<p>As the 'scratch-and-win' mania in print ads fades, mobile-based innovation in advertising is gathering momentum. The biggest drivers of this phenomenon are smartphones. The best campaigns are those that offer real benefit and do a good job enticing people to actually want to pull their smartphones out of their pockets. And that's where QR (Quick Response) codes and missed calls take the spotlight.</p><p>Invented almost 20 years ago in Japan, QR codes were used in car manufacturing plants in order to help manage inventory. Over the past few years, QR codes have seen a dramatic rise in popularity. You can find them anywhere print ads, business cards, ticket counters, packaged products, etc.</p><p>In a way, QR codes bridge the gap between a print ad and an interactive destination. For instance, if the intention is to bring audiences to another place from the print ad, the QR code can enable that without expecting the user to head to the nearest PC/ notebook and just do it almost instantly, by using his/ her phone's camera.</p><p>One of the most innovative usages of QR codes was done by Heineken at the Heineken Open'er Music festival when it delivered a new message from the brand, 'Open your world'. Grabbing the insight of meeting new people at such festivals, Heineken created U-Code QR code stickers that carried people's personal messages. The QR code became an excuse to approach someone. Since the messages were coded, they maintained the intimacy of the message too. The result was about 5,000 QR stickers got printed in just four days and QR codes became an instant hit with the people who actually "opened up their world." Other such examples have been with Shoppers Stop's secret discount offers, 7Up's downloadable 'I feel up' song and many print ads that flash these codes in daily newspapers.</p><p><a href="http://pitchonnet.com/blog/2013/09/19/fresh-twists-interactive-marketing/">Keep reading...</a></p>