Will Clear Channel’s QR Billboard Strategy Scan?

Clear Channel Outdoor has finally figured out the future of the billboard business: QR Codes. Remember those little pixelated squares that were supposed to revolutionize everything from supply-chain management to cemeteries?

Clear Channel, which has almost 700,000 billboards and signs around the world, plans to put 75,000 scannable tags on ads at sites that feature “heavy footfall and long dwell-time”—namely airports, shopping malls, bus stops, and the like. In addition to QR (short for Quick Response) Codes, some of the billboards will have SMS capabilities to text passersby or use near-field communication, which transmits information to nearby devices.