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QR Codes
QR (Quick Response) Codes are gaining a lot of interest in Australia. For those who aren't familar with these little marks, a QR Code is a two-dimensional bar code that can be used in convenience-oriented applications for mobile phone users (known as mobile tagging). Using an encoded URL, a QR Code can incorporated in outdoor and print media advertising, including signs, buses, newspapers. A mobile phone user can use the integrated camera in their phone to capture the QR Code, then use reader software on the phone to decode the barcode into the URL and view the Web page in a browser.
QR Codes are much more than a novelty, they've become a convenience technology that is widely used across Asia, particularly Japan. A recent survey reveals that in Japan over 42% of mobile users use QR Codes. While the technology is popular in Japan, it's beginning to spread across other countries. Telstra have made a signficant investment to drive QR Code adoption in Australia. All their media and outdoor advertising now feature QR Codes and they have deployed a QRuious awareness campaign to drive interest and adoption.
But are QR Codes reserved for outdoor and media advertising? Not at all. Many Japanese marketers already use QR Codes as a response mechanism in direct mail. QR Codes make a convenient response mechanism as you don't have to be in front of a computer to respond to the offer or get further product information. You can access the website immediately, no matter where you are. Also, you don't need to type out a long URL string (common in many PURLs)—just by a few clicks on the phone, the web page is displayed and you can immediately be ordering a specific item. QR Codes also have an opportunity in essential mail, including bills, statements and TransPromo. For example, bills could feature QR Codes linking to a payment site, or be included as part of a TransPromo element on the statement (I'm sure we'll start see this in Telstra's new TransPromo bills in the not-too-distant future).
Although we're not yet seeing QR Codes in direct mail or essential mail outside of Japan, I believe it's only a matter of time before we do. As QR Codes are an ISO standard, the technology is very accessible and a number of suppliers already offer QR Code solutions and services. Computer Output Print & Internet (COPI) offers CodeZ QR; a subroutine capable of connecting desktop applications to the data center for simple QR encoding. The COPI subroutine can be invoked directly from any application in the organization from mainframe composition systems to desktop VDP software. Earlier this year Objectif Lune announced QR Codes support in their PlanetPress product. With a many other QR Code generators available, including Google Charts, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we start to see QR Code support popping up in other VDP software products. Maybe then this accessible technology can start to become mainstream across direct and essential mail.
Posted on Wednesday, 13 August 2008 at 10:47 AM | TrackBack: http://www.veedeepee.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/172
Comments
QR Code capture support at a mobile phone level seems spotty at best here in the US. However, there's at least one application that I know of called "Barcode" by a young guy named Stefan Hafeneger that will decode QR and DataMatrix barcodes on the iPhone. I just tested your code out with it and it worked very well. If a URL is encoded in the barcode, a click on the URL will open up Safari, allowing quick access to codes. There are a few other apps on the store (NeoReader, 2D Sense, and ScanLife) that have similar functionality for the iPhone.
There has been recent talk of the iPhone platform having an effect on other mobile phone makers to open up their development platforms to a wider audience. If so, there's a possibility of many more mobile apps supporting QR Code decoding. If VDP developers also increase their support simultaneously, we could see a very large adoption rate of QR Code use in the US (and beyond) in a very short amount of time. Very cool things are going to happen...
Posted by Bryan Yeager on Thursday, 14 August 2008 at 12:30 AM
I've been reading about these codes for some time now, as you mention they're predominantly in use in Japan, and I'd imagine in some European countries. The applications are so far-reaching, I still can't understand why marketing & tech people in the States haven't embraced the system yet.
Posted by The Slapster on Wednesday, 20 August 2008 at 2:33 AM
QR Codes are starting to get quiet some attention. Ralph Lauren recently started a campaign with the help QR Codes.
"Barcode" is not the only app for the iPhone to read QR Codes. Personally I found that the Neoreader worked best. You can find all of them in the App-Store. For all the other phones out there you can find 20+ reader applications. I found the I-Nigma reader having one of the best decoding rates.
There are also already a lot more services out there that enable the easy and efficient creation of QR Codes and linked content. I am personally working on Snappr.net which enables consumers to create their own Codes with just a few clicks and retrieve information to 2D Codes as well as 1D Barcodes easily.
Cheerio,
Philip
Posted by Philip Stehlik on Thursday, 21 August 2008 at 6:31 AM
Thanks for mentioning our CodeZ QR product. With its adoption you will start to see many more QR codes in the print stream. It is also worth noting that Google is developing an Android bar code reader application that I believe is scheduled to be included on all Android handsets. Google's support for QR will definitely help to accelerate the end user adoption which will in turn start to force more marketers add QR codes into their print streams.
Posted by Joe Barber on Tuesday, 23 September 2008 at 1:10 PM