Most people will already know that a QR code is basically a machine-recognisable system that contains short snippets of text, a phone number, or a web link. But to access it you need a compatible app, and you have to plaster the QR code in a clearly readable way onto the promotional object you are using – be it a magazine advert, a structure or indeed a website. You can’t deny that this is a powerful mechanic for amplification and promotion, but it is still a little clumsy.
So, what if you could hold your AR (Augmented Reality)-enabled iPhone up to something in real life that you just came across, i.e the cover of Conference News and get an overlay of data about the content, and even perhaps an option to click to a web page or a special offer of a subscription??
The object can be anything from a poster to a magazine to a small piece of promotional collateral, and the AR response can be anything from overlaying a 3-D graphic, playing a video file to sending you to a web page.
Augmented Reality is a technology that really grabbed the headlines over the last couple of years, propelled by the increasing growth of the smartphone market, the always-on internet connections, smartphone sensors and high-quality rear-facing cameras. The growth and increased access to this technology has opened the door for a wealth of clever apps that can work out where the phone is in the world, what direction it was looking at and then deliver useful information to the phone user, such as where the nearest ‘O2 Priority’ opportunity is, and how to get there. Thus creating digital “events” in the Augmented Reality world. I find this a very exciting prospect indeed but there is of course a slight issue in that QR codes are slowly becoming recognisable to consumers and brands alike.
So the challenge for an AR solution will be highlighting this intelligent and creative approach (that personally I prefer to the QR code). There is a company called Layer Vision that is pioneering the development of enhanced digital AR experiences, and it has developed a programme that can recognize real world objects and then display an AR experience on top of that image.
How does that work?
You upload an image from your campaign or promotion to their server and they scan the image to find a unique fingerprint that can only be found using your image. This fingerprint is then supplied to the brand ready for promotion to its audience, this is the only similarity to the creation of a QR code. In laymen terms a user can simply point their smartphone camera at a beautifully designed image and the augmented reality experience will start.
Beautiful and simple and unique? for now at least!
– The Tailor of Shoreditch is a media neutral creative agency founded by Ian Irving.
