Japanese QR codes coming to Canadian advertisers this year

Two-dimensional bar codes that can be scanned and read with a camera phone to connect to information instantly will hit North America this year, offering a new marketing avenue to Canadian advertisers. The CBC already used QR (quick response) codes in a contest this January to promote its new drama series, The Border. The codes were placed in posters in cities across Canada, and were also flashed as teasers in television spots. Since most camera phones in Canada currently lack the ability to scan the codes or connect to websites and phones, contestants had to photograph and send the codes themselves via a multimedia messaging service (MMS) message to the designated contest number to win prizes. Different QR codes were placed in each city, so the CBC was able to track the contest's popularity. QR codes were introduced in Japan about four years ago, and are already ubiquitous there, appearing everywhere in posters, billboards, magazines and business cards. "About 85% of Japanese ads have QR codes," says Michael LoPatriello, CEO of Toronto-based Luna Corp., which is working with major carriers and other partners to develop the software to introduce them to Canada and the US. With the introduction of the HTC Touch and other 3G, high-megapixel camera phones, LoPatriello says North America is finally catching up to Japan and will soon have the cellular infrastructure needed to use QR codes effectively. Luna is working with Microsoft to develop the scanning software to be embedded in the next wave of camera phones. "Initially, QR codes will be tied to any device running Windows Mobile," he says, adding a special release may be developed later for Research In Motion BlackBerries if there's demand. Getting the scanning software into camera phones is only half of the chicken-and-egg equation to launch QR codes. The other half is getting QR codes into advertising. On this score, Luna is in discussions with big marketing agencies, large restaurant chains, cola and automobile manufacturers, says LoPatriello. "The idea is to connect anytime anywhere with consumers via a billboard, poster, place mat or whatever. The camera phone's software reads and deciphers the code, then runs it as a web page or dials a contact's phone number. Since it's meshed with Microsoft, it can push it to Internet Explorer or Outlook." For marketers, it enables them to collect metrics about where the QR codes were viewed and scanned. This is an extension of a capability that's been available online for years. "For the first time in the physical world, you can determine who's taking an interest in your ad and where," Says LoPatriello, adding however, "It doesn't capture the person's phone number or name." Marketers will be able to develop more effective campaigns with hard metrics about the number of people who scanned an ad. "If you have an ad in Union Station for a month and 200,000 people walk by every day, advertisers say they have x eyeballs, but chances are, they're not actually getting that many." The software to generate the codes is available free on Luna's website, he says. "The part we add is the management system to get the metrics. Without it, the QR code in an ad will still take people to the website, but you won't get any numbers or reporting." The potential applications extend beyond advertising, and in March, Luna will be launching QR codes tailored for different industries, says LoPatriello. A retail application will allow consumers to scan codes in-store to connect to product descriptions and consumer satisfaction ratings. For real estate, potential buyers can scan posters to connect to MLS listings and get detailed pictures of a house. For manufacturing, the camera phone can be used as a bar code scanner to track inventory. "There's a solution for everybody in this stuff - we have about 30 more releases planned in the next six months," says LoPatriello.

Japanese QR codes coming to Canadian advertisers this year

News | 03/06/2008 2:36 pm EST

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