woodwing

Asia has been on the forefront of many technologies and there is a great willingness to experiment with all things new. One of those interesting technologies is the so called 2-dimensional (2D) barcodes and its implementation in the publishing space.

Barcodes in itself are nothing new of course; the first implementations were to label railroad cars, as well as supermarket checkout systems (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/barcode). In countries like Japan a specific type of 2D barcode has become ubiquitous in daily life: the so called Quick Response (QR) code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code). It was created by Denso-Wave in 1994. Initially developed for the manufacturing process, it quickly caught on in applications around the scanning of the codes by mobile phones, which translate the 2D barcode into a URL. This URL is then launched into the mobile phone’s web browser. The QR code is now an open source format and there have been innovative varieties which even include images and colors.

An interesting example of how QR codes work can be found in an episode of CSI: NY:

The bridge between print and online

So why should publishers be interested in these 2D barcodes? Because they provide an excellent bridge between print and on-line platforms. One of the drawbacks of mobile web browsing has always been the difficulties in finding (and the lack of) suitable mobile websites, as well as the need to type in long and complicated URLs. This is all changing now with mobile phones becoming much more advanced. Most Nokia phones for example come with the barcode reader/interpreter built in (http://mobilecodes.nokia.com). A lot of publishers are also investing in attractive mobile websites. However, the trick is still how to get the users to the mobile websites and how to monetize them. This is where the 2D barcode comes into play.
 

Lenovo ad with QR code

I will give you a couple of examples of recent implementations of QR codes in Southeast Asia. The first one is of a Singapore magazine publisher using the QR code in a Lenovo ad. The idea is to engage the reader with the product in a more interactive way. This is achieved by putting a QR code inside the ad; for more photos of the model (both the person and the notebook) the reader could scan the code, which will redirect him/her to a mobile website with more interesting content. One can imagine many more examples of implementations of 2D barcodes with regards to advertising, like engaging the reader with the advertiser and publisher through lucky draws, special campaigns, etc.

Kompas Gramedia: QR codes & editorial content

The second example is how one of the largest publishing groups in Southeast Asia, Kompas Gramedia in Indonesia, has started to use QR codes related to editorial content. Readers can scan a barcode linked to a newspaper article, after which the reader is redirected to the Kompas mobile website (http://m.kompas.com).

The first implementation was so successful that Kompas has continued to use them to this day. The reality is of course that when a reader reads the article in the newspaper, the news is already old. A reader will be interested in the latest developments surrounding a story as well as more media content like images and video. This can all be achieved through 2D barcodes directing readers to the mobile website. Web traffic can be increased, advertising space sold, as well as interesting and valuable statistics achieved from the detailed reporting by the 2D barcode solution provider, in Kompas Gramedia’s case Serious Technology’s Dakode (http://dakode.kompas.com).

A recent survey from the Audit Bureau of Circulations in the US concluded that print publishers are focusing more and more on the mobile market as an opportunity to do business (http://www.accessabc.com/gomobile); I think the 2D barcode can play an interesting role in the mobile web strategies of media companies.

Needless to say, WoodWing had already integrated the 2D barcode functionality in our Enterprise Content Publishing Platform in 2007, to prepare our customers for this exciting future!