Cracking the Code

21/12/10 

Whilst going about my daily business I first saw them stuck to lampposts. Unsure what they were, I passed them off as some sort of trendy new street art and thought no more about them - until now. They have gone from lamp posts to the Waitrose TV advertising. What am I talking about?

I’m referring to matrix barcodes or two-dimensional codes which are usually made up of black and white blocks in a square configuration. These were not invented by someone influenced by the likes of Banksy for street art, but a subsidiary of Toyota in Japan.

Easily scanned by mobile phones, the codes, which are called QR codes or Quick Response codes, are used to encode text, web addresses or data. They work in a very similar way to the barcodes that are found on everyday shopping items at the supermarket.

QR codes are special because they can store up to 7,089 numeric characters or 4,296 alphanumeric characters. This is a lot in comparison to 20-30 ascii characters for a conventional one dimensional bar code.

QR codes were originally used in automotive manufacturing, but have now found their way into marketing. They are growing popularity and are being used to integrate online and offline campaigns. They are being used in adverts, outside posters and billboard advertising, trade shows and exhibitions and on business cards. The list of applications is endless as is the number of places where they may be used. You can even print QR codes on food!

QR code scanning apps can be downloaded for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and other smart phones. Scanning is intuitive and quick.

QR codes are generating such interest amongst marketers because they give a very accurate return on investment (ROI) which allows easy justification for further investment.

You may have seen QR codes popping up recently. Waitrose have just used QR codes in their Christmas television adverts to allow viewers to link, via QR code, from TV screen to an app designed for Android devices and the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad which focuses on recipes from celebrity chefs, Heston Blumenthal and Delia Smith. They are more common than you might think - Heineken have used them on their beer packaging, American Airlines on their billboard adverts, Esquire magazine in their printed media and Superdry at their retail stores.

I’d be interested to hear from you when you discover new applications for QR codes. Equally, if you’d like to discuss the use of QR codes in your business, just get in touch.