In Croatia, postage stamps made trackable via QR code

Croatia's Hrvatska Pošta has created postage stamps featuring QR codes that can be used to track mail and confirm delivery.

As postal services around the globe struggle to keep up with the online era, we’ve already seen all-digital stamps rolled out in Denmark. Now it looks like Croatia’s own Hrvatska Pošta has come up with a different solution: postage stamps featuring QR codes that can be used to track the mail and confirm delivery. In honor of Croatia’s 2011 Postage Stamp Day, celebrating 20 years of postage stamps in the country, Hrvatska Pošta released its new QR stamp in early September. Created by Croatian agency Bruketa & Žinić OM — which, incidentally, was also responsible for the QR codes used by Croatian cigarette brand Ronhill — the new stamp lets users receive instant delivery confirmation for the mail they send, as well as details of when it was shipped, how many kilometers it traveled and when it arrived. More than 200 of the new stamps have been used so far, and a dedicated website offers a variety of statistics about their travels, including an interactive map displaying all the points they’ve visited. There seems to be no limit to the useful information that can be captured and conveyed via QR code, enriching everything from product packaging to clothing to cookies. How could your brand use digital data to enhance its own product line? Spotted by: Mile Jerkovic