How Drone QR Codes Can Impact Advertising: 4 Show-Stopping Use Cases

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it’s a QR Code. Lit in the skyline of Shanghai, Miami, Austin, and Dallas, hundreds of drones glistened among the stars to form giant QR Codes, showing how much technology has evolved. 

While both QR Codes and drone light shows are still relatively new to marketing, they’ve achieved immeasurable success, sometimes even surpassing tools marketers have used for decades. 

So what happens when two state-of-the-art technologies collide? A mighty force is born. Drones capture people’s attention, while QR Codes help reach a broad audience, thanks to the built-in QR Code reader feature in most smartphones. 

Here, we’ll look at some drone QR Code marketing examples that have revolutionized advertising. 

The basics behind a drone QR Code: How it works

If you’re new to drones or QR Codes, you may be wondering what a drone QR Code is—let us paint a picture for you. 

It’s a synchronized dance performance of illuminated drones arranging themselves to form a perfect scannable QR Code in the sky. The artistic dance is executed with a computer program, which gives commands to the drones. 

Drone light shows paved the way for drone QR Codes. The first recorded drone show was in 2012 when Ars Electronica delighted the audience with a total of 50 aerial instruments that took flight like a flock of birds.

Since then, these kinds of shows have taken a quantum leap in the entertainment industry, leaving a lasting impression on the public eye. They’ve become so popular that the drone market reached $4.36 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach a value of $14.13 billion by 2030. 

It comes as no surprise that sky advertising has become one of the most sought-after marketing techniques. Sky advertising, also referred to as aerial advertising, is a non-conventional type of marketing that takes flight in the sky. Sky banners, skywriting, and the flyest kid on the block—drones—all fall under the umbrella of sky advertising.

One of the most momentous events that has entered the stage of the nighttime skylines is Netflix’s ambitious venture for the animation movie “Over the Moon.” The streaming platform partnered with Dronisos to produce a drone show that featured a drone ballet aligning with the full moon. This was spectacular to watch and ingenious, as it lined up with the film’s message. 

Another unforgettable performance is when Genesis introduced their brand to the Chinese market, breaking the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest and possibly coolest light display of 3,281 drones. 

Why drone marketing with scannable QR Codes is the future

Drone marketing involves using drones to shoot footage from an aerial viewpoint for various marketing goals. This footage captures cinematography from an eagle eye’s point of view in the sky—drones can shoot where other camera equipment can’t and capture what the human eye simply can’t. 

There’s a rise in drone marketing popularity because of the constant demand for video content. Seasoned brands have delivered highly engaging and viral video ad campaigns time and time again, thanks to drones.

Now, brands are looking for more innovative ways to use drones to reach their target audiences. Drone QR Codes are at the top of the list. They’re reshaping the world of tech, marketing, and advertising and will continue to do so in the future as brands consistently register tremendous success. Here’s why drone marketing with scannable QR Codes is the future:

Delivers crowd-pleasing promos

Drone light shows have always been captivating, evidenced by the huge crowds that form each time they grace the skylines. Odds are, you’ve been part of the crowd several times and can attest to the excitement that courses through one’s body. 

QR Codes are also captivating, as there’s an eagerness to know what’s on the other end of a scan. If, individually, these technologies are exciting, imagine what happens when you bring them together. We’ll tell you—nothing short of show-stopping experiences. As such, businesses looking to boost brand awareness and capture their audiences’ attention will continue to incorporate drone QR Code marketing into their campaigns. 

Tracks your marketing campaigns

Data capture has never been as easy as it is with QR Codes. Dynamic QR Codes are a pot of gold for marketers as they provide insights into user behavior. They have a tracking and metrics feature, which allows you to track the operating system used to scan your code, user location by city and country, the total number of scans and unique scans, the time when your code was scanned, and know what your return on investment (ROI) is. 

This is valuable data as it can help you refine marketing campaigns by revealing the kind of content that garners the most attention. It can also highlight your target audience, allowing you to create more targeted ad campaigns. 

Attracts a wider audience

QR Code drone light shows give you access to a broad audience for two primary reasons. One, drone QR Codes are giant blocks in the sky, so they’re guaranteed to get a lot of attention. Two, almost all smartphones have built-in QR Code readers that allow people to decode the two-dimensional barcodes with relative ease. 

Take advantage of the attention drone QR Codes get by linking them to things you want to create hype around—it could be anything from your business webpage to a music video. Ensure your QR Code landing page is informative and appealing to get visitors to scroll for more product information. 

Amplifies engagement

Drone QR Codes are the epitome of interactive ads. By design, interactive ads invite the user to interact with promotions so that they are fully immersed in the experience. 

There’s little chance that hundreds of flickering lights, suspended mid-air to form an oversized QR Code, will be ignored. That’s what makes them so brilliant. They organically invite a more interactive experience. 

People aren’t just looking up at the sky and marveling at the illuminated images passively—they’re instinctively reaching into their pockets to scan and share their experiences with others. As such, a drone QR Code is the perfect tool to get your audience to take a desired action: download your app, buy or learn more about your products, or watch your content. 

4 Examples of popular drone QR Codes for advertising

We’ve officially entered a new marketing era where QR Codes have found a new stage to perform on—the nighttime sky. This is history in the making.

Still skeptical about drone QR Codes? Here are four real-life examples that have captured the world’s attention in recent years:

1. Shanghai’s night sky Bilibili QR Code

Over the Bund, the infamous waterfront promenade in Shanghai, China, a gaming company, Bilibili, put on an aerial performance that changed the trajectory of marketing. The world stood in awe while 1,500 drones soared among the skyscrapers and stars to form a flickering four-sided frame.

The purpose of the advertising show was to commemorate the company’s role-playing video game Princess Connect Re: Dive. First, they wooed the crowd with aerial displays of characters from the mobile game, creating a Blade Runner-like impression. They then used a call-to-action QR Code linked to their website. By scanning the QR Code in the sky, users opened a landing page to download the mobile game. 

This display was not only beautiful but also very impactful. It got people on numerous social platforms talking about the company, which is a good thing as it boosts brand awareness. Close to three years later, this spectacular use of QR Codes continues to inspire brands to embrace the evolution of QR Code technology. 

Follow Bilibili’s lead by using an App QR Code to direct audiences to the App Store or Google Play. The QR Code facilitates a seamless app download and installation process. 

2. Travis Scott at the Rolling Loud Music Festival

Travis Scott—the rapper, singer, and music producer—has been revered as more than an artist, named an “unofficial brand king.” And after he dropped a banger single at the Rolling Loud festival in 2021, he became a trailblazer.  

Travis Scott pulled off a stunt never done before by any artist: he released his single, “Escape Plan,” via QR Code drones. It was the perfect set-up: his live performance was accompanied by 250 drones hovering above the stage, only to form a larger-than-life square-shaped grid in the Miami sky. Fans didn’t see it coming.

As the crowd’s jaws dropped, they raised their smartphones to capture the majestic patterned shape in the sky, directing them to a Spotify playlist where they could listen to the single.

Looking for a solution that could upstage your music event? Try the MP3 QR Code to release your single or album. Sometimes, it takes a pioneer like Travis Scott to pave the way for other artists to integrate innovative tech into performances.

3. Austin’s SXSW Halo QR Code

Austin, Texas residents got a front-row seat to the evolution of drone and QR Code technology when Paramount+ took to the sky to advertise a show during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival opening.

The SXSW is an annual event that celebrates music, film, and tech. As such, it set the perfect stage for the streaming service to promote the sci-fi series Halo using a drone QR Code. 

And promote it did: The over 400-drone display became a hot topic on social media and numerous news outlets, giving the series the attention its creators wanted. 

Marketing gimmicks like these foreshadow the future of series and movie advertisements. You can pull off this kind of ploy with two innovative technologies: drones and a QR Code solution. And we know just the solution you’d need to make this happen for your campaign: a Video QR Code. With the sky as your launching pad and QR Code drones as your rocket, you never have to worry about your video getting exposure again.

4. Sky Elements’ Rickrolling Prank in Dallas

The biggest rickroll in history was recorded when 300 drones made a fool out of the locals of Dallas, Texas. Sky Elements, drone show extraordinaire, and expert aerial entertainers—as well as professional goofballs, it seems—were the masterminds behind this prank. 

As the aerial formation ascended over the downtown Dallas skies, people observing scanned the pixelated squares only to find an unexpected video on their screens: the classic Rick Astley music video “Never Gonna Give You Up.” Dallas locals officially got rickrolled.

No idea what that means? Allow us to explain. To rickroll (a verb) is to trick someone online into watching the Rick Astley music video. This 1987 hit song has become part of pop culture, with its first prank dating back to 2008. The pranksters at Sky Elements got a good chuckle from their elaborate joke.  

Sky Elements April Fool’s prank may not have been the marketing stunt of the year, but it brought sheer joy and wonder to others. It reminds us that some Tomfoolery and humor are always encouraged.

Drone QR Codes elevate marketing to new heights

From the skies of Shanghai to the American airspace, there’s clearly no stopping drone QR Codes. These innovative tools are the future of advertisement as they bring everything a marketing campaign needs to succeed—attention, engagement, and performance insights. They have an extravagant star quality about them that arouses a universal experience of awe that no one can deny.

QR Code Generator PRO gives you the power to elevate your marketing efforts by allowing you to link the software that flies drones with our QR Code product. This means having an easier time not only creating your QR Codes but also displaying them on the skylines. 

Sign up for QR Code Generator PRO today to unlock features that will accelerate your marketing strategy.