For the longest time, there has been problems trying establishing a direct connection between the offline world and the online one. People see a URL, they can't access it till later...when they have access to internet access. We were not able to make that instant connection or solicit prompt reaction from target audiences despite our fervent attempts.

Hence, marketing for online stuff remained pretty much reliant on internet marketing and search engine optimization.

Mobile marketing, in the meantime, developed on its own too...individually and separately. SMS, MMS marketing was how companies got to people on their cell phones.

But with the introduction of QR Codes, things have changed. There is now a direct link to online content in the real world and there is no longer a need to remember a URL and access a website or article via a computer. Online information can be obtained directly and instantly with a quick scan of the cell phone's camera. But to the Japanese, this is old news.

The Japanese's been using QR Code technology for pretty much everything in their lives for more than a decade and it has taken the rest of the world that long to see the beauty of what it is. Initially, QR codes were used in the vehicle manufacturing industry but since it was such an astonishingly versatile technology, larger brand names started using them too.

QR Codes can only be read using smart phones (like Blackberry or iPhone, etc) installed with a QR Code reader. So, just imagine that you are out shopping for shoes and there was a QR Code printed on the label. To help you make a good decision, you can scan the QR Code with your phone and find out about what people were saying about the label or the product information like type of material, inspiration for the design, or even a video by the designer of the show. It's pretty amazing stuff.

So, the next time you see a QRious little QR code, give it a shot!