The rise in popularity of smartphones is creating new opportunities for savvy marketers to engage with people in unique and interesting ways. The use of QR codes is one of our favorite new mobile application trends and something many of our clients can leverage to their benefit.

This funny looking little square is a type of bar code called a quick response code, or QR code for short. Most smartphones can read these codes. And most smartphone owners cannot resist the temptation to learn what the code says.

QR codes can contain any alpha-numeric information including web addresses, images, or phone numbers. Check out these 50 creative uses for QR codes for more inspiration, and create your own QR codes here.