Whio Is The BadMan?

Juat a bit of Illustrator fun here - set out to design a logo for a theatre project and ended up here! Back to the drawing board needless to say! PS. It hasn't been solved - just who the BadMan is...

QR Codes

What the hell are QR Codes?

I found myself wondering about these lately so I went to Wikipedia and found all this out...

Although initially used for tracking parts in vehicle manufacturing, QR codes are now used in a much broader context, including both commercial tracking applications and convenience-oriented applications aimed at mobile phone users (termed mobile tagging). QR codes can be used to display text to the user, to add a vCard contact to the user's device, to open a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) or to compose an email or text message. Users can also generate and print their own QR codes for others to scan and use by visiting one of several free QR code generating sites.

QR codes storing addresses and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) may appear in magazines, on signs, buses, business cards, or almost any object about which users might need information. Users with a camera phone equipped with the correct reader application can scan the image of the QR code to display text, contact information, connect to a wireless network, or open a web page in the phone's browser. This act of linking from physical world objects is termed hardlinking or object hyperlinking.

Use as artwork

Since 2006, the Italian artist Fabrice de Nola has used QR codes in oil paintings or embedded in photographs.

In 2007 the British pop group Pet Shop Boys used QR code for the artwork of their download-only single Integral. The videoclip for the song also features a QR code. When the codes are scanned, users are directed to the Pet Shop Boys website, and web pages about the British national identity card plans, respectively.

A QR code which scans to produce the word "LOVE" was also featured prominently in Australian artist Kylie Minogue's music video for her 2010 single All The Lovers.

In June 2010, Design Exchange, Canada's National Design Centre, unveiled a large QR code installation created by Rollout Wallpaper. Rollout Wallpaper is a custom wallpaper company operating in Vancouver. The installation is part of the 'Bent Out of Shape' exhibit, curated by Design Exchange staff.

In July 2010, SYCO Music recording artist Labrinth started using QR codes as part of a campaign to promote his debut single "Let The Sun Shine". As well as a cartoon video to educate users on how to use QR codes, they were placed in different media ranging from street posters & stickers to music videos, websites and social networks. The QR codes take users through to Labrinth's YouTube videos, website and social network profile.

The webcomic QR Comic is made entirely out of QR codes. The first 28 entries are Isaac Asimov's short story The Last Question converted into QR codes.

In April 2011, urban designer, planner and artist Ela Dokonal exhibited mixed media paintings at the Northport ArtWalk that presented a short story about a village and its struggle to revive the local economy. Each painting had a QR code embedded into the painting itself. To underscore the business and art coalition, the mobile pages included offers from local businesses encouraging users to “buy local”, which was a message promoted by the local Chamber of Commerce.

Use in marketing

A giant QR code linking to a website, to be read with mobile phones.

Recently, QR codes have become more prevalent in marketing circles and have been integrated into both traditional and interactive campaigns. Media where QR codes have been deployed include: billboard ads, guerrilla marketing campaigns, in-store displays, event ticketing and tracking, trade-show management, business cards, print ads, contests, direct mail campaigns, websites, email marketing, and couponing just to name a few. QR codes are of particular interest to marketers, giving them the "ability to measure response rates with a high degree of precision"allowing for easier ROI (return on investment) calculation, thus helping justify spending on marketing budgets. QR codes have also been used at trade shows and in conferences.

In January 2011, U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan in Seoul, South Korea became the first Army organization to use QR codes for official media campaigns.

Also in January 2011, the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum launched a line of museum t-shirts and apparel which feature museum logos and designs on the fronts, and a QR code screened on the right back shoulder, which directs to the museum's web site or artist interviews.

In March 2011 a tattoo parlor in Arizona reportedly began giving QR tag tattoos that linked to people's websites and Facebook pages.

QR codes are also widely used in the tourism. For example in Lviv (Ukraine), Lviv Tourism Movement that consolidates businessmen have placed QR codes on more than 80 tourism objects. QR codes are in several languages, which helps individual tourist easily to get the information on the city.

Use in cemeteries

QR codes have been used in Japanese cemeteries on grave markers as a way to share additional information and unite mourners. No examples of this are known outside Japan.

Nike Air April Fools Video

Nike take the mickey for April Fools! Even big names can poke a bit of fun at their own branding now and again.

Adobe Flash Player not installed or older than 9.0.115!

Branding Genius or Ridiculous?

Pepsi is already Pecsi

It happened first in Argentina, then in Spain and now it is happening in Mexico.

In a brilliant (up to you?) move to recognize the cultural differences of these countries, Pepsi, the world-known soft drink of Pepsico, has become “Pecsi” in the Mexican market.

Adapting the word Pepsi to the different ways that people from all over the world pronounce it is a marketing strategy that surely will produce good results for PepsiCo–the world’s second-largest food and beverage company with consumers in more than 200 countries.  In Argentina, Pepsi is already called Pecsi, and in Spain, Pepsi is called “Pesi.” Nobody can complain about this strategy. On the contrary, many Spanish-speaking people would feel more comfortable pronouncing Pecsi or Pesi, rather than Pepsi. Three years ago, Pepsico launched a very funny and successful marketing campaign in Mexico named “Wiwichus.”. The “wiwichus” were five small characters that people could exchange in convenience store for a determined number of Pepsi bottle caps.  The campaign involved the use of applications to download “wiwichus” in personal messages as well as ringtones for mobile phones.

The funny thing about the campaign was that the word “wiwichu” came from the way Spanish-speaking people sing the part of a certain Christmas song that says, “We wish you a Merry Christmas.”  We is pronounced as ‘gui’/wi’ and two consecutives ‘gui’ along with the you, create the sound “guichu”/wichu. Mexican people loved the “wiwichus,” sang the American song and bought a lot of Pecsis to acquire them.

With campaigns such as these, PepsiCo shows that they know their markets well, and that they are willing to adapt their products to the idiosyncrasies of their customers from around the world.

Courtesy of El Paso Times http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/mexico/2011/03/pepsi-is-already-pecsi.html#