QR Codes in Australia

When I was in Australia recently I happened to come across QR Codes. Telstra has introduced them and are calling them “Telstra Codes!”  I only saw them in magazines and it appears that Telstra’s introduction of the QR Code technology is only a recent thing. The way in which they were using the codes was in different parts of the magazine they would have a qr code offering more information, recipes sent to you mobile, competition entries etc. I will post a copy of the ad for the Telstra Codes that was in one magazine.

Luna’s QR Code Generator

I have been looking at Luna Development’s QR site http://www.lunaqr.com.  It has a really great QR code generator which gives you alot more options on how you want your code to be read.  I was able to save more information when taking contact information from a code made on this site. 

Another really great feature is being able to make a QR code to save a web address to your favourites.  This way someone can get your site address and have easy access to it from their favourites, allowing them to visit the site whenever and as often as they like. 

The Luna generator in my opinion is alot better than the one I had previously been using http://qrcode.kaywa.com/.  It has more options in terms of how your code will be read by a mobile phone.

 

Coca Cola Vending Machines in Japan

There are two ways to pay – with a ‘wallet phone’ which is pre-installed or download an application you can charge up with credit and then you buy a drinks coupon. This displays as a QR code on your phone’s screen. You then hold it up to the reader on the machine and you buy your drink.

Coca Cola uses the mobile phone as a loyalty point system. Although consumers must first register, once thay have, more purchases they make the more points they get for free drinks at a vending machine, or digital content at the Coca Cola mobile site http://www.cmode.jp/club.html.

Gucci on board with QR Codes

Below is an article about Gucci using QR Codes in their marketing campaign for the Gucci Joy range.  Its great how they have used the code to direct people to their site where they can download wallpaper, icons etc for their mobile phone whilst also seeing the new range.  The site that you are directed to is also a mobile phone site so it is very easy to navigate around from a mobile phone. 

Gucci Launches New Web Portal

Cell phone users in Japan have first access

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

(NEW YORK)Gucci has a new way of distinguishing itself from designers like Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, and Giorgio Armani who have recently developed cell phones. Earlier this week, the fashion house launched its first-ever mobile phone Web site exclusively in Japan, where cell phones trump computers as the preferred mode to surf the Internet and email. On guccijoy.jp, users take a picture of the high-tech code, designed to look like a Gucci Joy handbag, which then links the user directly to the URL.

The QR codes, similar to the bar codes used in supermarkets, can be found either on the Gucci Joy advertising pages of Japanese magazines or on Gucci Joy outdoor advertising. When the picture has been taken and sent, the user is then directed to the Web site, where, once registered, the user can download customized Gucci icons that can be used as mobile phone wallpaper or to customize the phone function icons.

 http://www.fashionweekdaily.com/news/fullstory.sps?inewsid=546340

Answers from Luna Development

I asked CEO Micheal Lopatriello of Canadian company Luna Development, two questions in regards to QR Codes .  He passed my questions onto the company’s CTO, Greg Hayden who had the following response to my questions:

 

1. How is the introduction of QR Codes going in Canada at present?

A. At present we are continuing to engage both the OEMs and the Carriers. The response is very positive. We are engaged with some for development, others have committed resources toward further investigation and some are taking a wait and see approach. Certainly, there is a circular causality at play (chicken or the egg) insofar as getting QR readers on the phones and then having QR codes to read. In Canada a national broadcaster has already used the codes in an advertisement and contest, well aware that few phones actually have readers. The point being that there is sufficient interest and understanding to begin using codes and let the consumers ignite the demand.

 

 2. Are QR Codes really a reality for western countries?

A. I’m not sure why anyone would want to differentiate between eastern and western countries as far as the use for these codes is concerned but they certainly are real from our standpoint. We have products under development, several more at the conceptual stage and see the potential for hundreds more. In the USA and Europe there are some competing codes trying to get established but again it not all about the code, it’s about what you can do with it. North America was the birthplace of the telephone but Singapore and China have a far more modern systems. So while QR codes may have begun in Japan, they certainly have a future here. Overall, the most important point to remember is that these codes represent a means to connect print media to the digital world and that knows no bounds.

Getting this response from Luna Development was really positive.  It has reaffirmed that QR Codes really do have a place in countries such as Canada and New Zealand.  The comment about it being a circular causality is quite true.  If the right software and handsets are available, and at the same time companies interested in using qr codes within their marketing, then it will be very successful as it is in other countries.

 

Questions for Luna Development

I have sent an email to Micheal LoPatriello, CEO of Luna Development, Canada.
Luna Development is introducing QR Codes into Canada, click here to see a previous post about it.

I have asked Micheal two questions.

1. How is the introduction of QR Codes going in Canada at present?
2. Are QR Codes really a reality for western countries?

I’ll post again when I hear back.

McDonalds TV Advertisment

This is a Japanese advertisement for McDonalds, and shows how they display nutritional information in QR Code form. The QR Code takes up less space on the packaging, and makes the full nutritional information easily accessible.

Demonstration of Preinstalled QR Code Software

This clip shows what preinstalled software looks like, and how it easily it works.

Downloading QR Reader Software – My Experience

 

I now have a new smart phone, the Okta Touch by Telecom.
I decided to search for QR Reader software to download and it was so easy.  I tried a couple of sites and checked the lists of compatible handsets, it was only the third site that I visited that I found the right software.

It literally only took a couple of minutes and it was all ready to go.

After testing it a few times with perfect results, I tried generating my own codes with URL Addresses, text messages and contact details.
It’s awesome.

With the research I have done into QR Codes there was one thing that kept being repeated, “Its easy!” I kept thinking, I hope it is as easy as it seems and now I know for myself that it is.

QR Codes Explained

If you have arrived here from somewhere else on the internet, and you are unsure about what QR Codes are, click here to navigate your way to a page that should explain the basics.

Also, feel free to leave a comment anywhere you like.