Samuel Adams is placing QR codes on its bar coasters this holiday season as a way to generate excitement and make it easy for consumers to take advantage of a special holiday offer. 

Samuel Adams parent company Boston Beer worked with Wall Printing Co. to create interactive four-panel coasters that fold in a series of directions to reveal the different panels. A QR code features prominently on one of the panels and encourages bar customers to scan it for a special holiday offer.

?The QR code is a great way to instantly connect people with smartphones to information,? said Mike Vitamvas, a partner with Wall Printing Co., High Point, NC.  

?This is the first time we have put it on a coaster for one of our clients, but we have used it on a number of different applications,? he said.

?The Samuel Adams coaster, which consists of four panels that make a never ending loop has been a great way to generate interest. The interaction is smooth and easy to use on iPhones and Android devices. Hopefully they will be able to get you numbers.?

Time for action
The coaster is intended to make people notice the Samuel Adams brand and the special offer.

It also encourages consumers to take action not only by folding the coaster to reveal the various panels but also by scanning the QR to receive a discount on Samuel Adams beer glasses.

Mobile phone users who scan the QR code are taken to a mobile site where they are prompted to enter their name, email address, mailing address and date of birth to receive a coupon good toward the purchase of Samuel Adams glasses from the brand?s ecommerce site.

Another of Wall Printing?s clients is a restaurant that created thank you cards which included three QR codes, one that took customers to the restaurant?s Facebook page, another to Google Place and the last to Yelp. As a result, the restaurant has increased the number of reviews it is getting and improved its rankings in local listings.

?I'm finding more companies having an interest in adding QR codes to everything from marketing pieces to instruction manuals where they take you to a video that shows you have to assemble the product,? Mr. Vitamvas said.

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York