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This story falls into the “I don’t know how I feel about this one” category. Why? First it’s about a subject that most people don’t readily discuss which is death. Second, it’s the introduction of technology into an area that seems very weird but also very helpful all at once.
The Seattle Times has published a report of a cemetery that offers a unique service. That service is putting QR codes on headstones in their cemetery so that visitors to the gravesite can be more ‘engaged’ with their visit.
Wave a smartphone over the bench-style headstone of Edouard Garneau at Holyrood Cemetery in Shoreline and you’ll learn he was a collision-repair specialist and successful businessman who loved to barbecue, fly his airplane and travel.
You’ll see pictures of Garneau and the life he shared with his wife, Faye, and of him with his airplane and riding on an elephant.
“They’ll learn he was a genuinely nice guy and what he did with his life, what made him successful,” said Faye Garneau. “It’s for the family, for generations to come.”
Honestly, I initially wanted to be shocked and appalled at the idea but the more I think about it the more I like it. Let’s face it, what will most people remember about someone 50 years after they have passed? Will the next several generations of your family be assured of hearing or seeing information about you that can help them know what you were about etc etc?
The Times article continues
This is all thanks to a QR — quick-response — code affixed to Garneau’s grave. It’s a tiny square code, about the size of a postage stamp, that gives you a link to a password-protected website that has volumes of information about Garneau’s life.
“What it means to me, it opens up the world to virtually anyone who is in our cemetery,” said Washelli Cemetery general manager Scott Sheehan. “Before, you might stand on a gravesite and read [the tombstone] and wonder what that person was about. Now you can read their life story. Every life has a story. That’s our tagline.”
Of course, there is a business angle to this but if it’s a good idea then why not? It’s a service that could provide value to a specific type of person that they may have never done before.
The code on Garneau’s headstone was added by Seattle’s Quiring Monuments, which began offering what it calls “living headstones” several months ago and has sold about three dozen so far.
Last month, it put QR codes on the headstones of six Medal of Honor recipients and two Silver Star recipients at Seattle’s Evergreen Washelli Cemetery.
If you want to put a QR code on an existing headstone, it costs $65.
I understand that there are a million different directions you can go with an idea like this and not all of them are good. The point here to marketers, though, is actually quite poignant. It’s about stories. People love stories. They want to tell them and they want to hear them. Sure this is an extreme example but it makes the point that we need to look beyond what is considered ‘normal’ when it comes to things such as QR codes. Why not use our new technologies to help tell stories because that’s how people get engaged with a subject?
What are your thoughts about this use of QR codes? Where else could you imagine them showing up that may seem out of the norm but could actually generate real value to someone?
Can you imagine if the deceased plans ahead and records a YouTube video of himself, explaining his life? How chilling would that be?!?
I already have mine planned. Funny, it’s only about 15 seconds long ……….. need to do something about that.
Wow! in a few years time I’ll bet most cemeteries will have QR codes on their headstones. I can just see it now. “Choose our cemetery and we’ll include a QR code for you”.
Mine is just gonna play lolcatz 24/7
I think this idea is ingenius, it will help with so many things such as grieving but it will leave a mark for everyone, everyone will have a chance to be known and remembered after they have passed away,
, I cant wait to get my code xD
Frank, this is an extremely interesting use of QR, and there are a million and a half things that can be said about this, most of them in the realm of aesthetics. But let me stay with your marketing takeaway here and offer, perhaps, a detraction. It is about stories, and in many ways the QR code here is enhancing the experience of the bereaved (let’s not even get into whether or not we are standing at a stranger’s grave here, which, short of someone being a history buff, seems a bit weird in and of itself; i.e., why would family and friends NEED all this information?–okay guess I got into it), but in doing so it is taking a huge component away: ambiance. Part of the affect (with an “a”) of a cemetery is in fact its austerity, it’s lack of information. That contributes to the finality of one’s death, and I personally think that is very helpful for those overcoming loss. Ditto marketing: information is great, most of the time, but I think there are examples when a brand should just be left to register.
Wow. What living history and learning opportunity. The deceased literally has the chance of a lifetime to tell their srory
I think it is a very good idea.Sometimes you don’t know the person well but you want to pay respects so you visit the gravesite.My family were big on visiting gravesites certain times of the year when I was growing up.It seemed alittle strange to me because everyone got together and went to each cemetary.After I was older I understood what they were doing.It was especially important to my grandma and now I understand because I miss her dearly.As a child though I would wander a bit while the grownups arranged flowers and I would read the headstones and wonder about those people I didn’t know.Maybe someone might have forgotten details about a relative that died when they were alot younger.I can’t imagine anyone not thinking it is an extremely good idea!!!..