You are starting to see them everywhere. They look like jigsaw puzzles, sometimes in color but most often in black-and-white. They are on magazine advertisements, posters and billboards, business cards, and just about everything else.

They are quick response (or QR) codes, and they act as mobile shortcuts to websites, discount coupons, videos, and other content. Point at them with your smartphone, snap a picture of the code, and you are zipped to a video, a coupon, a Web page, contact information, or other content. A static medium suddenly turns into a dynamic, interactive one.

Immediate Response!

Whether you are a corporate marketer placing a magazine advertisement or a small business doing a sales promotion, QR codes are particularly appealing because they capture viewers’ interest at the very moment it is piqued: See. Snap. View.

You don’t lose eyeballs by asking people to manually input URLs or scribble them down onto a piece of paper that might get lost.

Plus, QR codes cost little or nothing to add to your print campaigns. There is no reason not to use them.

So make those static printed pieces interactive. Add “live” product demos to sell sheets. Send trade show attendees right to your website. Let viewers download your company contact information and “save the date” information right to their phones

It is no wonder so many of today’s top brands are using QR codes. These include GMC, Ford, Google, Pepsi, Ralph Lauren, The Weather Channel, Best Buy, Chevrolet, Starbucks, Facebook, and countless more.

They’re Trackable

Wait! It gets better. Because these codes resolve to Internet sites, QR codes are an easy way to track the interest level of many of today’s mobile consumers.

How many people snapped the code from the brochure you distributed at the trade show? Were mobile users more likely to respond to the trade show graphic or the magazine ad? Track this and more with QR codes!

Where Did QR Codes Come From?

Although many people are just being exposed to QR codes, the codes themselves are not new. In their most basic form, QR codes have been around for years.

QR Codes were first created by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994. Since that time, they have been extensively used in Europe and Japan. Now their use is exploding in the United States. You see them in Times Square, in the pages of Entertainment Weekly, as well as on CD cases, point of purchase materials, business cards, and a wide variety of marketing collateral.

Creating QR Codes

Intrigued? You should be. The best part is that creating a QR code is simple and costs little to add to any print marketing program. Try our QR code generator today at www.qreatetrax.com.

To create the most basic codes, you simply go to the site, input the URL to which you would like the code to point, and instantly a code is created.  You’ll have the opportunity to download a zip file that will include a .png, .jpg, .eps, and .gif image that you can save and insert into your print or online materials.

Yes, it’s that easy. We even offer the ability to create personalized QR codes (say for generating personalized URLs); codes with embedded logos; or codes that provide extremely detailed tracking and multi-channel integration capabilities.