I bought a small ad for my WordPress for Noobs course (starts next week! Call now! Operators are standing by! Not available in stores!) in the January 2011 issue of the Northfield Entertainment Guide (NEG). See it on page 11.
My ad contains a QR Code, which Wikipedia describes as a
matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with a camera, and smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.
QR Codes marry the analog world, especially print, to the digital. (They do work online, too. Try it by pointing your smartphone’s code reader app at the code in this blog post.)
I used the free QR Code generator here to make my code.
Left: See this blog post about the QR Code in a TAG Heuer print ad in the December issue of WIRED Magazine.
Right: A QR Code belt buckle.
How else might QR Codes be used in Northfield?
I think art galleries, museums, and public works of art would be a natural for QR Codes. Point your smartphone at a QR Code adjacent to a display or piece of art work and get immediate access to a web page about it… or better yet, a video by the artist. For example, Ray Jacobson’s Harvest sculpture on the Sesqui Plaza should have a QR Code that links to this page with a video about it.
All the event posters in town that get plastered on store windows, coffee shop walls, bulletin boards, and placed in the Sesqui Plaza kiosk could benefit from having a QR Code.
Hmm, wonder if someone’s patented that idea???
http://www.google.com/patents?id=4uR3AAAAEBAJ&printsec=abstract&zoom=4&source=gbs_overview_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
Today’s Strib has a story about Chino Latino using QR Codes:
QR code for brussels sprouts at the San Mateo farmer’s market
When will QR codes show up at Just Food Co-op? Will we see them this year at the Riverwalk Market Fair? Seems like a no-brainer.
Somewhat related to using QR codes: augmented reality.
Poynter: Boston Globe’s augmented reality project an example of quick, cheap innovation
How it works blog post: Augmented reality in the Boston Globe
How about real estate agents who are using QR codes?
NY Times: A For-Sale Sign With Brains.
Griff,
I am all for using technology in real estate. Do you, or any of your readers, know where I can learn more about QR codes and their use in the promotion of real estate?
[…] Hayes Scriven makes use of a QR code for the NHS ‘Next Level’ campaign By Griff Wigley, on February 28, 2011, 12:58 pm I got an email this morning from Northfield Historical Society Executive Director Hayes Scriven: Hey Griff, I saw a story over the weekend about a town in Florida using a version of QR Codes for tourism. That reminded me about your blog post: A QR Code makes its appearance in the January NEG. How else might the codes be used? […]
Arlen, how about these fairly recent articles?
QR Code: The New Shift in Real Estate Marketing?
QR Codes for Real Estate – Connect With Cell Phones From Listings
Lots more if you do a Google search with “qr code” “real estate”
I’ve signed up as an affiliate for StickerScan.com. The ad banner you now see at the top of the site is linked to my account so if you click that banner (not the link in tis comment) and then purchase anything there, I get a little $.
They have QR code tattoos, stickers, car magnets, yard signs, t shirts, sign riders, mouse pads, business cards, key chains, name tags, etc.
Arlen, see this real estate blog post there:
Is Your Home Advertised With A QR-Code?
This Houston, TX restaurant has a QR code on its website’s sidebar:
http://korma-sutra.com/
It allows site visitors to quickly load the Google Places page for the restaurant onto their smartphones so that they can take it with them.
Griff,
Now you can take your QR codes with you:
QR Code Tombstones for the tech-obsessed deceased
Medica’s new ad campaign has QR codes on t-shirts, earrings, baby blocks.
Strib article: Medica looks for an edge
Strib photo 1
Strib photo 2
Strib photo 3
Griff,
I am happy to announce that Coldwell Banker South Metro (http://www.CBSouthMetro.com) will be utilizing a QR code in our real estate ad in the Saturday edition of the NFLD News this week.
In the coming weeks we will begin utilizing them for each of our property listings. Watch for them in our print ads, on our flyers, on real estate signs and in any other fashion we can incorporate them.
Thanks for your help in getting us started!
You’re welcome, Arlen.
Let us know when you’ve got something to show.
Griff –
We had a QR code in our NN ad last week. Coldwell Banker South Metro is proud to once again take the lead in bringing new technology to the forefront as it relates to real estate.
This week’s Pioneer Press: Twin Cities marketers queuing up with QR codes.
Mentioned in the article:
Best Buy, Home Depot, Mayo Clinic, Urban Bean Coffee, Housley Homes and Keller Williams Premier Realty, River Valley Church, Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys.
And QR codes are now appearing on tombstones.