By Greg Jones
If you read my post about Home Depot’s Augmented Reality Gift Cards in time for the holidays then it should come as no surprise that Hallmark has launched its own Augmented Reality campaign in time for Valentine’s Day. The AR Valentine’s work exactly as one would expect: Open the card, visit the site, and experience an augmented reality version of the card you received. Why spend money embedding sound-bytes or pop-up elements into a card when you can go digital with more immersive results?
By Greg Jones
Check out Esquire’s December issue which includes augmented reality content:
Robert Downey Jr. is featured on the cover of the issue, sitting on top of an AR tracker. When you access Esquire’s AR webpage and hold your magazine up to your webcam, you are graced with bonus material throughout the pages of the magazine. Magazines are a great place to debut augmented reality content because it links your print-centric audience to your online channel. When looking at subscription-based magazines, the sweeter the extras, the stronger the consumer connection.
What magazines do you think will follow suit? What kind of bonus material would your audience benefit from?
By Greg Jones
Augmented Reality advertising has been a hot topic with plenty of large companies taking the plunge wholeheartedly. The most recent addition to the club is Best Buy. BestBuyin3D augments your recent Sunday ad by displaying a Toshiba laptop when you hold it up to a webcam. Adage reported that Best Buy’s weekly insert was sent to its normal circulation of 43 million and of that, about 6,500 people tried it out, which was more than double the company’s expectation. That seems like a low number, but when you factor in the tired medium, lack of intrinsic reward, and that more people than not are still without a web cam, it makes sense.