Dynamic Uses for Quick Response Codes

If you haven’t been inundated with these bizarre looking black and white boxes yet, get yourself ready because the rest of 2011 and 2012 are going to be to QR crazy.

Quick Response Codes have been around since 1994 when they were patented by a Toyota subsidiary Denso-Wave.  The codes were originally used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing facilities and were preferred because they could be decoded at high-speed.  The original codes created by Denso-Wave only contained a limited amount of information and could only output numeric code.  Almost 17 years later a standard QR code can contain up to 7,089 characters and can link users directly to mobile-friendly websites, videos, pictures, slide shows or contact information.

The upcoming election is going to be the first presidential campaign where this technology will be used in a large way.  The recognition it’s finally receiving from Americans is due to the fact that large companies are incorporating them into bold, new advertising campaigns.

Here are some examples of uses for QR codes, both practical and bizarre:

• The Royal Dutch Mint created gold and silver commemorative coins, which have a QR code within the reverse design.  When the code is scanned, more information about the coins commemoration is provided.
• The Canadian Government embeds a QR code on the front page of their online PDF application forms for passports.  As the form is filled out, the code is updated.  This allows for faster automatic scanning when the application form is printed.
• Italian artist Fabrice de Nola used QR codes in his oil paintings and even embedded them in photographs.
• Musicians have used QR codes as artwork for their singles, pointing the listener to either their mobile-friendly website or music video for one of their songs.
• A comic titled “QR Comic” was created and is made entirely from QR codes.
• Japanese cemeteries are beginning to use them on grave markers and in medallions that are distributed at the cemetery.  The code links to a page specific to the deceased person, providing pictures, video and other biographical information about the deceased.
• A high School in Chester County, Pennsylvania used QR codes in certain sections of their yearbook to link readers to videos of their Graduation, Prom and other Senior Award Ceremonies.
• QR code tattoos have also been seen.  Most are used to link to personal webpages or Facebook pages.
• As I wrote about previously, maps are even going to be outlined in QR codes to give the reader more information about certain areas and attractions.
• Advertising is also seeing a huge boost in the use of QR codes in their campaigns.  Whether it is magazine ads, bus stops or even in football stadiums (see picture above), advertisers are stopping at nothing to grasp people’s attention and make their brand more interactive.

This is an example of very cool, cutting edge technology that luckily can be used by everyone.  It can be adapted to different forms of media so that no one can miss it.

There is a lot of value in these small, simple little boxes, but the trick is finding that value and making it work for you, or for your clients.  Only time will tell how truly effective they are in advertising campaigns, but their use in other countries, like Japan, have produced very positive historical results.  Do your best to incorporate this technology in your client’s products and orders because they might have never thought it was even possible.  Get creative, get innovative, get eccentric.  After all, who would have ever thought we’d be using our phones to scan advertisements and other documents to get even more information about an item.

How are you seeing Quick Response Codes being used?  How are you using them?

Here is a very neat video displaying the flexibility and customization available when using these complex codes to advertise a product.