For those of you who are planning to go and watch the anticipated Beach Volleyball warm up event at Horse Guards Parade this weekend you may want to get your smart phones out.

In a sponsorship first, I’m pretty sure I’m safe in saying that, we will see the much loved QR code being used on an athlete.  Top British players Zara Dampney and Shauna Mullin have agreed to a lucrative test sponsorship with Betfair where they will be displaying a QR code on their much pictured backsides!

The thought behind it (!) is to test the new found popularity of women’s beach volleyball (was up there with 100m final in popularity for 2012 tickets) with the new use of digital technology.

When the codes are photographed by a smartphone, the user is directed to a registration page to join Betfair, offering consumers a free bet.

The new marketing ploy is being trialed at this week’s London 2012 beach volleyball test tournament at Horse Guards Parade, London, from today (9 August) until 14 August.

Andy Lulham, head of PR at Betfair, said: “There is huge interest in beach volleyball and we want to ensure that our advertising campaign is seen and remembered by as many sports fans as possible.

“As far as we’re aware, this is the first time QR codes have been used in in-play sports advertising, and what better way to test its effectiveness than by putting them on one of the places that is likely to get photographed the most?”  

Be really interesting to see how many click through they get with the QR codes and if was worth the investment.  QR codes so far have had a patchy reception when previously used but this could have a double benefit. For one you can take a photo at the event (could be tricky though) or if you miss that opportunity take a picture of the images that will appear in press, magazines and online.

What are your thoughts, will it work?  Will we see more of this style of advertising?