Betfair, the world’s largest online betting community, is gearing up for the Football Association Challenge Cup (FA Cup). The event will be held in the UK, as is customary, and will pit a number of football teams against one another for one of football’s most coveted awards. Betfair is sponsoring the Bromley Football Club this year and has decided to use QR codes to help generate hype around the team. Betfair used the codes earlier this year to promote two of Britain’s beach volleyball champions.
This time around, the codes will be shaved into the heads of players. Betfair has hired a team of highly skilled stylists to ensure that the codes are functional and pleasing to the eye. While fans may have trouble scanning the codes from a stadium seat, the players will be posing for a series of photos, from which the codes can be deciphered by a smart phone. The codes will link to Betfair’s mobile website, where information on the team can be found. Fans will also be able to place bets online through the organization’s website.
Betfair’s first foray into the realm of the QR code was somewhat problematic. The organization had plastered the codes on the bikini bottoms of two of Britain’s most famous beach volley ball champions. The codes themselves attracted a great deal of attention, as many in the UK have only recently been exposed to the blocky barcodes. However, the codes were not entirely functional, leading many to believe that Betfair’s use of the codes was nothing more than a publicity stunt.
