memorable and seamless.