It’s finally happened. QR codes are making their major magazine debut via the unlikely suspect of Martha Stewart. Go on Martha with your bad self! The Winter issue of Martha Stewart Weddings will be the first women’s magazine to allow readers to snap a picture of the ads with their phone and through a shop called, SnapTell, instantly get back content from an advertiser.
QR Codes, semacodes, etc. have been in use in big games from companies like area/code to ARGs from interactive agencies like Deep Focus to having front placement on Korean business cards for years. However, this is the first time I’ve seen their use marketed to the middle American women. I love it.
You may be asking the same question I am. It’s not “will this demographic want to use it.” The question is “can they?” QR codes are only read by a certain set of phones (iPhones, N-series Nokias) and semacodes have been basically phased out, but you still have to download software, which could be an extra step that un-tech savvy consumers are unwilling to take. Yet, SnapTell says that their reader works with all phones, but do consumers need to download software? It’s unclear. Can’t wait to see the results of this major media experiment!