Performance marketing potential 

For now, IRCODE is focusing on bringing its technology to TV advertising. “We’re going to make every ad on television scannable, and then allow the brands to log in, create where those landing pages go, what experience somebody gets when they’re scanning, and then give the brands the measurement data behind it,” says Beckerman. 

But he also envisions a multitude of use cases, such as gamification. “You could scan a TV show that has a contest in it, and suddenly you’re playing on your phone alongside what’s happening on the TV,” said Beckerman. 

Another obvious opportunity is what Beckerman calls “product placement on steroids.” “You’re watching the latest reality show, and then able to purchase all the products right on the screen,” he said. It can work in the film world as well. “It becomes a huge tool for an independent creator to be able to monetize their content,” said Beckerman. 

IRCODE is also speaking with big retail brands about enabling its customers to scan every item on the shelves to access product information. This can include everything from coupons to product details and even instruction manuals.

Beckerman also sees big opportunities in live sports, such as scanning for fantasy stats, seeing replays, or going straight to purchase a player’s jersey. “We actually made the Super Bowl scannable from start to finish last year as a demonstration,” said Beckerman. And it garnered significant interest from leagues and teams.

Beckerman said the ultimate goal is for the technology to scale to the point that it becomes native in-camera rather than just app-based. “That’s the future of where we go with this.”