In the same way that bar codes don’t have to be boring, quick response codes can also be creative. Thanks to a 30% tolerance in readability, you can have some real fun with clever designs. Besides looking good, this can also make them more successful.

“Designer QR codes are not only a way to make your 2D barcode stand out, but they also add a more human element to the otherwise cold and techie appearance,” says Patrick Donnelly, QR code designer and expert. “This could be the difference between someone scanning your code or not.”

Take a look through the image gallery for 15 brilliant designs created for a range of businesses from big names such as Disney, little names such as local restaurants and even conceptual ideas. Let us know in the comments if a clever design would make you more likely to scan a code.

Click on each image to see larger.

Matthias Galica is CEO of ShareSquare, the leading platform for connecting offline audiences to the brands they love via QR codes and custom HTML5 mobile web apps with real-time analytics.

Consumer-facing QR codes are hitting mainstream America hard this summer. Despite the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats, many well-intentioned marketers are crippling their campaigns with simple mistakes.

This is a big reason why QR codes still get a bad rap from some folks. QR codes by themselves are fundamentally neither good nor bad, they’re just a means to an end: an offline-to-online delivery mechanism. It’s what’s beyond the code that usually determines whether the experience will delight or disappoint.

Unfortunately, many early adopter marketers aren’t yet fully versed in the best practices or optimal use cases. It’s the adventurous consumer that suffers from the growing pains.

Since I’ve spent the past 18 months waist-deep in this fast-developing market, I’m compelled to offer up my short list of basic mistakes to avoid at all costs. While heeding all these rules won’t make your QR code marketing great by itself, they will likely save you from some embarrassment.

Mistake 1: Not Testing the Code

Common sense right? Until you’re able to read a QR code just by looking at it, you should always test the proofs with a variety of smartphones and scanning apps before you release a campaign.

This is the simplest way to spot scanning problems. For instance, a small placement (less than an inch) will often be too dense to scan if you’ve encoded a longer URL, but using bit.ly or goo.gl to automatically generate a short URL QR code is an easy fix.

Since QR codes feature up to a 30% error correction rate, there’s flexibility for creative branding and tweaks. But if the designer accidentally overdid it, test-scanning is an easy path to being the office hero that day.

For example, the above image is taken from “15 Beautiful and Creative QR codes.” While visually interesting, I’m fairly confident this isn’t scanable.

Mistake 2: Getting Too Fancy With Text

If your goal is to get people to a mobile web experience, you should only ever encode a short URL. Don’t include any plain text, since many barcode scanners (even gold standards like ShopSavvy) won’t tease out the link. If you’re hoping a user will copy/paste on a mobile device, don’t bet on it.

Think of the QR code as a physical hyperlink that every barcode scanner should be able to immediately “click.” If your QR code requires the user to do much more than point and scan to arrive at the intended content, you’re probably doing it wrong.

Take the image above. I love the Olsen twins as much as the next guy, but these QR codes result in the oft-problematic text string + link combo. Fail bonus: The site consistently turns up invalid security certificate errors.

Mistake 3: Serving up Non-Mobile Pages

Your QR code scans successfully but you’ve pointed the user to a standard desktop website, when 99.9% of QR codes are scanned by a mobile device. Fail.

Get acquainted with HTML5 to give your mobile web app that native app feel. You can either hire a developer to build your mobile site or use a non-technical modular CMS (content management system) like Paperlinks if it suits your campaign objectives.

This Coca-Cola QR code’s heart is in the right place (the MyCokeRewards program) but the resulting non-mobile website is all but impossible to navigate.

Mistake 4: Putting QR Codes Where There’s No Data Signal

Where your ad will run is just as important as how you implement it.

Tesco’s recent QR code “grocery store” in a Korean subway worked great because those platforms have Wi-Fi. This is not the case in the U.S. Placing QR codes in locations without Internet access is a sure way to make your audience upset. Make sure you know where the ads will be, and if possible, run tests to make sure they are visible and will still work.

For example, the Red Bull campaign QR code above was in a New York City subway, so I have no idea what it does.

Mistake 5: Not Offering Enough Value

This point is highly subjective but also probably the most important. The proper mindset is to reward the user for scanning your QR code. This “reward,” however, will change depending on what you’re trying to promote.

Try to avoid redundancy (a digital copy of your flyer), irrelevance or dullness (your company’s street address). Take the above image. The U.S. Marine Corps. QR code promises a cool experience but instead leads to a wallpaper download and a commercial.

When coupled with a clearly articulated call-to-action near the QR code, we’ve found the most compelling campaigns tend to offer one or more of the following:

• Exclusive rich media, videos and photos
• Exclusive or time-sensitive access
• Free downloads or swag
• “Instant Win” contests
• Special offers, coupons or gifts
• “Secret” information
• Deep integration with social media to activate viral loops

The best advice is to put yourself in the shoes of your target fan. Would you bother pulling out the phone for your campaign? Would you be happy with the pay off? A little bit of time and thought can create a truly successful QR campaign.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, leezsnow

Koreans are the second most hardest working people in the world. For them going grocery shopping once a week is seen as a dreaded task.

Tesco (now known in South Korea as Home plus) decided to make shopping easier for Koreans by setting up virtual stores in locations such as subway stations walls using large printed backlit displays. People could then purchase items seen on the wall by scanning QR Codes with their mobile phones, adding each item to their shopping carts. Couriers would then deliver the goods to their homes.

Not only did Tesco investigate their market and provide a solution to a problem, they also increased their online sales by 130%.

Brief Explanation:

A car calendar without cars! The calendar showed only high-quality landscape photos. In order to experience the cars, the user had to download an iPhone app. Using augmented reality, one could then bring out the cars onto the landscapes, with sounds, animations and all!

Describe the brief from the client:

The brief was to develop a calendar for Audi clients. The calendar should differ greatly from other car calendars and position Audi as innovative and modern.

Description of how you arrived at the final design:

When Audi introduces a car calendar, that calendar has to be just as innovative as the brand itself. Audi should not merely say “Vorsprung durch Technik” (Leading through technology) but prove it as well.

Brief Explanation:

A car calendar without cars! The calendar showed only high-quality landscape photos. In order to experience the cars, the user had to download an iPhone app. Using augmented reality, one could then bring out the cars onto the landscapes, with sounds, animations and all!

Describe the brief from the client:

The brief was to develop a calendar for Audi clients. The calendar should differ greatly from other car calendars and position Audi as innovative and modern.

Description of how you arrived at the final design:

When Audi introduces a car calendar, that calendar has to be just as innovative as the brand itself. Audi should not merely say “Vorsprung durch Technik” (Leading through technology) but prove it as well.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market:

25,000 calendars were sent out. So far, the app has been downloaded 23,448 times. This means that most of the people who received a copy of the calendar have downloaded the app to experience “Vorsprung durch Technik” in a new dimension. Audi received numerous response mails from enthusiastic clients. Just one person obviously didn´t get it. He wrote an e-mail saying thank you for the lovely landscapes.

Advertising Agency: Neue Digitale/Razorfish , Germany

Managing Director: Sven Kuester, Sascha Martini

Creative Director: René Lamberti, Fabian Roser

Art Director: Kathrin Laser

Copywriter: Stephan Deisenhofer

Concept: Steffen Staeuber

Copywriter: Alexander Ardelean

Designer: Bartosz Elsner

Designer: Florian Uihlein

Interactive Designer: Jens Lembke, Julien Pietri

Programmer: Dennis Hantke, Dirk Tech

Technical Manager: Mathis Moder

Technical Director: Paul Schmidt

Account Manager: Kristina Klein, Dorte Luecker

Animator: David Loehr

Therefore Volkswagen created a phone app for readers of the print ad to download, so they could try it out for themselves, using the print ad to test drive.

Given the limited percentage of the NZ population with smart phones, do you think this would work in NZ?

Place point of sale signs at appropriate locations (check-out, table, counter or wall) and let the customer subscribe to your emailing list before they leave – just by using their cell phone!

• Set up your own unique text keyword
• Tell customers to text the keyword to a three digit number (easy)
• add that they’ll go into a monthly prize draw!

It takes under a minute and over 90% of customers will use their phone without hesitation.

And once they’re on your email list, we have tools that can automatically gather up more details from them online into your customer database, like their names, delivery address, favourite wine, interests, birthdays etc.

Building a customer database has never been this easy!

• Build up the customer database
• keep in touch with them via text, email or direct mail
• use offers to encourage visits to your physical or online store

This can boost monthly sales by 15-25%.

This is a great “print to mobile” loyalty marketing campaign.

CQ can help with all of the steps required to make this happen.

• POS signage
• TXT and email services
• Direct and personalised mail.

Email dean@cq.co.nz to find out more.

Digital print can connect to the world wide web with PURLS

Print can connect to mobile phones through TXT or SMS numbers and QR Codes

Now print can connect to your computer or mobile phone using a web or phone cam to create Augmented Reality

A “marker” on a printed page can be “read” by a webcam-enabled personal computer a bit like a barcode. A three-dimensional virtual object appears on the screen, suspended like a hologram over the image of the page.

Bring the square to life

1 If you have a computer with a webcam and Adobe Flash 9 or higher installed (and internet connection), click here. Your camera may work straight away. If so, skip to point 4.

2 Right-click (or Ctrl-click for Macs) on the large black square and select Settings.

3 Select the webcam tab and choose your camera from the list (if that does not work, try another from the list).

4 Show the camera the large black square in Friday’s Financial Times (or click here to print out the square). Adjust angle and distance until your screen displays a three-dimensional “augmented” image.

Car manufacturers such as BMW and Toyota have used the technique to show off their latest models. Paramount Pictures, the film distributor, used 3D graphics to publicise Transformers 2 and Star Trek.

On November 9th, Esquire Magazine is dedicating an entire issue to augmented reality http://www.esquire.com/the-side/augmented-reality-coming-soon

As an aside, not everyone is excited by Esquires decision, as stated by BoSacks at PrintCEO.com http://printceo.com/2009/10/esquire-looks-to-energize-print

Now Jonas Jager from Toxin has taken augmented reality from an oh-cute! status to holy-frack-that’s-cool position. His business card will make the owner appear like a 3D hologram, displaying Twitter information in real time, plus all kinds of cool stuff.

Note the QR Code on his business card alongside the AR Marker.

Click on the picture to view the video.

Augmented Business Card from jonas on Vimeo.

Have a look at how marketing has dramatically changed over the last few years, and how a well planned direct marketing campaign can produce extremely good responses, profit and return on investment!

http://news.cq.co.nz/news/adding-mobile/

In a nutshell CQ can generate and place a QR Code on your posters, business cards, flyers or WHATEVER, and anyone can read it using their mobile phone to record your contact details or go to a relevant page on your website.

In the promotional posters for Tim Burton’s new animated movie “9” one of the posters features a QR Code. Try it now and see the exclusive video on your mobile phone!