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QR Codes Enhance Loyalty Program

Toys “R” Us Hong Kong has launched an iPhone app that integrates QR codes, content and rewards. The app is primarily intended for Hong Kong’s 700,000 Toys “R” Us Star Card loyalty program members. By scanning QR Codes (referred to as unlocking “R” codes) that can be found in the Toys “R” Us catalog, on [...]

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A Winning QR Code Campaign

Leo Burnett won a Gold Medal at this years Cannes Advertising Festival for its ‘Hidden Sounds’ QR Code campaign promoting 14 indie bands (the hidden sounds) for Zoo Records, an alternative music store in Hong Kong. The QR Codes were assembled into the shapes of animals that live hidden in the city and posted all [...]

Asides (Latest News)

• Having recently used QR Codes in their direct mail catalog promoting a new fall denim collection Gap are now rolling out QR Codes in their stores. The QR Codes resolve to a ScanLife system mobile site where shoppers can see what style is best for their build and view peer reviews. #
• Patsy O'Connor, owner of Azon Media based in Sofia, Bulgaria has created what I believe is the first QR Code generator to be embedded in Facebook. #
• Julien Knez sent me this fun image (below) with a Datamatrix Code that resolves to Nasa's website. Julien emailed me in his personal capacity but in real life he is Artistic Director at Mobiletag. #
• Pioneer Electronics (USA) are using QR Codes on the packaging of their new speaker line for home theater and music reproduction. The QR Code resolves to http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/speakers which for the moment redirects to a YouTube video of Andrew Jones, Pioneer's chief speaker engineer discussing the process and philosophy of the new speakers. #
• Steffen Schilke emailed me about the Explora Museum claiming Europe's largest QR Code (image below on the left). The QR Code is located in Frankfurt, Germany on the side of the Explora Museum for Science and Engineering and resolves to their website. There is a question though, is it bigger than the 2007 code in Shoreditch, London (image below on the right by Iain Tait)? Of course both are dwarfed by the Southbay Beach, Scarborough QR Code but maybe codes in the sand don't count! #
• Throughout September Miele Canada will distribute one million flyers in daily newspapers across Canada. The flyer (image below) announces that anyone purchasing a product from Miele Canada in the next month will be able to have it fixed or replaced free of charge until 2020. Yes, a ten year warranty! Every flyer will have a QR Code resolving to a video featuring the great grandsons of the company founders talking about the brand's history and its values. #
• ShopSavvy who did a U-turn on QR Codes last year have announced a standalone QR Code reader for iPhone, available from the iTunes App Store. The ‘Scan with ShopSavvy’ program allows brands to leverage the ShopSavvy user base by including the ShopSavvy badge anywhere they print a 2D barcode. A free basic tracking service is also offered. (Full Press Release) #
• Lion Nathan USA (owned by Lion Nathan, Australasia’s largest food and beverage company) will be using QR Code bottle neck tags on six of their wine imports. Each wine will have a unique QR Code which resolves to a mobile site (example) with tasting notes, reviews, a video tour of the winery and the opportunity to share on Facebook and Twitter. Scanbuy are providing the QR Code marketing platform under the brand 'Cellar Key'. I can't help feeling that there is potential synergy here with a social wine discovery service. #
• The chart below is taken from Google Insights for Search and shows the number of searches that have been done in the United States for 'QR Code', relative to the total number of searches done on Google, from 2004 to August 2010. The data is normalised and presented on a scale from 0-100. #
• A series of QR Code ads (image below) in the WSJ, Time and Smart Money record a historic presidential campaign of fifty years ago. At that time John F. Kennedy was on the campaign trail which ended when he was sworn in as the 35th President at noon on January 20, 1961. A JFK Library project is rebroadcasting the campaign on Twitter as it happened fifty years ago. The QR Codes in the ads resolve to the Twitter feed. #