Any observant media user will surely have spotted them: the little squares with the seemingly random arrangement of black and white dots. Their use is growing all the time - in adverts and on billboards, admission cards and flight tickets, to name just a few examples. These QR codes or quick-response codes are revolutionising the distribution and processing of information. Since the start of 2012 Gütersloh-based Hermann Sewerin GmbH has been using QR codes in its trade adverts.
QR codes are currently in the process of being allocated to products and services. Potential customers photograph the QR code with their smartphone, and an app (usually supplied free of charge) then analyses it and links the customer to the product information on the Sewerin database, which is located on the company's website (<link http: www.sewerin.com>www.sewerin.com). In this way users can quickly access detailed information about a particular product or service.
Over the coming year this initial phase will be followed by a further refinement: The links will gradually be switched from the prospect database to a new moving image database. This will show the user how a particular product works and how it can be used in day-to-day operations.
Sewerin plans to implement QR code technology across the board in future to improve the quality of customer communications.