U.S. Postal Service Embraces QR Codes

The United States Postal Service may have answered the question that marketers have been trying to answer for the last several months.  “Are QR codes the real deal, or just a fad?”

In case you aren’t familiar with QR codes, they are those little white squares with weird patterns of black squares (see image above) that tell smartphones to do a specific action.  A QR code (short for Quick Response code) is a specific two-dimensional code readable by QR code readers. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded can be text, URL, iPhone App, YouTube video, phone number, contact information (vCard), SMS message and many other intriguing call to actions.

There has been a great debate on whether the QR codes were going to be widely accepted in the US, as it has in Japan and other countries, or if it would fizzle out.  In possibly the most impressive action of support to date, the US Postal Service announced on Monday, May 23 that they would partner with the mobile technology to offer businesses and non-profits a 3% discount off postage with the use of the QR code. That is a huge deal for marketers and advertisers who utilize the direct mail services.  Tom Foti, manager, Marketing Mail said “This promotion is another step in our long-term strategy to ensure mail remains relevant as a key element in the overall advertising mix for an increasingly interactive marketplace.”  Foti says the two-month Mobile Barcode Promotion marks the first mailing industry promotion based on a multimedia approach, and is designed to demonstrate how the value of mail is increased by interfacing with technology to engage customers.

There are a few minor requirements, but nothing to deter you from taking advantage of this wonderful promotion.  You can read more about the promotion or the press release itself.