Adoption in Asia remains strong for QR codes, but in the US, we have not seen quite the same growth in scanning, even though marketers have adopted qr codes into their campaigns pretty well across the board.  It seems, based on surveys and research, that scanning a QR code is mostly done in the cases of users getting some reward for their action … and rarely to learn more about the product being advertised.

However, that could all change as Google introduces its Google Glass product, and it’s competitors rush to develop their own similar technology.

Google glass gives users a much faster way to consume a qr code, as built into the Google Glass experience should be an auto-sensing algorithm, which can directly identify a QR code in a photo taken by the camera.

We predict a significant uptick in QR code consumption proportionate to High Tech Eyewear adoption.

Image resizing is nothing new or high tech these days, but it can be easier to use  a photo resizer, such as photosize.com, that is web based instead of using software you load on your system directly.

Happy QR Coding and I hope this photo management tip helps you in your marketing efforts!

Imagine, instead of hard to read “For Rent” signs with fading contact info and missed calls from potential tenants, landlords can now use QR code enhanced signs on premise and connect them to information rich, analytics driven landing pages to get timely content and rental information to the potential tenant.

This is a great innovation in the real estate space, and presents a significant use case for QR code software growth that marketing professionals can deliver to clients.  I see this moving beyond Student Housing to the broader Rentals market sooner than later.

I think it’s one of the most promising branded QR-Codes I have seen. What they’ve done is basically make all black squares transparent and place a background behind the QR-Code. In the center, we can then see the BUPA logo.

Hopefully this will set the standard for others. If only they had tracked their scans, the stats of how many scanned their QR-Code would have been invaluable when trying to encourage others to suit.

Generate a QR-Code yourself and have a play around; branding a QR-Code is easy

Boasting as the first environmental group to adopt QR-Codes, Darren Barefoot of The Big Wild hopes to generate interest with what some people class as a rarely used technology.

Once scanned, the QR-Code takes you to a webpage focused on the Flathead River Valley. For non-Canadians, the Flathead River Valley is a large swath of wilderness.

Billboards, magazines and posters certainly seem to be where QR-Codes are used most. For such a small advertorial space, a QR-Code can generate interest beyond the marketing message itself, which is a dream to anyone in the industry. What’s better, if you track your QR-Code scans you get quantifiable statistics which can say a thousand words.

Get a Reader

Want to see what the fuss is about? Get a QR-Code reader today and scan the experience.

We think it’s a good use of QR-Code marketing. We’ve not got our hands on a poster to scan yet, but let’s hope they have implemented tracking to decipher how successful the campaign was – Janette, if you’re reading this, we would love to have an exclusive on those stats.

Having tried the QR-Code extension out briefly, we agree with the author and comments thinking it’s a perfect way for allowing you to quickly save links or text to your mobile phone without having to send yourself an email or SMS. You select a link, get your mobile phone out, scan the QR-Code for future use. One commenter suggested they use this method for their grocery shopping – a very innovative use by our standards.

Firefox Fans

Don’t worry Firefox fans, there is already a similar extension that achieves the same. Sorry Internet Explorer users, you’ll have to do without for now.

Question

But, what if you need to change the URL contained within the QR-Code? How could this be achieved without changing the QR-Code itself?

Redirects

Well, you could consider making use of a redirect (commonly known as a URL forwarder).

First, create a vanity URL such as:

http://www.example.com/artifact-a/

Then have your web developement team have it redirected too:

http://www.example.com/indian-heritage/

Using our nifty QR-Code generator, create a QR-Code with the URL/redirect that you created and plan to manage e.g. http://www.example.com/artifact-a/

You could then place the QR-Code containting the redirect wherever you like. If your desired destination of the webpage or URL changes, you can then alter the redirect to reference the new webpages location; we have not changed the URL in the QR-Code, just the destination it redirects too thus solving our conundrum.

He highlights ShopSavvy, an Android based application that allows you to scan and compare products using their barcode. Remember CompareEverywhere (AndroidScan)? Both winners of Google’s Android challenge.

Quote: “One of the reasons barcodes haven’t taken off in the UK is that, whereas in Japan the dominant operator in effect imposed a standard, here different companies are peddling their own in the forlorn hope of sweeping all competitors aside.” Source: Victor Keegan

Personally, I could not agree more; if there was one major mobile phone manufacturer using one barcode standard then Europe may well have adopted to QR-Codes by now. Could Nokia achieve this? They do have around a 60% market share in Europe. Where does that leave the US?

Personally, local supermarkets is not where I see the benefit of QR-Codes or barcode scanning. I see barcode scanning becoming very useful if you plan to make a big investment in say… an LCD television; you could walk into a large retailer, size up the item, check out its spec then scan and compare for a cheaper price elsewhere. Most people say buying on the internet is slightly cheaper. Barcode scanning software could well cement this fact.

The Idea

Genius if you ask me. Simply another great innovative idea for using QR-Codes. I wonder if anyone has anything like this going in Asia?

Got an Idea?

Why don’t you match stoop_uk and send us in your own innovative idea to use QR-Codes.