Tuesday, October 19, 2010

QR codes and automated 'Likes'

I've long been sceptical of QR codes taking off in the West, but I think I may be changing my mind...

Two weeks ago I showed how Google have integrated a QR code generator into their URL shortener, and Bitly have quickly followed suit (click on the 'info page' link to see the QR code now generated for any link).



Now there's this example from Nike in Belgium - they have a QR code on a store window that automatically generates a 'Like' for their page on Facebook.

Very clever!

The only problem is that QR code readers have very low penetration (as far as I know) so not many can use them. What we need now is someone to integrate a QR code reader into the phone operating system (Android?  Soon?)  and I'll be eating my sceptical words with fava beans and a nice Chianti...

Hat tip - my Danish colleagues - @VizeumCph

2 comments:

James said...

While I agree that QR code penetration is lower then some would have expected I think that this will be ameliorated by the rapid proliferation of these across so many "touchpoints". Consumers curiostiy will be piqued and many will download readers to interact with them.

The challenge that brands are going to face is giving consumers value in exchange for giving their "like".

charlie gower said...

it's a pretty good check in mechanic.

the codes just need to be readable by the device camera. - some recognize 2D barcodes, some don't, just waiting for uniformity and then it'll be more useful....

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