Whether you’ve been a QR evangelist since the beginning, or you’re just jumping on the mobile marketing bandwagon now, chances are you’ve seen your fair share of these little black-and-white Easter eggs printed on magazine ads, sidewalk posters, and business cards. More often than not, the prize at the end of the smartphone hunt is a coupon or a YouTube commercial – far from inspiring.

If you’ve been underwhelmed by this mobile marketing tool in the past, we’ve compiled a list of 7 awesome QR code campaigns that illustrate how best to delight your mobile audience with unique content and delicious incentives.

1. Applebees
The “14 Minutes or Less Lunchtime Guarantee” may be benefit enough for Applebees’ customers, but the restaurant chain didn’t quit there. Printed on table tents throughout the restaurant are QR codes that lead to funny animations of talking feline mouths, dubbed “TableCats.” I bet those 14 minutes feel more like 4 when you’re watching friends or coworkers make LOLcats of themselves in the middle of a crowded restaurant.

2. H&W Hardware
Local businesses marketing to a smaller audience can really take advantage of creative QR campaigns. To drive traffic to her father’s company, H&W Hardware, Holly Nunes dressed up as a QR code (part of the “marketing tool kit”), and wore the costume to Halloween parties around town. It piqued community interest and drove a targeted audience to the store’s Tumblr blog with minimal expense to the company.

3. Jive Talk
For Vancouver punk band Jive Talk, album packaging can be just as entertaining as the music it contains. Their CD booklet transforms into an augmented reality playground, featuring cartoon performances and singing faces (although you’ll need to gather three friends with smartphones to get the full effect).

4. Qkies
Qkies, part of German food company Juchem Gruppe, allows you to have your QR code and eat it, too. The codes are printed on edible paper and laid atop delicious treats, giving your consumers a true taste of your brand. Just be sure your mobile landing pages are as well-made as the cookies themselves.

5. Harper Collins & Dentsu Canada
It’s a tough sell marketing books to teenagers these days. So when it came time for Harper Collins to publicize a young adult novel aimed at 12- to 17-year old girls, Dentsu Canada came up with a mobile QR campaign in local bookstores that sent girls on a treasure hunt through a faux bookshelf to uncover hidden information about the book’s characters and plot. Traffic to the author’s website rose 25% after the September launch, and book sales grew 45% versus the week prior to the campaign!

6. Spotify & Stupid
Remember the time and effort you devoted to crafting the perfect mix tape for that special someone back in high school? It feels like a lost art these days. Thankfully Spotify, a free music streaming program, partnered with UK agency Stupid to create Playlist Cards – greeting cards designed with unique QR codes that send your recipient directly to a playlist you’ve compiled especially for them. Talk about original content!

7. Skanz
Last, but certainly not least, Skanz created the world’s largest QR code this past October that entered users into a contest to win free tickets and airfare to a Jay-Z & Kanye West concert. Measuring in at 10,000 square feet, the only people able to scan this code are skydivers – so maybe not the best way to capture an audience. But definitely a great way to attract attention! Our main criticism? The YouTube video provided by Skanz is unscannable, so there’s no way to participate in the fun (unless you schedule a jump).

Looking for other cool uses for QR codes? Check out our previous post on Taranta’s Edible QR Code Campaign.