We are constantly trying to soak up knowledge and insights wherever we can, so it’s only fair that we share our knowledge down the line as well.

One question that hit our inbox recently was this:

With a range of creatives in branding, print, and digital under our roof – there were a lot of answers to this one, but one that is sure to pique your attention is from our head of Digital Brent.

One of the most exciting things that we are seeing more and more of is the smart convergence of print and digital. When it comes to truly engaging audience experiences, we need to shed off any misconceptions that the two (print and digital) should be mutually exclusive.

We have seen many clever ways to drive traffic from off-line print channels to digital assets, but now we’re getting to see some truly exciting methods in the AR (augmented reality) space that are literally making campaign material leap off the page.

One company in the AR for print space at the moment that demonstrate these capabilities really well are Layar. Essentially, they are providing the ability to drag and drop interactive digital elements onto a printed asset, so that when the printed material is viewed via their Layar app, it comes to life. There are a number of other offerings from other companies, but this is some truly impressive work.

Looking at some campaigns that have tapped into this tech already, one great example is 19 Crimes, an Australian wine who used AR to bring their labels to life to tell the story of Australia’s history. The digital component doesn’t undercut the craftsmanship in the packaging design – it works seamlessly to breathe new life into the marketing while still keeping prestige and class for their brand.

Another example of AR helping a campaign become larger than life can be seen with the roll out of M&M’s caramel range of confectionary. Going beyond billboards alone in Times Square, the campaign saw the square transformed into a massive ARcade where uses could scan the outdoor advertisements with their phones to unlock a range of vintage arcade games on their mobile or tablet device. The payoff? According to Adweek, the campaign pulled in more than 466 million consumer impressions – not bad at all.

Ultimately, blending augmented reality with a print medium lets us lift the two dimensional design and provide a more immersive and engaging experience for the user – which i’m sure is the desired outcome for just about any campaign.

Additionally, through this immersion, AR lets us heighten the story telling opportunity for the brand or publisher. What better way to understand a campaign message, product details, or simply more information than to play with these things at your own speed, and at your own whim, all in the palms of your hands.

We are looking to apply this same AR approach to the campaign efforts of some of our clients in the future, and it’s definitely something we think any motivated marketing manager or the like should consider for future campaigns.