Canadian winery Jackson-Triggs Estate Wines is giving more information to smartphone-carrying shoppers by adding QR (or quick response) codes to its wine bottles and advertising.

Leading up to the holidays, the ads are appearing in magazines Food & Drink and Taste, and in the free daily newspaper Metro. From Nov. 22 to Dec. 31, the company will also have OOH ads with QR codes in Toronto transit shelters.

Bos in Toronto handled the creative and the media buy, and Crucial Interactive, based in Toronto, created the QR codes and associated materials with Jackson-Triggs.

The ad buy in Metro, and the introduction of QR codes, is part of an attempt by the company to expand its fan base, Casey Howe, marketing manager, Jackson Triggs Estate Wines, tells MiC.

‘Metro is new for us. We’re trying to target a slightly younger demographic and using this technology helps us do that,’ says Howe. ‘Normally we go after the wine enthusiasts and a group called image seekers, who are slightly skewed female and about 30 to 45, and we’re really trying to target millennials with this new technology.’

The QR codes will be on the back labels of the winemaker’s Unity and VQA Black Series, Silver Series and Gold Series wine collections. When scanned, the code will display on smartphones the technical details of the wine, tasting notes and information about the wine maker and winery. There will also be recipe ideas and pairing suggestions, as well as links to the company website and Facebook fan page.

On the OOH posters and in print, the codes will lead scanners to contest information. The current contest is a chance to win a ‘winery experience.’ For the holidays, the ads will lead to the Jackson-Triggs Facebook page, where friends can unite to win a reunion at the winery.

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