The USPS says one thing while it does quite another.

Flabbergasted is not a word I use very often, but I can't think of a better way to describe how I felt when I scanned the QR Code in a recent Holiday promotional mailer from the United States Postal Service. As a mobile developer, who specializes in integrated media using QR Codes to access mobile content, I am very familiar with the Postal Service's Mobile Commerce and Personalization Promotion Program. My agency, PRINT2D, has worked with a slew of Brands to take advantage of this program - now two years strong.

The program runs from July to August, in an effort to generate more revenue for the USPS during the slow Summer months, and offers a 2% discount on bulk mail provided the bar code directs users to a mobile optimized Web site.

In fact, page two of the USPS's 2012 program description states, "The technology must directly lead the recipient to either:

1. A mobile optimized webpage that allows the recipient to purchase an advertised product or service through a financial transaction on the mobile device. The entire purchase and checkout experience must be mobile optimized.
OR
2. A mobile optimized and personalized web page that is tailored to an individual recipient. For each mail recipient, the web address and content of the web page must be unique."

As it turns out, the reason I was so shocked by the Holiday promotion was because its bar code directs users to a Web page that is "beyond" non-mobile - delivering a user experience so poor that it overshadows the entire campaign. Millions of tax payer dollars go into these promotions. The idea that the USPS didn't bother to follow it's own guidelines for mobile best practices leaves me to simply wonder why?

The technology behind the Holiday promotion is provided by ScanLife®, a bar code management platform whose clients are notorious for generating QR Codes that direct users to non-mobile content. But, the USPS knows better and, as stated above, insists that its customers engage mobile users the correct way. So, what went wrong? Perhaps it was a lack of time or miscommunication between departments, but one thing is for sure - every time users scan a QR Code that takes them to a less than desirable experience it hurts the entire channel.

The USPS has been instrumental in getting large brands who use bulk mail interested in QR Codes. They have also done a great job setting standards that will ensure a successful user experience, so I see it for what it is - a swing and a miss. But it provides a great opportunity to re-enforce the PRINT2D message - A QR Code is only as good as the experience to which it points.

The USPS and its Logo are registered Trademarks of the United States Postal Service.