Legal Research

QR Codes & Mobile Marketing

By Steven Matthews

Have you come across a QR code yet? See this as an example:

All you need is a QR code reader built into your mobile phone – either natively within Android phones, or a free QR app for the iPhone. Then scan the code, and instantly your phone will execute one of a number of predetermined tasks:

• hotlink the phone’s browser to a URL – scanning the above image, for example, takes you to the homepage our blog at Stem;
• initiate a phone call;
• display an image, business card, etc;
• download a v-card;
• or display a simple text message, to name a few.

These 2-dimensional bar codes are becoming a rising standard for delivering digital offerings from the physical world. You can find them when flipping through magazines and newspapers, or maybe on a billboard in the trendy area of the city. In the digital space, it’s not difficult to imagine a future of advanced functionality: allowing us to endorse or friend via social media, register for an event, or develop interesting promotional messages.

Generating these codes, by the way, is also easy; with a number of free web-based QR code generators available online. Google ‘QR generators‘ to see a selection of free websites that might help.

I’m only hitting the tip of the iceberg here in terms of what QR codes have the potential to deliver. And obviously, there’s a big question as to how fast this technology might go mainstream. However, considering the incredibly fast adoption of smart phones, and the rise of mobile marketing generally, it’s not inconceivable that QR Codes might become a valuable mobile tech-tool that lawyers and firms may employ.

And if not, there’s always the ability to share “a good lawyer joke” with your friends:

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on October 28, 2010 (boomark / email).