Behold the future. And it is good.

Fire up your smart phone (Droid, Blackberry, HTC or even your fancy shmancy new iPhone 4G) and keep reading.
 
You’ve heard of 1-800 numbers, Purls, Texting, and even the most ancient form of response – the reply slip in the #9 envelope. Introduce, the Quick Response code, aka QR code.

If you were at the Career College Association’s Annual Convention this year, you might have noticed that there was a funny block of black and white squares (similar to a bar code) on the registration form for the guitar giveaway at the PlattForm booth. If you happened to scan that with your smartphone, and applicable app, you would have been taken to a mobile-ready mini site that had several links to PlattForm related topics. Such as the “We’re not Gonna Take It” video, PlattForm’s main website, and several other informational pages. That block of squares is what is known as a QR Code.
 
Quick Response (QR) code is a 2D glyph that serves as, well, basically think of it as a paper based hyperlink. These customizable glyphs were developed by in Japan by Denso Wave in 1994. They are widespread in Asia, becoming mainstream in Europe, and are just starting to emerge in the United States. The QR code reader currently has to be downloaded as a third party application, but are starting to be included as standard issue on modern smart phones.
 
To use a QR code, simply take a picture of said code with your super cool smart phone, and you get magically whisked away, or in technical terms, redirected to a website using your phone’s browser. What’s even cooler, is that these codes can be scanned from computer monitors so you can transfer information directly to your cell phone.
 
QR technology provides cell phone users the ability to scan paper-based content using the cell phone’s camera to decode information, on a magazine, business card, gift card, coupon, or dah-dah-dah, DIRECT MAIL PIECE. Once the QR code has been scanned and decoded, the user has access via their cell phone to the information or destinations programmed into the block.
 
What can you do with a QR code?
Consumers are finding codes in magazine ads, maps, food packaging, posters, leaflets, business cards, emails, websites, billboards, on the sides of buses, and more. With these vehicles in mind, the current technology could be used in the following manner:

Encode a 2 page document
Enable an easy connection by a mobile device to a website. You could also encode a map with directions for company visitors
Link to a video
Track print-based media effectiveness – track by concept, list, creative, etc.
If you can put it on a website, you can direct them to it through scanning the code

PROS
· 70% of cell phones have cameras
· 2D reader software available for easy (and usually FREE) download
· You don’t have to type in a URL to navigate to a website
· Codes are cheap to create
· Fast way to provide complex information to mobile users
 
CONS
· Not widely used in the USA yet
· Probability of short term user confusion as 2D codes are known by many names
· Most cell phones in the US do not come with 2D reader software installed
· QR codes can not be edited, they must be replaced
· The more information you store in a code, the harder it is to decode.
 
So, get ready for the future. The most effective way to determine how QR codes can work for you – test them. Need some help? We’d be glad to fire up the Delorean and come visit.