Heartland Mall is on the cutting edge of technology. They have teamed up with Larry Bartley of MySocialMedium.com to present a new and high-tech experience for guests attending their 30th Anniversary scheduled for October 30th. Introducing technology which has yet to be utilized in Central Texas, Heartland Mall will provide special deals, discounts and give-aways that can only be accessed from within the mall by smart phone users. Small signs displaying QR codes will be strategically placed within the mall. Scanning the QR Code with a smart phone will access a content management system developed by Bartley and download various coupons or vouchers. The coupon must then be presented for discounts and prizes.
Bartley became intrigued with the curious little squares earlier this year when he noticed them showing up in various places around Austin. He asked around and discovered he could download an app for free that would do amazing things when he pointed his iPhone’s camera at the code. Scanning the code can create many different responses.
The technology of QR (Quick Response) Coding is not new. It was created in 1994 by a subsidiary of Toyota and was developed to rapidly scan parts as they passed through the assembly line. Only in recent months has the technology been made affordable to the masses and is now included with most smart phones being sold today. If you don’t have the reader app on your smart phone you can download many versions of it for free. Both Parrack and Bartley agree they prefer the i-nigma reader and have tested it extensively on Apple and Nokia devices.
Charlotte Parrack, Property Manager, remarked, “When Larry explained to me what he’d been working on, my mind started spinning and I was coming up with all sorts of ways the merchants at Heartland Mall could use the technology. The cool thing is that with the technique we’re using, the QR code on the sign never has to change. Information the scan returns to the user’s phone is controlled from my computer by logging onto Larry’s content management system. I can even make changes to what the scan returns by logging on with my cell phone. If we’re running some sort of “super promo” and I want to limit it to 10 winners, I can set the counter to 10 and the system will only return 10 winners at random intervals during a day or a week. We’ve been testing it the last few days and it’s just amazing. You can expect many more uses for QR Codes at Heartland Mall and throughout Central Texas in the coming months. Just remember you saw it first at Heartland Mall in Early, Texas.”
Visit HeartlandMall.net for more info.