Singapore?s Changi Airport is trying to thank and reward readers by ramping up its Travel+Leisure print ads with QR codes.

The airport placed an ad in Travel+Leisure to thank readers for choosing Changi as the inaugural winner of the World?s Best Airport at Travel+Leisure World?s Best Awards 2013. The ad includes a QR code, which when scanned leads to the airport?s Web site.

?It is our way of thanking the readers of Travel+Leisure for their support towards Changi Airport in the recent Travel+Leisure World's Best Awards 2013,? said Kelvin Ng, assistant vice president of marketing communications at Changi Airport, Singapore. ?It is truly heartening to be awarded the honor of World's Best Airport, and we want to thank the readers for their confidence.

?The QR code provides readers with the ease of accessing our Web page through a one-step process of scanning, instead of having to remember and type in the URL,? he said. ?Readers are instantly introduced to the Changi experience via their mobile devices.?

A QR thank you
The Changi ad in Travel+Leisure Magazine displays a small QR code in the bottom right hand corner of the page.

Copy under the code reads, "See how we keep 51 million passengers smiling.?

When readers scan the QR code on a mobile device, they are directed to Changi?s landing site, which is not optimized for mobile. Readers must therefore pinch and expand the site to actually read what it says.

Additionally, the landing page invites readers to watch a promotional video, but the video does not play on an iPhone.

If readers open the site on a desktop, they can view the promotional video, which explains the ten ways that Changi Airport ensures the feeling is first class at its airport.

Despite the fact that Changi claims to have received more than 430 awards, the airport seems to still have room to improve in terms of mobile engagement.

Mobile flying
Other airports and airlines have also experimented with mobile in the past.

For example, the Pittsburgh International Airport introduced a mobile site in 2010 to help ease travel (see story).

More recently, Singapore Airlines announced a video contest that lets consumers submit videos via mobile or desktop (see story).

?In our fast-moving societies, coupled with the rapidly-growing rate of smartphone penetration around the world, mobile platforms are increasingly popular,? Mr. Ng said.

?More people consume news and information on the move, and it is imperative that we embrace and ride on this digital wave,? he said. ?We will continue to incorporate mobile platforms into our media mix for future campaigns.?

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York