What if there were physical hyperlinks IRL that could give information from other people on what they thought about a certain restaurant, shop or museum? Wouldn’t that be cool?

Well, it seems it’s already reality. This is how it works; Google has sent out over 100.000 window decals to local businesses in the US that have been most sought out or researched on google.com and Google Maps. Each decal has a QR code on it. The user scans the code with his/her mobile phone (using the camera) and the codes takes the user to that business’ Place Page. Here, the user finds reviews, get a coupon (if offered by that business) and has the possibility to “star” that business as a place to remember.
Google puts it like this: “This launch is part of our overall effort — online and offline — to provide you with the best local business results whenever you’re trying to figure out where to go, whether it’s a trendy Cuban restaurant in Philly, a comics shop in L.A., a hip hotel in NYC or a little bit of photographic history in Rochester, N.Y.”

Isn’t this great?!? Now, all we have to do is to make it international and not just a US-thing.
/ylva.

During the summer of 2009 we launched a campaign on behalf of the Swedish ferry transportation company Stena Line that combined guerrilla marketing with QR-codes. We produced a number of posters that resembled those of the local public transportation organization Västtrafik’s and put them in bus and tram shelters. The posters contained information on ferry departures for Fredrikshavn in Denmark, with connecting trains to the resort Skagen. A QR-code linked to Stena Line’s information on Skagen.

This is an example of combined on-line/off-line marketing, where the mobile phone is used to connect the two.

More mobile stuff!
/ylva.