Using Sun And Shadow, A QR-Code That’s Visible Only At Lunch Time

By John Yong, 04 May 2012

To help South Korea supermarket Emart attract customers during lunch hours—when there are the least shoppers—ad agency Cheil Worldwide created a QR code that could only be visible and scanned at the right time of day.

When the sun is at the correct angle in the sky between 12pm and 1pm, a shadow would be cast on the installation to show the QR code.

Customers that scanned the code using their mobile devices would activate the ‘Sunny Sale’ promotion—which offered store discounts and $12 coupon which can be used on Emart’s mobile commence stores.

In total, 12,000 coupons were issued, and the company saw an increase of 58% in Emart membership and 25% in in-store sales during lunch hours.

Watch the video below to see how the ‘shadow’ QR code works.