QR Codes for Ad Agency New Business

Agencies need to stay ahead of the curve and have a better understanding of the power of digital codes with the  rising popularity of QR codes and the predicted boom for smart phone adoption rates.

QR Codes have great potential for advertisers and marketers. Though early, it is clear that they will also have great promise as a tool for ad agency new business.

According to Mashable, at least half of North Americans have been exposed to a digital barcode otherwise most popularly known as a QR code.

If you are new to QR Codes a simple Wikipedia definition:

A QR Code is a matrixbarcode (or two-dimensional code), readable by QR scanners, mobile phones with acamera, and smartphones that came into being in 1994. QR is the abbreviation for Quick Response, as the creator intended the code to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL or other data.

While already popular in Japan, consumers in the United States are becoming more familiar with QR codes and what to do with them. If you’re unfamiliar with the business potential of QR codes, use the following 6 articles as a crash course in how to get started.

1. Why QR Codes Are Poised to Hit the Mainstream an excellent article by Mashable associate editor, Jennifer Van Grove, providing an overview of the potential for QR codes, an introduction to some popular smart phone apps, like Sticky Bits, that offers a tons of  potential for brands and marketers.
2. New Browser Extension Generates 2D Barcodes On the Fly.  TECHScanLife, maker of mobile barcode/QR code scanning applications, recently released  a browser extension that lets users generate 2D barcodes — EZCode, QR code and Datamatriz — for any website, URL or image as they browse.
3. URL Shortener Bit.ly Now Generates QR Codes, Too. URL shortening service bit.ly users can now automatically generate QR codes that, when scanned with a mobile QR code reader, automatically direct users to shortened links.
4. HOW TO: Create and Deploy Your Own QR Codes. A very practical article that shows you how to create QR Codes for yourself. A super basic, step-by-step guide on how to create and deploy your own scannable messages.
5. HOW TO: Use QR Codes for Small Business Marketing.  A very basic article for the use of QR codes for small business and links to QR code resources.
6. 5 Unique Uses for QR Codes. Dana Oshiro provides some cool uses for QR codes that can help to unlock your thinking to their potential.

Here are some ideas for using QR Codes for ad agency new business:

• Put a QR code containing your business contact details on your business cards.
• Connect your printed agency promotional material to your mobile web site or special landing page with a Tag or a QR code.
• Use a QR code as an electronic ticket for a special event.
• Create a QR code on your agency’s web site to provide a quick link for viewers to your mobile site.
• Use a QR code or Tag to collect prospective client email addresses to build a mailing list.
• Include a QR code from your Keynote or Power point presentation to your preferred social profile.
• Create a AR code on T-shirts to your agency’s blog or web site’s RSS feed.
• Print a QR code on to a coupon for special discount or service (free market audit, brand evaluation, etc).

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