My thoughts on Tech, the Internet & Mobile Innovation

I recently returned from two trips to San Francisco and QR codes are on everything – not surprising, given the high-tech sector. Here is the latest and greatest list of examples from these summer 2011 trips:

QR Coded Promotional T-shirt

My second trip to San Francisco was during a large tech conference. Not surprisingly, companies in and around the venue were making full use of QR Codes.

Marketo QR Coded Exterior Signage

This ad was well-placed outside the venue for the above-mentioned tech conference. However, the code itself was very low to the ground (so you had to bend over to scan it) and didn’t work well on this curved surface. Eye-level QR Codes are easier to scan and will get more attention.

Google Favorite Place Decal

Google’s Favorite Place program was a noble cause, but I think it was ahead of its time. San Francisco is the only place I’ve ever seen them, this one I believe was at a Ben and Jerry’s at the corner of Haight and Ashbury.

QR Codes on Real Estate Ads

I took this picture through a window in downtown San Francisco. The office is for a real estate company and they allow you to get more information about their properties via a QR Code. It’s a great idea (although the angle of the board made scanning through a window difficult).

QR Coded Feedback Method at Google

I recently had the great pleasure of visiting Google’s downtown San Francisco office (which lived up to the hype). Not surprisingly, there was plenty of Android and QR Code goodness to be had.

QR Coded T-shirt

This shirt was one of many on display in the same Google lobby.

The People’s Uprising

I’m not quite sure what the People’s Uprising is, but they did manage to get this up at a Star Bucks in San Francisco. The QR Code itself links to a Facebook page where you can “Like” the People’s Uprising. This is smart because Facebook optimizes for different mobile Operating Systems (OS’s), so as long as you have the Facebook page, you don’t have to worry about optimizing for iPhone’s, Android’s etc. Additionally the creative, by Charles Christian Simbulan Blanco, is fantastic, with the code embedded into the flag. It was a small leaflet, but caught my eye as soon as I walked by it.

ING Direct Cafe

This QR Code was part of a much larger transit shelter poster in the window of a store front under renovation. The call to action drives you to a YouTube video demonstrating the floor plan of the soon-to-open location. Like the above Facebook example, YouTube (at least on major platforms like Android and iOS) is going to be optimized for the user’s phone – saving work on the backend for designers.

Transit Advertising for the San Francisco AIDS Walk

This QR Code was on the side of a bus downtown. Great cause and great event, but I had to get within a foot of the bus to scan it. Still good to see non-profits taking advantage of the technology.

Coca Cola Feeding America Promotion

This one was taken in a rush at an airport restaurant at O’Hare in Chicago. I didn’t have time to scan it, but I love that they include both the QR Code and SMS option (leave no phone behind).

QR Code for Showtime’s “The Franchise”

This ad was over a urinal in a dive bar in San Francisco. Not the cleanest place I have ever been, but the customer base probably was likely to be a baseball fan. I’ve also included a close up of the code below that you should be able to scan. The scan will take your phone to a mobile optimized site including video.

Have some great pictures of QR codes in the wild? Send them to me at blog@gregpoirier.com or let me know your experience in the Comments section below. You can also see more examples of QR codes in my other QR Code gallery here.