Regarded as the more sophisticated cousin of traditional bar codes, QR (Quick Response) codes are small black graphical squares on white background—encoded to contain information, which can be text, a Web address, video or other data.

With the advent of smart mobile phones, the postage-stamp-size icons are an increasingly popular avenue for interacting with an audience because the codes allow consumers to take a QR picture on a store shelf and compare prices, features, inventory or other attributes via the Web.

Common in Japan, where they were introduced in the 1990s, QR codes are "really a tool for publishers," according to Evangelical Christian Publishers Association President and CEO Mark Kuyper. "Some early experiments using this technology indicate there is good opportunity to increase awareness and sales," Kuyper said.

Steve Sammons—executive vice president of consumer engagement for Zondervan, which has used the QRs in advertising its books in publications such as Christian Retailing—said that the two-dimensional codes "offer a wonderful opportunity to connect the offline print world directly into the online world, without much effort at all."

Read the full report in the January issue of Christian Retailing.

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