QR Codes - Newfoundland and Labrador does 'em right. Yis bye.

QR Codes are getting ubiquitous - but how many people actually use them?  A better question - how many people even know what they are supposed to be used for?  An even better question for the techies - what does "QR" stand for??  "Quick Response"... not that it really matters, but I thought I'd test you.

My concern isn't with the ubiquity of QR codes - in fact, I think they present an awesome opportunity to reach out to people in spaces where mobile computing is the only option.  My concern is that it is still very, very new technology - and those of us "in the business" always forget that last month's news to us is still a bewildering, brave new world to the general public.

Enter the clever marketers behind tourism for Newfoundland and Labrador - the providers of what are arguably the most consistent and intelligent marketing campaigns in Canada.  They recently released a print insert in National newspapers with a QR code that allowed you to "Get the soundtrack", which played audio of birds singing over Cape St. Mary's.  What really impressed me though was the provision of text that said "Not sure how? Download a QR reader app on your smartphone, scan the QR code, and hear the birds."  It may seem simple, but I bet this one print ad taught thousands of people how to do this.  iphones are one thing - but how many BlackBerry users have enabled a QR reader app?  Have you?

My point is that this ad made no assumptions about its audience - in fact, if it made one assumption, it was that people may not yet understand the technology.  A pretty smart assumption to make, I think.

The ad itself is brilliant too - and the addition of audio, provided in the comfort of the newspaper reader's personal space, allows for a multi-sensory experience that lives up to the slogan "Give your senses a trip to remember".

Ah, I want to get back to Newfoundland.