Quick Response (QR) Codes are the next step in integrating the physical and digital worlds. With a click and an app anyone can use their smartphone to read one of these matrix style bar codes. We have had good luck with i-nigma 4 on the iPhone and QR Droid on the Android OS.

And generating a bar code for a website, phone number, SMS, or block of text can be just as easy. I use http://qrcode.kaywa.com/, but there are many options available.

The QR codes were originally developed by Denso-Wave in Japan to help them with high speed, high volume inventory control, but the applications for the high density bar codes have exploded since.

“Impossible” Posters

QR Codes allow you to go beyond the traditional limitations of print media. Take the marketing campaign for the feature length film 9. Each poster featured one of the codes in the bottom right corner that directed viewers to an exclusive video further discussing the characters of the film.

Snail Mail a Link

If you’re reading this blog post, there’s a reasonable chance that you found the MB/I website through one of our “hardlinked” post cards. Each takes the reader to a custom landing page tailored to that post card’s campaign.

Just as hard copy can be read without mechanical assistance, a hardlink can be followed without needing to retype a URL.

Interactive Business Cards

Want a business card that lets the recipient download your contact information with a click of a button? How about one that lets a smartphone user call you directly from your card? Or one that directs holders to a mobile site dedicated to you and your business?

QR Codes have been used for all three purposes.

Viral Products

Put a QR Code on a physical product and you get geek chiq and self-promotion bundled into one viral-ready package. Direct the hardlink to a product page to foster impulse purchases “in the wild.”

Or for a different take on the same strategy, put the link on your reorder reminders so your customers can resupply on the spot.

Guerrilla Advertising

The easy-to-generate nature of QR Codes means that they can go almost anywhere for a minimum of cost. From clothes to stickers, tattoos to projection slides. Anywhere with an open square of space becomes a possible target for marketing campaigns ranging from the subtle to the outrageous.

Logistics

With all the creative opportunities QR Codes place at your fingertips, it’s easy to overlook the technology’s original purpose. Because QR Codes can hold plain text, you can use them to record batch numbers, production dates, routing, handling instructions, or any other information your company needs to safely and efficiently route products and supplies from A to B.

Sources

• Denso-Wave
• Joel Buckland: 30 Interesting Ways QR Codes are Being Used
• Mashable: 5 Unique Uses for QR Codes
• Wikipedia: QR code