Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Crack the Garden code | The National Botanic Garden of Wales The new National Botanic Garden of Wales visitor leaflet is packed with more than just vital statistics and pretty pictures. The 2012 Garden leaflet has an inbuilt discounted entry offer – locked in the QR code on the cover. Anyone with a smart phone and a QR-code-reading ‘app’ will  be able to unlock a ‘buy one, get one half price’ admission offer to the Garden at Llanarthne, near Carmarthen.

St Clears photographer and businessman Alan Evans is putting the spotlight on the new QR code technology. QR code is a special type of bar code which can be used by smartphone users. The technology makes getting further information and links as easy as a camera click. Mr Evans said: "QR codes are becoming essential marketing tools with the sales growth of mobile phones with cameras, providing the user with an instant response. "The QR code can hold a variety of information - URL links to websites, PDFs with business details, links to social networks and much more. "The benefits are that your leaflet does not get outdated-once the QR code is printed. The information it targets can be updated as frequently as you want. "There's no need for reprints. One of the biggest problems with advertising is publishing and printing cost. "The cost of printing 10,000 copies of a single brochure is a lot.  "When crucial information changes, the advert...

The Healing The Wounds charity in Wales is one of the first in the UK to use a new piece of cutting edge technology to boost its fund-raising. The charity, which helps treat sufferers of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), has launched its own ‘QR code’ – a special type of bar code which can be used by smartphone users. The technology makes donations as easy as a camera click. “This is state-of-the-art technology and we think we are the first charity in the UK to use it,” said Healing The Wounds executive director Kevin Richards. “QR codes have been a bit slow to catch on in the UK, but with the help of our friends in Vodafone we have come to appreciate their significance very quickly.” QR stands for Quick Response code, a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is ‘readable’ by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones. “The idea is simple,” said Mr Richards. “We can place the QR code in a number of locations – on our website, on posters, on leaflets and oth...