While the “real world” of average people who buy products hasn’t really caught on to the idea of QR codes, they (along with other “real-world-based tools” like augmented reality) are exciting to a lot of marketers.

In a nonscientific poll from SmartBrief’s “SmartPulse”, nearly a quarter of marketers said they were most excited about these technologies, choosing them over location-based social networks, niche social networks, and mobile support for social networking.

Smartbrief is careful to point out that “this poll isn’t so much about what our readers expect in the new year, so much as what they’re hoping to see in 2012.” So there may be a reason—whether technological or otherwise— that explains why it may be unrealistic for QR codes to take off.

Or maybe they’re just waiting for the right implementation…got any ideas?