For anyone watching TV lately in the US, you may have noticed that Verizon has launched an update to their popular “DROID DOES” campaign.  The new ads are now touting a huge world of apps available through Android Market – basically there’s more than one kind of phone that gives us a bunch of apps.

Notice anything familiar in the middle of the image below?

The great part is that they are using 2D barcodes, specifically QR codes, on most media as part of the campaign (print ads, in-store displays, website, and even an iPad ad).  These codes are of course powered by ScanLife, and there is usually a call to action which drives people to get the ScanLife app if they don’t already have a barcode reader on the phone by texting SCAN to 43588.

You can check out their website here, and here are a few images:

iPad Ad:

The purpose of the codes is two-fold. It gives Android phones easy and direct access to apps that are relevant to the topic being covered in the ad.  So if you’re flipping through Travel & Leisure, you can scan the code to get some great travel related apps like Lookout.  But, if you don’t have an Android phone, Verizon will recognize that and instead take you to a mobile formatted site about the DROID.  From here they will convince you that you have a sub-par phone, and need to buy the DROID ASAP.

This is a great example of how to convert something that is static into a virtual download/information portal.  In one scan, you are downloading apps or learning more about what you could do with this device if you actually had one.

It is fantastic to see the largest US carrier using the technology, and we are thrilled to have Verizon leading the way!

This week, the Early Show on CBS aired a segment on 2D codes (although they classified everything as QRcodes).  The first example was Norma Kamali’s use of ScanLife to make her store come to life.  They covered some other technologies, but this story just shows how quickly mobile barcodes are going mainstream – and that’s great for everyone!

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