QR codes add video links to beer labels

Companies can use specific design and label choices to grab attention and get people talking about a brand. One way to do this is to direct people to different websites using the QR codes that can be attached to labels. An Argentinean beer company is taking QR code use on beer labels to new lengths by allowing the consumers to make each bottle their own, using a mobile device.

According to Marketing Land, this initiative makes innovative use of these codes by recording a video, scanning the QR code on a bottle of Andes beer and then attaching the self-made video to that label. Customers can do this with a special app downloaded from Andes.

When someone else scans the code, they will be able to watch the previously-recorded footage for themselves, after which it disappears. The idea comes from Del Campo Saatchi & Saatchi, which has worked with the Andes brand before to create unusual, innovative approaches to content.

The campaign has been titled “Message in a Bottle” and plays off of the unique interaction between popular consumer goods and social media. It helps that the QR code is positioned centrally on the label itself, almost directly under the standard logo so consumers can line it up with the cameras on their mobile devices easily. Because the message disappears after it is read, customers could be reminded of the popular Snapchat app.

Professional industrial labeling systems can bring complicated and colorful ideas like this to life. Often, a simple twist on familiar label elements, like the QR code, can make a difference when coming up with new and intriguing designs, and businesses need a printer that will help them produce labels like this on a grand scale for easy application across all bottles.