A couple years ago, the Warren County Visitors Bureau was sold a program that was projected to provide text-message based means of mass communication.

The program was pitched to the WCVB as a digital transformation from email to text messages but it required getting visitors to scan a QR code and provide information, which would then allow the bureau to target its marketing to visitors and also know exactly where that marketing was going.

There was only one problem — no one wanted to scan the QR code. Since December, only four people have scanned the QR code while nine people have voluntarily used a form on the Warren County Visitors’ Bureau website to provide the same information.

Ending the contract, and saving $300 a month, is a no-brainer.

We can all learn a lesson here as well.

Marketing our region or businesses to outsiders is hard work that can’t be done by technology alone. Getting visitors to participate in programs like the QR code program is likely to require a personal touch rather than just putting posters on a wall.

A prompt from those working in a restaurant where a visitor eats or the hotel where someone stays the night or the business where someone rents a bicycle or kayak is likely to go further than a program that relies on technology alone. At the same point, use technology wisely. Time and money should be spent making sure the region is well-represented on the internet and social media. And, it should go without saying, making sure we have novel events to generate outside interest would go a long way toward marketing our region, too.