bloke: Free is not an elephant in the room. Brand managers don't get online and download free QR code generators. They hire someone to be masters of each piece of the ad: geodemographics, creative, photo shoots, copy, artwork, website, couponing, mobile sites, placement, buying, etc. Sure you can get all of that for a couple bucks online somewhere, but they wouldn't even consider it.
Free is fine for a mom and pop when the failure doesn't produce lost opportunity and loss of job. When you are a brand manager, you don't get a free pass for failure.