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Get set to explore the world of QR codes! QR, which stands for Quick Response, is the URL that you can read with an application on your phone. It is the trend that is changing the way we browse websites, communicate with images and texts. QR codes have been around since 1994(doesn’t that seem like eons ago?). You may have come across it on your airline boarding tickets. QR codes are huge today due to the different ways they are being used for marketing and the sudden increase in the number of users. Just as you have the check- out person to scan your barcodes in a store, QR codes allow you to scan codes by yourself.
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QR conquers The Land of the Rising Sun
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In Japan, QR codes are everywhere. You will find them in various consumer products, on billboards, train stations, all kinds of advertisements and promotions, in magazines, well, basically everywhere. Taking a few seconds off to stop and scan a QR code and read it as a destination is nothing out of the ordinary for people of Japan. CNN appealed to make donations towards Japan after the ill-fated Tsunami early this year. CNN telecasted QR codes linking to information on charity donations in Japan. They are accepted in Japan as a part of the system.
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Do it Yourself
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QR allows you to create and code messages in interesting ways. With a smartphone by your side, anyone can scan and read QR codes and anyone with access to a computer can generate QR codes.
Generating a QR code is very simple. Here is how you can create one in 3 simple steps:
1. Open a window and type ‘QR code generator’.
2. Just copy the URL that you want a code for and paste it in the space given.
3. Now choose the size of your choice and click on ‘generate’.
Voila`! You have your own personal QR code. Instead of using a URL, you can also type in text or numbers and create your own personal QR code. So, get ready to explore interesting QR codes around your neighborhood. Well, why just explore them? Take creativity by its reigns and create your own intriguing messages with QR codes.
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East to West
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QR codes give you the power to choose to understand the things you see ahead of you. Doesn’t this just sound magical? And for the cynics out there, this is not just an idea. QR code started as a huge rage in Japan and then made its way to Europe and North America. Its effects are increasing in America, thanks to the many brands who have adopted it.
Educational organizations aren’t far behind. Bitten by the QR bug, they are smartly using QR codes to engage the youth with a tool that they can relate to. Such QR codes are prevalent all over Europe, Canada and Australia. Get creative. QR codes can be tasty too, just substitute a cute ‘fortune cookie’ with an interesting ‘QR coded eatable’.
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Hollywood Calling
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QR codes have made it big in the entertainment world too. If you caught the “Late night with Jimmy Fallon” on Wednesday, 16th February 2011, you will remember seeing Jimmy holding up a QR code at you from the screen, instead of an album cover of the band, ‘The Creator and Hodgy Beats of Odd Future’.
Popular television shows like ‘Lost’ and ‘True Blood’ brought QR codes into play for their promotional campaigns. The 2010 blockbuster ‘Iron Man 2’ had a QR code on the superhero’s chest to pique the interest of the viewers. Upon scanning the code, the QR code fans were treated to exclusive pictures, trailers and information about the movie. The Leonardo starrer, ‘Inception’ set a whole new platform for using QR codes for promotional purposes. It surrounded the release of the movie with mystery by sending its fans on a ‘treasure hunt’ to the film’s various viral sites. Each site revealed a little more about the inner workings of the movie than the last. Move over, conventional methods! Today the race is about interacting with users. Music icon Kanye West is part of the inner sanctum of QR codes too. He adapted the futuristic QR codes for his fourth album ‘8O8 & Heartbreaks’.
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Destination Everywhere
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QR Codes seem to be everywhere these days and each has a unique destination. American Eagle, Ralph Lauren, GAP, Bloomingdales, Clinique are just some of the brands that use QR codes as part of their marketing strategy. Calvin Klein Jeans went a step further; its billboard at Houston St. just had a large QR code filling up the entire poster. When curious bystanders scanned the code, they were introduced to a raunchy uncensored CK Jeans advertisement.
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The Era of QR
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2011 is touted to be the year of QR codes for marketers and users alike. And why not? It is providing a perfect platform for a one-on-one interaction between the product and the user. It is not only changing the way a product is marketed but also the way we approach or view a brand.
QR codes have a huge impact on the future of advertising and marketing a brand. If you want to avail the latest offers and information about a brand, simply just pull out your smartphone and start scanning!
Images by Alan Levine, Ged Carroll, Vincent Roffers, Clever Cupcakes,Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones, Maurice Williams, Tavis Leaf Glover
[...] makes this interaction simple and successful. A number of brands and media outlets have adopted QR codes as part of their marketing and promotional strategy and this has been received well by the [...]
[...] in 2010, the QR began spiking in public appearances. It was featured on billboards, on business cards, on tags, everywhere, and apps to read these QRs soon flooded the mobile [...]