Your Questions About QR Codes Answered

QR codes have become a standard in the past few years for everything from viewing the menu at a restaurant to entering your frequent customer number at the supermarket. But how can planners use them for events?

Skift Meetings asked Joep Leussink, the head of growth at AddEvent, to spell out the benefits of including QR codes at your meetings.

Skift Meetings: How can you use a QR code in an invitation? 

Leussink: QR codes in invitations allow attendees to instantly save event details, including time, location, session info, and reminders, which can be immediately saved to an attendee’s calendar. Attendees often misplace confirmation emails, forget event detail,s or become overwhelmed with last-minute scheduling conflicts.

Once the event is saved, it’s like a built-in reminder system. Instead of relying on attendees to check their inboxes, the event is already scheduled into their day, making it far less likely they’ll forget or double-book.

Skift Meetings: How are QR codes useful at an event, other than just for checking in?

Leussink: QR codes can drive engagement across the full event experience – from the moment someone registers to post-event follow-ups.

During the event, QR codes on signage and lanyards can provide access to live schedules and networking tools. They can provide the organizer with insights on which sessions or areas of the event had the highest engagement. You can use them to link attendees to speaker slides or bonus content. Post-event, they can be placed on exit signage, programs, and digital follow-ups to drive attendees to recordings, surveys, and details about future events.

Skift Meetings: What are some of the common mistakes event organizers make with QR codes?

Leussink: One is not including a clear call to action (e.g., ‘Scan to Add to Calendar’), so attendees know what they’re scanning. A QR code that redirects people to a homepage just creates frustration; it should link directly to relevant, mobile-friendly pages. And of course, make sure the code is working properly.

Placement is another one: QR codes need to be at eye level on materials where attendees naturally interact, whether that be on registration tables, session handouts or name badges.

Skift Meetings: How does your free ‘Add to Calendar’ QR code work?

Leussink: Planners can create an event in AddEvent that will automatically generate a free QR code for their marketing materials. The ‘Add to Calendar’ button is customizable, can be integrated into websites ,and takes daylight savings time and time zones into account.  (The limit is 100 users for the free plan.)