Valpak, known for its coupon-stuffed blue envelopes, has updated itself for the mobile age with an augmented reality app.
The new feature, available from junaio [iTunes link], identifies local deals when a consumer points his or her camera phone in the direction of nearby businesses. Coupons offered by merchants as far as 5 feet to 20 miles away pop up on the app. When clicked, the offers lead to a mobile website where consumers can sign up for the deals. There’s no need to print the coupons. (See video below for a full description on how the app works.)
Valpak, a unit of Cox Target Media that sends mailers to some 40 million U.S. households, is jumping into a fairly crowded market at the moment. LivingSocial began offering mobile-based local deals this month, and Facebook also introduced a service called Deals in November that targets local users for offers. AT&T also entered the market recently with ShopAlert, which texts offers to consumers when they’re near a participating store or product.
The move comes after Valpak introduced Valpak Deals, a Groupon-like daily deals site, in September.
For a good while now, the University of Washington has been working on technology that bring the movie predictions of a bionic eye a little closer to reality. Remember in Terminator when Arnold Schwarzenegger pans around and we see data about people overlaid on his vision – the first glimpse of augmented reality perhaps? We’re getting closer and closer to thateven back in 2009, UW was producing contacts lenses with built in electronics – including a small LED. The use cases – when this technology reaches mass market – are huge.
Heads up displays of all types could be imagined. You could walk in to a room and instantly be reminded of everyone’s name, their kids birthdays and their latest status updates on Facebook or Twitter – all without them seeing what you see. When navigating a strange city, you could be directed without ever having to look down at a map. As the ieee article notes, there are other uses such as assisting diabetic wearers keep tabs on blood-sugar levels without needing to pierce a finger. It goes much further
“an appropriately configured contact lens could monitor cholesterol, sodium, and potassium levels, to name a few potential targets. Coupled with a wireless data transmitter, the lens could relay information to medics or nurses instantly, without needles or laboratory chemistry, and with a much lower chance of mix-ups. Coupled with a wireless data transmitter, the lens could relay information to medics or nurses instantly, without needles or laboratory chemistry, and with a much lower chance of mix-ups.”
There is a long way to go of course, not least because of the toxic of current LED’s (do you want aluminum gallium arsenide in your eye?) and the heat generated by the circuitry. But the potential is huge and perhaps even a little scary. As one of the comments on the original post noted, it’s a whole new way to cheat in exams!
Me, I thought of what it’d be like to hook this up to the face recognition technology I posted about a few weeks ago.
ADOTAS – Man, the kids today have got it so much better — I remember suffering through bowl after bowl of cereal (I never touch the stuff now), desperate to reach that cheap toy hidden within the grainy contents of the box. Now kids can get video games that are built right into that box.
20th Century Fox has teamed up with Nestle and Dassault Systemes to offer an augmented reality campaign for its new animated film “Rio” that will hit 26 million cereal boxes across the 53 countries. By cutting out a square on the box and filming yourself with a webcam, you can have a virtual parrot experience online. Check out the video to see how it works:
That looks like far more fun than actually owning a parrot… Unless Dassault isn’t showing the part in the game where you clean out the bird cage. Or the part where the parrot won’t stop biting your fingers. Or the part where the bird keeps you up all night squawking. Virtual reality is so much better than real life.
This is the third augmented reality campaign on which Nestle has worked directly with Dassault — videos of the othertwo are pretty neat as well. I’d totally beg my mom to buy me these cereals just for the game — I may still bug her to do it next time I come visit.
We noted around the Super Bowl that Fox teamed up with game-maker Rovio for a “Rio” campaign featuring new levels for mobile gaming sensation Angry Birds. If the movie is half as good (even with Will I Am voicing a character) as its digital marketing initiatives, it will surely be a success, but I highly doubt it will nearly as creative as its ad campaigns.
You’re in a room full of people at a post-event party, and the atmosphere is informal and laid-back. You’re there to unwind a bit after a long day, and to meet interesting people. Scanning the room, it’s hard to know where to begin, so you take out your smartphone, activate the app you purchased the night before, and hold it up to the crowd. Real-time information is layered over the partygoers—everything from marital status to employer—and it’s simply too much to process. So, you begin to filter.
“Show me only Twitter users.” A third of the crowd, as viewed through your phone, is blurred out.
Now, your networking instincts kick in. There are still too many people on screen to actively engage with. More filters.
“Show me only Twitter users with 3,000 or more followers.” All but ten individuals now appear as gray blurs. Now you’re ready to rub elbows—starting with the person with the highest Klout score, of course.
In that crowd of blurs was someone that attended the same college, graduating with you. There was someone in that crowd that is equally fanatic about your favorite band, or is a big design geek, just like you. There are also people that you have very little in common with, but lead fascinating lives, and you filtered them out.
In the scenario above, I’ve expanded upon an idea offered up in a fantastic presentation on Augmented Reality, given by John C .Havens and Lynne D. Johnson at SXSWi. Although it was just a small part of the session’s content, I couldn’t stop thinking about one question they alluded to:
Will Augmented Reality filter out serendipity?
Given the examples above, we know that it certainly has the potential to eliminate at least some of the more random positive encounters and experiences we have in our lives. But AR can also be a great enabler of serendipity. Check out the video below (link for our email subscribers here):
Most shoppers at the London mall simply happened upon the floor spot, or the crowds that stood mesmerized by the fallen angels. In this time, before the campaign became a word-of-mouth phenomenon, AR had provided a serendipitous experience (and the campaign resulted in a tremendous amount of buzz).
In a small way, I’ve experienced this sense of discovery through my own use of AR. When the Yelp app’s Monocle feature first arrived in “Easter egg” form, I immediately sought out things in my neighborhood that were not yet on my mental map. Holding my phone up outside and spinning around slowly, I happened upon a marker for Dry Creek Cafe & Boat Dock, listed as a bar. I didn’t think there were any bars in my home’s vicinity, let alone one with 21 reviews averaging 4 out of 5 stars. The next week, I invited a coworker to check it out with me, and had a fantastic experience at the picturesque old watering hole—now one of my favorite spots in Austin.
Location-based services like Foursquare provide a preview of the kind of serendipity AR will eventually power. By following History Channel’s Foursquare account, for instance, users can add a layer of history to their normal check-ins. If we were to check in to Bermondsey Square, London, History Channel would inform us that, “A Benedictine abbey was built on the site of Bermondsey Square in the 12th century. Catherine, wife of Henry V, died here, as did Elizabeth Woodville, mother of the two ‘Princes in the Tower.’”
End-users aside for a moment, should AR be enchanting marketers? We know that unless your marketing efforts are only aimed at early adopters, investing too heavily in shiny objects that haven’t yet gained mass adoption is normally unwise. But Lynne Johnson and John Havens provided an incredibly helpful way to think of the adoption path of newer technologies:
Utility + Ease of Use + Privacy/Marketing Awareness = Transformation
And they gave plenty of real-world examples of AR campaigns yielding significant ROI to brands. PC maker Acer teamed up with Dabs.com to provide site visitors a 3 dimensional view of themselves holding an Aspire 5738D laptop. According to the presenters, 70% of site visitors tried the AR functionality, of which 13% purchased the laptop. That’s far from a gimmick!
LEGO, our client, was featured as having provided real utility with its AR campaign. Shoppers in the LEGO Store are able to hold up an unopened box of LEGOs and instantly see the set fully assembled, from many angles (link for our email subscribers here):
It’s clear that Augmented Reality has real value to consumers and marketers. It’s also clear that it can and will be used in ways we might take objection to, as is any emerging, powerful technology. If we use it only as a tool for filtering our reality and limiting our experiences, there is a real risk that we’re also filtering out the unexpected—the moments in life that can make it special and unique. Far more, however, will use AR as a means of discovery—as a means of producing serendipity—and that’s something to celebrate, not fear.
THE Commonwealth Bank will take its first step in merging the world of mobile phone and newspaper advertising today when it launches one of the world's first interactive augmented reality campaigns.
The ad, which runs in News Limited's free commuter paper MX in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne this afternoon, will allow iPhone owners to download an application that will turn a full-page Commonwealth Bank ad into a fully interactive 3D world on their phones.
And the bank plans to make this the first of a number of press ads using the application to draw consumers in and educate them about its online and mobile phone services.
The campaign, which also ran in News Limited's Sunday newspapers (sister publications to The Australian), is aimed at driving awareness of how the bank's award-winning real estate application works.
Consumers who see the ad will be prompted to download a free 3D application from iTunes.
Once running, pointing the camera of the phone at the ad will reveal an entire neighbourhood, complete with moving people and cars and businesses, which can be explored by moving the phone and pressing interactive buttons on the phone screen.
Paul Kouppas, chief technology officer at digital agency Explore Engage, said that the company had developed the app in a similar manner to developing a video game.
"It is obviously a fine balance between entertainment and business," he said. "But we wanted to make sure that it was simple to use."
Last week, the bank's real estate application, which allows people to look at the sales history of a property, view inside homes for sale and get estimates on the value of a home using GPS co-ordinates and the internet, won the "best of show prize" at
the Australian Interactive
Media and Internet Association awards.
The bank hopes that while many apps are used once and then discarded, the 3D app will become a foundation for future interactive press ads to demonstrate its products.
"We are constantly looking for ways to better engage with our customers and ensure they have a positive experience with our brand," general manager of consumer marketing Mark Murray said.
"The augmented reality press advertisement is a fun and interactive way to communicate the benefits of the app to the customer, and this is something we'll be looking to do more of in the future."
Volvo Pioneers the First Ever YouTube Masthead with an Augmented Reality Experience
3/11/2011
Users can activate app for one day only - Sat., March 12, at YouTube
ROCKLEIGH, N.J. - (March 11, 2011) It's an innovation from Volvo that's so "virtually" real you'll be able to practically feel the seat warmers on your bottom and the leather steering wheel in your hands. On Saturday, March 12, Volvo Cars of North America (VCNA) will offer for one day only an Augmented Reality (AR) S60 driving experience iPhone® and Android app that activates when visiting YouTube.
Beginning today, individuals can download Volvo's S60 Augmented Reality app on iPhone® or Android. Then, tomorrow (March 12), they can visit the YouTube homepage on their computer and experience the Volvo AR driving game. This campaign, created by Euro RSCG New York, marks the first YouTube masthead ever created with an AR experience of any kind. It is also the first AR game accessible through a mobile app in conjunction with a YouTube masthead.
AR allows Volvo to overlay digital information on top of the traditional YouTube masthead to provide the user with more information and a richer experience, in this case, an exclusive Volvo S60 driving game. While users without the app will see a traditional Volvo masthead on the YouTube homepage, users who downloaded the app will be able to race a Volvo S60 through their phone on the YouTube page, experiencing a whole new Volvo world. All consumers who download the app and play the AR driving game will also be entered to win a tablet.
"This ground-breaking initiative is significant to the Volvo brand as it allows us to engage with consumers in a fun and interesting way and continues to position us as a true leader in the digital space," said Linda Gangeri, National Advertising Manager, Volvo Cars of North America. "By creating a driving game, we're focusing on the newest and most exciting addition to the Volvo lineup, our new sports sedan, the Volvo S60. This car showcases our new design DNA, our exciting driving dynamics, and our legendary Volvo safety."
Volvo's digital and media agencies of record, Euro RSCG New York and Media Contacts are responsible for the development and placement of this campaign, respectively.
"This effort is further proof of Volvo's commitment to innovation in the digital channels," said Jeff Brooks, CEO of Euro RSCG New York. "We're very fortunate to have a client like Volvo who is constantly experimenting with new ways to enhance brand and consumer interactions."
About Volvo Cars of North America
Volvo Cars of North America, LLC, (www.volvocars.com/us) is a subsidiary of Volvo Car Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden. VCNA provides marketing, sales, parts, service, technology and training support to Volvo automobile retailers in the United States, and oversees Volvo operations in Canada.
About Euro RSCG
Euro RSCG Worldwide, a leading integrated marketing communications agency and named to both Advertising Age's 2010 A list and Campaign's 2009 Network of the Year ranking, is made up of 233 offices located in 75 countries throughout Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. Euro RSCG provides advertising, marketing services, interactive/social media and corporate communications solutions to global, regional and local clients. The agency's client roster includes Air France, BNP Paribas, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Danone Group, Heineken USA, IBM, Kraft Foods, Lacoste, L'Oréal, Merck, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Pernod Ricard, Reckitt Benckiser and sanofi aventis. Headquartered in New York, Euro RSCG Worldwide is the largest unit of Havas Worldwide and part of Havas, a world leader in communications (Euronext Paris SA: HAV.PA).
About Media Contacts
Media Contacts ("MC") is the global interactive media network of Havas Digital - the interactive division of Havas Media. MC provides data driven media solutions across all interactive channels: digital, direct response, relationship based media.
MC brings together professional expertise, proven strategic insight, and Artemis®, Havas Digital advanced proprietary technology platform, to maximize impact of the advertiser's interactive media investment.
Since 1997, and in 32 countries in 42 cities across Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania, Media Contacts has been the trusted partner of more than 400 clients, including the market leaders in many industries, such as Air France, Expedia, Fidelity, France Telecom, ING Direct, Nike, Peugeot/Citroën, Repsol, Reckitt Benckiser, Sears and VW, amongst others.
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Valpak, known for its coupon-stuffed blue envelopes, has updated itself for the mobile age with an augmented reality app.
