Visitors to Coronado Island (San Diego, CA) will soon see new additions to popular points of interest with QR code scanning.
According to a recent article in the San Diego Union Tribune, Coronado officials are testing the effectiveness of QR codes on tourists’ and residents’ interest in local landmarks. QR codes are used by anyone with a smartphone and a QR code scanning app. They are designed to “point” a user to a specific website that provides information about the specified object. In this case, when someone uses their smartphone to take a photo of the QR code for a particular landmark, the browser on their smartphone displays a website that provides more details about the landmark.
The Coronado QR codes are currently in place for the Coronado Tennis Center, Rotary Plaza, and the Glorietta Bay Promenade. The QR code at the Coronado Tennis Center (which is under currently construction) directs phone users to a website that describes the work being done, how much it is expected to cost, and the expected completion date. The Rotary Plaza QR code directs users to a site that advertises their free Wi-Fi.
City Manager Tom Blair decided to bring QR codes to Coronado after attending a presentation on their uses. If the test proves successful, the city hopes to expand this marketing tool to include other places throughout the San Diego area.
QR codes have been in use in Japan for almost a decade, but surprisingly they have not been popular in the U.S. until recently. Target is actually one of the first U.S. retailers to begin incorporating QR codes their business by using them in sales catalogs to provide customers with more information about products and toys.
