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Double QR Code Campaign

Scandinavian Airlines created this “2 for 1 offer it takes 2 to see” QR Code campaign after research showed that couples tend to book their trips when they are physically next to each other. 100,000 emails were sent containing two QR Codes resolving to different videos, one left and one right of a split screen [...]

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QR Codes For The New Mercedes A-Class

The brand new 2013 Mercedes-Benz A-Class will debut at March’s Geneva motor show after extensive road testing in a QR Code livery (image below). No doubt inspired buy the success of the Mercedes-Benz QR Code race in Singapore the livery is part of a competition to win a trip for two to the world premiere [...]

Asides (Latest News)

• During 2011 Nellymoser analyzed every page within the Top 100 magazines for 'mobile action codes' (all 2D barcodes, QR Codes, Microsoft Tags and Watermarks). Highlights from their research include - QR Codes were the most widely used codes accounting for 72% of all action codes with Microsoft Tag in second place with 25% (image below) - 54% of codes resolved to Video content - 30% fail to describe what happens after the scan. Lots more interesting information in the full report which you can download from here. More...
• Art or commerce? RESULTCO's Detroit Storefront Project which turns empty store windows into QR Coded shopping walls are definitely both. Using stunning graphics with a trompe l'oeil effect and laser printing these are the best virtual store fronts I have seen. The image below of Joe Louis's arm has 47 different watches each with its own QR Code and the second image below shows offerings from automotive-inspired watch brand Equipe. The QR Codes resolve to a secure WatchWear website where users can either make a purchase or email product information to themselves for review later. If you are in Detroit you can see these store fronts at 1520 and 1528 Woodward Avenue and according to RESULTCO there are more to follow. More...
• A 16 foot square QR code sticker has appeared on the Vineyard Boulevard exit sign on the H-1 freeway in Honolulu (image below). Apparently Hawaii Department of Transportation officials are upset at what they say is another act of vandalism linked to local clothing and video company UDOWN. According to a local newspaper a DOT spokesman said "Whoever gets stuck in traffic Monday morning as we take that thing down, they can thank the idiots who put it up there". In my view anyone stuck in traffic is more likely to blame the DOT for choosing Monday morning and not taking it down in the middle of Sunday night. More...
• Hardly a day passes by without me hearing about a new QR Code management system and to be honest most of them are pretty standard. Occasionally one catches my eye such as the new Eenox Qube which uses HTML5 geolocation technology independently of the QR Code scanner to map scanning events. Using proprietary algorithms to analyze the geolocation data within a given perimeter the platform can determine the best location for the placement of codes (video below). Couple this with realtime recycling of codes and 100% compatibility with Google Analytics and it begins to become an interesting proposition. You could even use this management system with another of the company's products Eenox Designer which allows users to create touch optimized web documents from their browser without writing any code. Eenox will even wrap your design into an app and publish it on the App Store or Android Market for you. Both Qube and Designer have a free plan with limited fuctionality that you can play around with (Eenox website). More...
• I don't believe this QR Code application actually worked 100%. However even though the execution was poor there is the essence of an idea here that may be worth marketers exploring. Turquoise Cottage a club in Delhi, India used QR Codes as admittance stamps which resolved to various destinations depending on the time of day it was scanned. Bar discounts and offers in the evening, available taxi services at the end of the night and hangover cures the following morning. The QR Code was stamped on the club goers forearm and from the video (below) it looks to have too many modules to stand any chance of being scanned reliably but as I say, it's an interesting idea. More...
• UPDATE: Google have concluded their experiment in smartphone login and visitors to the 'sesame' page now see the following message... Do you sometimes worry that your Google account may be compromised when you log in via a public terminal, a client's network or an unfamiliar PC? After all there is a plethora of keylogging software available and someone must be putting it to use. Google is now using QR Codes to enable users to access their account securely using their smartphone and without entering their email and password. This method assumes that you are logged into your Google account on your smartphone. When confronted with an unfamiliar terminal you go to https://accounts.google.com/sesame which will show a unique QR Code. Scan the code with your smartphone and it will resolve to a screen with your account name, a warning notice and the option to proceed to Gmail or iGoogle (image left). Tap either and the QR Code displayed on the terminal will be replaced as if by magic with your accounts Gmail or iGoogle page.   More...
• PRINT2D has launched 2DCertified today, a new certification program offering training for using QR Codes and other 2D barcode formats in printed collateral, signage, advertising, apparel, and point-of-sale materials. 2DCertified will be conducted live and via Webinar and participants will receive a manual of standards for correct reproduction of QR Codes and other 2D barcode formats on a variety of printed materials. 2DCertified printers will also receive insurance coverage. By following a concise checklist of production requirements, printers qualify for insurance in the event that the QR Code could not be scanned and the job has to be rerun. The training sessions are due to start in March, 2012 and more information will be available on the PRINT2D website soon.   More...
• Eleven months ago the front page of USA Today declared that the paper would be using Microsoft Tags to provide readers with access to daily photo galleries, the latest financial news, sports scores, video and other digital features. Today AT&T have announced that "AT&T Mobile Barcodes" are now featured in USA Today in every section. "AT&T Mobile Barcodes" are of course simply QR Codes and AT&T acknowledge this by saying that USA Today readers can use nearly any QR scanning application. Why AT&T continues with this masquerade is a mystery, particularly as only a very small minority of the QR Codes will be scanned with the AT&T Code Scanner. Part of the front page of today's edition of USA Today. More...
• San Diago based Web security gateway software company Websense is reporting that spammers are targeting mobile technology with QR Codes. A typical pharmaceutical spam email messages has been found with a legitimate shortened link that leads to a webpage with a QR Code. The QR Code resolves to the spam URL. The intended sequence is as follows: Link URL in email http://2tag.nl/9OLTM0- Resolves to a legitimate webpage (image below) Scanning the QR Code which decodes as http://2tag.nl/9T7381 Redirects to spam site http://goofy.medonline.ru (image below) This seems like a very unlikely and convoluted way to dupe people into viewing the destination page with their mobile. Who is going to click on a link in an obvious spam email, then get out their mobile and scan a QR Code off their desktop where the highly suspicious destination URL is displayed alongside it?   More...
• Heineken introduced its new brand message 'Open Your World' at this year's Heineken Open'er Music Festival in Gdynia, Poland. Agency Leo Burnett created the Heineken U-Code, a QR Code sticker that carried the users personal message and anyone attending the festival could make one in the specially constructed Heineken digital tent. It transpired that creating and scanning a U-Code was a great excuse for people to approach someone new and make friends at the festival (video below). More...