Coca Cola's US QR Code Program

Coca Cola’s newly launched US campaign to preserve the Arctic (home of the polar bear : Coca Cola’s mascot), uses QR codes printed on cups, which enable customers to download an iOS game app, which in turn connects to Facebook, allowing the user to play against friends. http://mashable.com/2011/11/11/coca-cola-qr-code-program/
The campaign in partnership the World Wildlife Fund and 7-Eleven (distributors of the cups with the QR codes) is a clever integration of some of the most popular digital platforms currently in use. The game, (Snowball Effect by Coca Cola), which can also be downloaded directly from the App Store, is a simple snowball throwing game, in which you challenge your friends to earn points. Points are also earned by checking in to a 7-Eleven and from the QR codes. As points are earned larger snowballs are unlocked making it easier to play the game.
In order to start the playing the game one has to challenge a Facebook friend, which inevitably leads to a wall post, the idea being you help spread the word. To fully engage with the game, the app has to be given access to the user’s Facebook account, and the device must have location services enabled. Although the game itself is not very entertaining, the interaction among the different digital platforms is interesting in that it gives Coca Cola access to their customer’s social media personas under the guise of social responsibility. According to the article printing the QR codes on cups posed a series of difficulties, yet Coca Cola hopes that in the future they will be able to be printed on cans.