Canadians Combine Beer, QR Codes and Mountain Trails

beercan kokanee Have you ever been hiking with your beer and desperately needed a trail map? Well, Western Canada's most popular beer brand, Kokanee, has solved this age old problem... with QR Codes.

Kokanee's limited edition Mountain Can Series, features features trail maps of several mountains in the region and leverages QR Code technology to connect users to interactive versions of each map.

"Kokanee is a long standing partner with some of the best Mountain Resorts in Western Canada, what better way to celebrate these relationships than to put their trail maps right on our packaging," said Mike Bascom, Marketing Manager for Kokanee. "We're very proud of our Mountain roots and are really excited to be able to bring the mountains to life in an innovative way."

Replacing the iconic Kokanee glacier drinkers are used to seeing are trail maps of eight mountains including: Whistler Blackcomb, Marmot Basin, Cypress Mountain, Fernie Alpine Resort, Kimberley Alpine Resort, Lake Louise, Red Mountain Resort, and Mount Washington Alpine Resort.

The QR codes on the Mountain Can Series provide interactive content. Scanning the QR Code with any free scanning application allows users to download the entire mountain map and pan across, learning facts about the mountain while trying to find the iconic Kokanee stealing Sasquatch hidden in the map. The QR Codes also inform users about contests and prizes.

"Using QR Code technology is fresh new approach for Kokanee in our product packaging design and provides a richer brand experience," explained Bascom. "Kokanee is born and bred in the mountains in Western Canada. The Mountain Can embraces Kokanee's roots and offers our fans a cool, innovative way to interact with the brand."

The limited edition Mountain Can Series hit store shelves in February, and will be available in all Kokanee can packs at retail outlets across B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan while supplies last.

What better place for a QR Code then on a beer can? Generally speaking, enjoying a cold one goes hand in hand with sitting around and relaxing, taking it easy; why not enhance the experience by scanning a QR Code and planning tomorrow's hiking trip?