QR-What??? Unless you were in a jungle for the recent past months, you must have noticed something similar to the icon on the left, when looking around while shopping in the city, or while surfing the Web or reading a newspaper or a magazine. For the active followers in mobile telecomms stuff, you may be familiar with the concept for at least two years. For older folks and mobile Industry employees like myself, the first encounter goes back a bit longer; personally I stumbled upon the concept for the first time in 2004 in a newsletter while working for Vodafone’s mobile marketing ( I trust you know the company; if you don’t, have a look at Wikipedia). For anyone still totally unaware on what this is, try and Google it: qr codes, or better, read the following short paragraph I wrote for you: A QR code is a reference to a telephone number, link or text that can be printed and distributed as a dotted image. Anyone with a mobile phone with camera and a free QR code scanner / decoder software (or app) can scan the code with a click, capture the link and head directly to the destination page – or bookmark it. The QR code can also be made to contain other things except links. Any phone number can be made to a QR code; once scanned with the camera, the handset will recognize the number and either dial it or save it to contacts with one click. SMS messages and MMS text messages can also be made to QR codes; the phone will scan, and text (send SMS or MMS) with one click. And the QR code versatility extends in a similar fashion into making specialized links (Google maps, Flickr photos, Youtube videos and channels, music tracks as well as e-mails, and Vcards). So QR codes are a great way to seamlessly link offline with online, and also the missing piece of the puzzle that was needed to make this happen. In the meantime, the ‘big guys’ are taking positions: Facebook is lab testing with their site backend embedding QR code functionality on user profiles; Google distributes QR codes by mailing them to businesses that have been sought and researched the most. The film and platform gaming Industry use them on their launches. Time magazine ran a campaign distributing QR codes to articles on their site. Coke and Adidas run adverts with QR codes. The list goes on. Still not convinced that something major is brewing up? Check Google Trends: Google Trends: qr codes Benefits Nice toy, I hear you say. And why on Earth should we care? Because there is money, traffic, a brand new functionality and a new Channel to be conquered, all together with QR codes alone, and this is n o w; all we need is here. The handset Base (any Web - capable phone taking Apps with a 3.0 megapixel camera will work) needed to make it spread is here; The number of people who use mobile phones, capable of reading QR codes is already huge. Internet access from mobile phones is here and growing rapidly every year, either through Wi-Fi hotspots (under which Web access is free) or by subscribing to continuously cheaper prepay bundles or contracts for mobile Internet monthly plans. The versatility of QR codes is the recipe necessary to see quick adoption and stickiness from people. A few examples of their use: Internet Marketing * Drive traffic from offline points (business cards, ads, classifieds) to online points (web pages, social pages and mobile pages) * Drive traffic from online points too; QR codes on image search results, videos and photos; convert url-based Web elements to QR codes and transfer them to mobile for later use * Those nice articles you wrote for SEO? Dust them off, send them for free publishing to related periodicals, local newspapers etc. with your sites QR code on them; start getting traffic to your individual pages and measure effectiveness. * Add them to your blogs; this way people can ‘pickup’ your stories and continue reading you when mobile. See who comes and visits your blog, and from where. Online Content and Multimedia * Boost visits to online content for all customers with an offline presence: from High street or local shops with a Web page to places that have more to say for an item, product or service * Create QR codes to iTunes music tracks, videos, Apps and create collections and track them statistically Web sites and Mobile sites * Create individual promos having as a starting point a QR code that sends people to a mobile mini site with your offer; your QR code can be tracked to measure campaign effectiveness. Similarly for Web sites. Individuals / Professionals * Use your personal information encoded as vCard on your Business Cards, leaflets, flyers, posters etc. Track scans. Mobile Network Carriers * A text service allowing subscribers to text a keyword with their desired link or text, and receive an MMS with the respective QR code encoded * Or send an MMS with a QR-code to a 5-digit number, and have its contents decoded and sent to you by a text message * Selling Apps and downloadable content (ringtones, wallpapers, tracks, video, welcome tunes) through physical shops using simple cards that people pay at the shop, and scan to listen, view or activate * New services for Business clients: A QR code Manager site to produce and manipulate QR codes in any quantity. Do you think that you fit somehow in any of these? If yes, you need to start using them. And we can help you, because we have been following on them very closely for the past year and as you will discover if you continue to read on, we know a thing or two about them. And while we work out presentations on new products and services for QR codes for Mobile OpCos and the European Market, we also have some time left to work with our associates and make some QR codes for you. But not just ANY QR codes. The Problem with QR codes QR code images are like fingerprints; no two are alike. Every piece of information that is made as a QR code produces a different image. If you change the information behind the code, the image will change. But if you distribute your code around as an image offline and online, how will you be able to change it later - should you decide to do so - since the image has already been ‘printed’ and distributed? You see, you can issue your QR code and promote it, and start gaining traffic from it; but say for a moment that later on, you decide to divert your existing traffic to something else. And later into something different. Or change the use of your code completely, and start using it as a vCard whereas initially you had it made to point to a Video. And track the usage of the code you made at the same time. And keep your QR code fully working on most mobile phones, suitable to be recognized by all the popular QR code reader Apps, and at the same time looking beautiful - looking YOU. You need to treat it as a logo-an emblem- for you personally, or your Business, or you client’s Business. It will be the same look after 5 years-just like logos-but in the meantime, you will be able to change the info behind it a thousand times. And also keep tracking; who scanned it, when, where from, what device from (mobile phone, or not). A simple example of this is the sailor with the permanent tattoo on his arm. Imagine the sailor having his arm tattooed with a QR code; this tattoo is done for life, with permanent ink and it will never wash away. Anyone scanning the sailors arm will get a Photo of his girlfriend on Google images. In two years, our guy breaks up, gets married, has children, but still carries his ex-girlfriend on his QR code tattoo. But he will not be able to change the link to point to a new photo on Google images with his family. Simply because if he wishes to do so, he will have to change the QR code image on his arm with a new QR code image that will be made to contain the link to the new family photo. So without having this option, the sailor will either have to remove the photo from Google images to escape the embarrassment of the next scan, (and carry a useless QR code on his arm for the rest of his life) or scrape the tattoo from his arm with laser treatment and do another one with the new QR code (that will contain the link to the new family photo). Another more realistic, yet simplistic example: create a free QR code for your Business with a video link that promotes you and what you sell. For two years, you travel and share your business card with thousands of people around the World, and suddenly you decide that you want to make them an offer they can’t refuse and you want to communicate this to them with a message. You will not be able to switch from video to text, and as you carry on giving away cards, your message stays static, unchangeable, and becomes outdated still containing past information about you as time goes by. If you want to create some QR codes yourself, it is easy and also free. Try and Google: create qr code and you can find a place to create your own and play for as long as you like, or use them for your Business. Free stuff can get you there, no problem. Or if you want, you can head over to Fiverr website and put someone to make them for you for $5. For something short and sweet, you can go free, or almost free. But for something personalized, carefully thought out and long-lasting, you must go a step further. Alright! Let’s create some QR codes now for free, and take them to Photoshop to change them and make them look beautiful. I wish! QR codes are data, imprinted into an image; they do have an error correction tolerance of up to 30%, but depending on what you do to them, you must be able to change the error correction rate accordingly; you will also need to leverage the changes made to the image icon with the amount of information stored in the code. And also make sure your code can look beautiful, can be tracked by you and can be scanned by most mobile phones and QR code reader Apps. Can you stand the thought of promoting your QR code for ages, only to find out a year later that it can only be scanned by iPhone devices? Or that it has an error correction of 30% but takes ages for a Blackberry to decode it? That’s right; if you want something quick and easy and free you can do it in less than 5’. If you think bigger, you might consider something different. And this is where we come in, with a few alternatives for you to choose from, should you decide to go the other way. Our Service and Prices We can provide you with three types of QR codes: a) A Colored QR code with the foreground and background color of your choice b) A Colored QR code with a mini-icon embedded and infused in the code c) A Premium colored QR code that stands out from all the rest, with the following attributes: color shades in the code, a mini icon embedded and infused in the code, an icon signifying the information in it (sms, e-mail, YouTube, Tune, telephone number, link or vcard) an inscription with your message of choice and a shadow in the color of your choice. Also – and this is very important – depending on your options selected with your QR code below, you get the added value of tracking and / or changing the code behind the image later. What are the Options available? 1. Issue a QR code with a phone number or an E-mail message. This cannot change and cannot be tracked 2. Issue a QR code with a text message, or MMS Text message or a link. This cannot change, but can be tracked with Google Analytics 3. Issue a QR code that can be changed later (so the image will stay the same, but the information behind it can change. This can be tracked with simple stats, and it is for links and Vcards) 4. Issue a QR code that can be changed later (so the image will stay the same, but the information behind it can change. This can be tracked with Google stats and it is for links and Vcards) 5. Issue ONE QR code that can be changed later, with private hosting, and a new domain name. This can be tracked with Google Analytics, it is only for links, and bears an annual recurring hosting and domain name fee; you can add more than one QR codes if you like under the same hosting and domain name 6. Issue ONE QR code that can be changed later, under YOUR OWN hosting solution and under YOUR EXISTING domain name. This is good if you already have a site and it is for links only; we simply create the redirect for you (the new link under your domain) and add it in your Google Analytics account for a small fee; there is an added fee for every additional QR code link created and added 7. For MANY QR codes that can be changed later, with a complete hosting solution and a new domain name. This can be tracked with Google Analytics, it is only for links, and bears an annual recurring hosting and domain name fee. Prices For Option 1: QR Code Type a) is $5, Type b) $9, Type c) $29. For Option 2: QR Code Type a) is $7, Type b) $13, Type c) $39. For Option 3: QR Code Type a) is $9, Type b) $15, Type c) $49. For Option 4: QR Code Type a) is $9, Type b) $15, Type c) $49. For Option 5: The private hosting and domain name annual recurring fee is $39; and for QR codes the price is as Option 4. Contact us for this option. For Option 6: As Option 2 for the QR code, and the extra fee for setting it up is $10. If you do more than one QR codes, the added fee for setting them up is $3 for each link after the first. Contact us for this option. For Option 7 please contact us to discuss options that fit you best. These are very special, introductory discount prices and for a very limited time. Turnaround time is up to 5 days, but it can be as little as 24 hours depending on the queue and nature of pending projects. It takes from three up to eight hours for a QR code to be made and tested thoroughly, depending on your choice. For type c), normally the price is round $300-$600, but we can cover you for much less – but there will be limitations on what can be done, as such is the nature of QR codes. But you will end up with a code that works on most mobile phones (should they are QR-code compliant-Smartphones basically), and your code will be tested thoroughly for that before it is delivered to you. What are the QR code limitations? For those who wish to issue a QR code with a phone number or an E-mail message: You will simply get your QR code which will be a “one-off†QR Code; this means that if you decide that your information is outdated and you wish to change it, you will have to issue a new QR code. The phone number can be any number that can be called through a mobile phone, national or international. Important: You cannot have tracking for Phone numbers and E-mail messages. For those who do not wish to change their code contents later but wish to track it: * You will get a “one-off†QR Code; this means that if you decide that your information is outdated and you wish to change it, you will have to issue a new QR code. * Your code will be tied up to a free service where we will register you (the service belongs to a third company and requires registration) * You will be able to track the code with Google Analytics . Important: The option is for text messages, MMS text massages and links only. Also, the text and MMS text messages will be inserted into a mobile page with a link; when scanned by a mobile device, those who scan the code will see a mobile page with the message and be able to text the link to that page via text message. For those who wish to change their QR code contents later at some point: * without the QR code image to become affected by the change (so you can change the information behind the QR code at anytime, but it’s image will stay the same) * with the ability to track (no Analytics, but simple stats, or, Google stats) * with the ability to control access to the contents the mobile device owner views We will arrange for your code to be tied up with a free service to do that (the service belongs to a third company and requires registration). Important: This option is for links and Vcards only, and you can only switch between those two types. If you decide to switch from a link or Vcard to text, the text will be inserted into a mobile page; when your QR code gets scanned by a mobile device, those who scan the code will see a mobile page with the text. You will be able to have tracking, and switch back anytime to a link or Vcard. If the QR code is made to a Vcard and the recipients’ mobile phones cannot scan and store the vCard automatically, they will be presented with the option to download it manually on their phone, or, in the worst case, choose to have it sent onto their mail box. If you choose to add Google statistics, those will show clicks, traffic sources and visitor profile data (countries, browsers and platforms) for predefined periods of time (two hours, a day, a week, a month, or all times). Order You can SEE SAMPLES and place your order through the site at the siggy box below. Your QR code will be made according to the EXACT details that you will provide. It will be tested with the most widely read QR code scanners, in order to be fully compatible and can be scanned by most mobile phones that can download QR code reader Apps – Smartphones or not; but to be totally straight with you: don't expect your old Nokia to capture and decode QR codes. Think of succesful scans in models from Blackberry and beyond - the camera of the phone must be 2.5-3 megapixels. You will receive from us a QR code image, size circa 400x400 pixels; we do not recommend that you use the QR code in sizes less than 80-120 pixels. For Type b) and c) QR Codes, please provide the image file that you wish to have embedded; make sure that the image has a transparent background and it is of very good quality and in the largest possible size. The services where your QR-code will be tied up in order for you to be able to track it and / or change it are third party services belonging to third companies, are free of charge, and we are not responsible for their operation. However, they are popular and in very good standing. If you wish to tie up your QR code with a link that belongs to a domain you own and control, you can always do domain forwarding and simply change the link behind the QR code at any point in time. Just give is the domain forward link and we will put it behind the code. If you select the option with Google Analytics, you will have to provide your Analytics Property ID; if you select the option with Google Stats, you will have to provide us with your Google Account login details. We will not disclose your information to others. Delivery time is 2 to 5 days depending on workload. Looking forward to serve you! P.S. If we delay slightly in answering you, it is because of the time difference from the US, which is +7 to +9 hours.