Augmented reality (AR) is at the heart of the advertising campaign for the new Volkswagen Golf Match.

Created by Tribal DDB London and Proximity London, the campaign features an augmented reality version of the car which can be examined by the consumers in 3D space.

The augmented reality experience is activated by showing a card containing an AR code to a webcam on consumer’s computer. The card is recognised by the webcam and becomes a road with the AR car travelling along it. The user can tilt the road to make the car move faster or slower.

A number of spots appear around the car highlighting the various features via pop up text panels detailing the cruise control, parking sensors and all other features of the car. This interactive feature enables consumers to have something close to a real life experience of the car.

Volkswagen is hoping that augmented reality will help to give consumers a better experience while researching online. Augmented reality enables consumers to have a closer look at the key technological features in a 3D space from the comfort of their own home.

“The advantage of using augmented reality is that it really delivers a closer and more engaging experience with Volkswagen”, Josie Taylor, communications manager at Volkswagen, said.

Victoria Buchannan, creative director at Tribal DDB added that augmented reality was not used just for the sake of it.

“On the surface it is a straightforward use of augmented reality, but in terms of overall user journey it is a big step closer to the levels of experience we want Volkswagen prospects and customers to have with the brand”, she said.

“This isn’t AR for the sake of AR, it has a practical application of the technology which is very useful for prospects.”

Feature article

Everyone keeps talking about it. And the internet is buzzing with different demos of all the cool things you can do with it. But what does Augmented Reality really mean for marketing? And what do you need to know about it? Read more…

Augmented Reality – what is it and where is it taking us?

Augmented reality (AR) is by definition something that adds to reality. For example computer-generated content mixed with images from the real world.

So far, augmented reality has been scarcely used by companies in their marketing. Real return on investment is yet to be demonstrated and at the moment augmented reality tends to be something only forward-thinking brands are experimenting with and is often thought of as  being tricksy.

But is that a bad thing?

Adam Broitman, partner at a New York based agency Circ.us, is a big augmented reality gospel.

“People say it seems like a gimmick. It’s not a gimmick. And so what if it is? Since when was it wrong to have some gimmicks in marketing? Rich media banner ads – what were they?”

QR codes made redundant?

At the moment, the most common way for a brand to engage in augmented reality seems to be an interactive video that involves customers by using a webcam. Computer-generated images appear superimposed over the real world image captured by the webcam.

This is all good fun and engaging, but the novelty will wear off soon, Broitman says. According to him, the way augmented reality is used now is not what it will be like in the future.

“What this really means is we’re moving toward a new model. QR codes are simply a stepping stone to an augmented reality future. But we seem to skip steps. If augmented reality technology takes off, why do you need a QR code?”

QR codes, those funny looking black squares on products, which direct users to relevant websites, provide product details and so on, have brought immediacy to the process of finding information, but in the augmented reality future Broitman is talking about, there would be no scanning or sending. All you would need to do is hold up your mobile phone and a layer of information would be displayed on the real world image about the objects in the picture.

This is already the reality if you’re a smartphone user in search of a metro station in Dubai.

Using an augmented reality platform called Layar, the London-based software developer Howard Ogden created an AR app for the Dubai metro. Through the phone’s camera and information from the Roads and Transport Authority and Dubai Metro websites, the app displays data on an interactive screen enabling the user to, for example, locate the nearest metro station in a flash.

Making it simple

While the technology itself has been around for a while, the rise of smartphones has seen augmented reality made readily available to consumers – and lucrative for marketers.

The possibilities to engage are bigger than ever; virtual tours while car shopping, trying on sunglasses, 3D business cards with talking heads – the list goes on. The real challenge is a practical one.

“That will be the coup here, the ability to make it simple,” Broitman said.

“We’ve seen a lot of cool technology but consumer adoption is so low because no one wants to do the work to get it done. We’re trying to make it real simple.”

Augmented reality also changes the game for marketers touching some of the industry’s core concepts, Mike Moran, an internet marketing consultant, points out.

“Augmented reality threatens to further erode a marketer’s advantage in information. Economists talk about how markets crave perfect information, but marketers have traditionally known more about their products than customers have. The Internet has already diminished the marketer’s information edge, but augmented reality swings the pendulum even farther.”

Case study

And have a look at our case study – Volkswagen Golf goes augmented

Gmail’s new ‘Priority Inbox’ feature tackles cluttered inboxes and sets a new challenge for online marketers.

Launched last Monday, the new feature uses an algorithm to sort incoming emails into three categories; Important and unread, Starred and Everything else.

The ‘adaptive algorithm’  works based on factors such as frequently used addresses and frequently opened messages. Users can also mark some recipients and senders as automatically important and, with time, the system will “learn” what kind of message the user deems important.

Google has boldly stated that the new feature works so well that once you start using it, you never want to go back.

More engaging and relevant than ever

If it proves popular among users, Priority Inbox will change the way email marketing works.

Elliot Ross, senior creative designer at e-Dialog London, told Marketing Week that the new feature calls for more engaging and relevant content in email marketing than ever.

“The key to getting into the priority inbox is relevance. The user is now actively teaching filters what they want to read, so every mailing should be as useful and engaging as possible.

“This means segregating your lists, following design and HTML best practice and cutting out irrelevant ’blanket blasts’ to everyone. It might even mean mailing people less sometimes.”

The value of email marketing has been a hot topic after ice cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry recently announced that they’re scrapping email marketing and focusing on social media platforms instead. Priority Inbox could be the final push towards a similar decision for other companies.

Mashable impressed

Priority Inbox has impressed writers of social media blog Mashable. After a few days of testing they wrote:

“Our inboxes get filled with hundreds of e-mails daily, but only a few of them require our immediate attention. Even with dozens of Gmail filters, important messages often get lost in the pile, leading to lost opportunities or missed meetings. Priority Inbox, while not perfect, is a dramatic step toward solving that problem.”

From iconic brands such as Coca-Cola, Ford, Nike and Nokia to lesser known names such as Ascendgence and DARPA, the ‘Social Media Campaign Hall of Fame’ features 54 innovative case studies.

According to Adrian Johnson, Umpf owner, in heart of any great marketing campaign, there is a brilliant idea.

“Whether they’ve been created to raise product awareness, increase sales, drive footfall, add fans, improve SEO or enhance audience engagement, one simple thread links all these social media campaigns together – a clever concept.

“Each of the campaigns in our Hall of Fame exhibits that trait helping generate brand buzz, conversations, interaction and engagement.”

1.    Boxing Clever – Nike
2.    Seriously Good Work – Warner Bros
3.    Beggar’s Belief – Ascendgence
4.    Green With Envy – Greenpeace
5.    Red Balloon At Night, Social Media Delight – DARPA
6.    Online Blend Recognition – Blendtec
7.    You Are Here – Nokia
8.    The Social Media Fast Lane – Ford Fiesta
9.    If You’re Happy & You Know It, Drink A Coke – Coca Cola
10.    Pix From The Flix – Orange
11.    Let’s Be Frank – FRANK
12.    Sofa So Good – Ikea
13.    Keyboard-Lickin’ Good – BK
14.    Unwrapping Social Media – Virgin Blue
15.    Gimme Some Skin – E4
16.    Cheesy Stunt – Goldenpalace.com
17.    Rainbows Flying High – Radiohead
18.    Gets The Tick of Approval – Nike
19.    Dude, Where’s My Followers? – Ashton Kutcher
20.    Painting The Town Red, Green, Orange… – Sony Bravia
21.    Dell-ivering Social Media – Dell
22.    Mitey Fine Work – Marmite
23.    Whopping Great Big Social Media Idea – Burger King
24.    Keel Over – Lynx
25.    Clicks and Morter – Rage Against The Machine
26.    Do-Nut Pass Up a Facebook Campaign – Dunkin Donuts
27.    China Cup – Adidas
28.    Buddy Holly-Day – TravBuddy.com
29.    Girl Talk – Procter & Gamble
30.    I Know What You Did Last Summer – Vodafone
31.    Eyeing-Up A Donation – eBay, PayPal & Miller Coors
32.    Two’s Company, Tree’s A Crowd – Sony Ericsson
33.    Haiti Earthquake Disaster
34.    A-Rated X Factor – ITV.com
35.    Xperiencing Success –  Sony Ericsson
36.    Simples, Yet Effective – CompareTheMarket.com
37.    Thirsty Work – Twestival
38.    The Many Faces Of Coke – Coke Zero
39.    Social Media Spice – Old Spice
40.    Can We Tweet It? Yes We Can – Barack Obama
41.    Dew A Change – Mountain Dew
42.    Fancy A Fcuk? – FCUK
43.    What Started As A Social Media Wispa  – Wispa
44.    Pink My Ride – Fiat 500
45.    Practising Safer (Sus)Sex – Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP)
46.    Gillette, The Best A Vamp Can Get – HBO
47.    Nice, Nice Baby – Virgin Mobile
48.    Facing Up To Real Beauty – Dove
49.    Roll vs Cole, You Decide – Sausage Roll Fans Unit
50.    A Sweet Social Media Campaign – Skittles
51.    Averting A Social Media Crisis – ASDA
52.    Grab A Pizza The Social Media Action – Domino’s
53.    Cadbury Brow-ser – Cadbury
54.    The Best (Social Media) Job In The World – Tourism Queensland

Flemming Arnott; Jill Heslop; Richard Myers (managing director); Hanna Miettinen

Digital media agency Industrial Strength has recruited three new staff members on the back of a series of client wins as it pushes for growth.

The Gateshead-based company specialises in website design and development, multimedia and online marketing for a client base including Sage, Tommee Tippee and Gentoo. It also works as a digital partner to top advertising and design companies in the North East, London and Geneva.

The new recruits had all proved themselves by working with the company before their appointment, having being part of a pool of talented freelancers from which Industrial Strength handpicks a team for each client project.

The move doubles the core team of staff to six, who are supported by up to eight freelancers during busy periods.

Former journalist Hanna Miettinen joins as editor of the company’s digital news platform New Media Monthly, an open forum for the digital community to share news, views and ideas. Born in Finland, Hanna previously worked as a journalist on several titles in her home country before settling in the North East last year, after completing her Masters degree in multimedia journalism at Newcastle University.

Web developer Flemming Arnott brings with him a 12-year background in the digital sector. A former creative himself, he works within the development team to apply technology that brings the concept to life and delivers the results that clients want. His former roles included a spell with Kitbag, the first online sports retailer, and a web development role at the Centre for Advanced Industry in North Shields.

The third member of the trio is Jill Heslop, who is responsible for providing accounts, admin and business support to the directors and staff.  Jill moved to the region four years ago from the West coast of Scotland, and outside work she sings with and promotes North East band and independent record label The Shipbuilders.

Managing director Richard Myers said:  “We are delighted to welcome Hanna, Flemming and Jill to the permanent staff team.

“The digital world is constantly growing and developing and to make sure we continue to come up with fresh and innovative ideas to help clients get the best from their marketing budgets, we need to make sure we choose the right fit for our staff team.

“Based on our experience working with all three on a freelance basis, we were confident that our new recruits would quickly prove to be valuable additions to the team, and we are very pleased to have them on board.”

You’ll be tasked with managing a variety of digital campaigns, whether this is full web projects – from initial scope through to launch, SEO, social media, PPC or online advertising. You will work closely with their Account Manager to deliver Clients’ web projects and marketing campaigns on time, to the expected high standards and within budget.

Main tasks and responsibilities will include:

* Project management
* Developing online strategies
* Web user experience planning with designers
* Writing proposals and project specifications
* Social media management and fulfilment
* SEO implementation, planning and analysis
* PPC implementation, planning and analysis

Skills and experience required:

The right candidate will be passionate about digital and have at least two years demonstrable experience in the digital marketing and website development field, whether this has been gained in an agency or an in-house team. We are looking for someone who is ambitious, obsessive with their attention to detail, has a creative spark but also a commercial awareness.

If you are interested in the advertised position please apply by contacting Sharpe Recruitment.

Sharpe Recruitment is a North East based consultancy, dedicated to placing professionals in rewarding jobs throughout the North of England across a variety of disciplines including Digital Media, Creative Advertising, Sales & Marketing, PR, IT and Business Operations.

This month we will focusing on Metadata – the data about data that lets us find content, contextualize it, stream it etc. To some it’s the holy grail of the the future interweb, to others it’s the boring grunt work behind the scenes making objects identifiable.

Whatever the truth is, e-books, maps, location based services and many other apps rely on metadata opening up business opportunities, while presenting technical challenges.

As part of an upcoming funding call on ‘metadata’ by the Technology Strategy Board, we will be hearing the details about it. The event is supported by the Creative Industries KTN, who are operating an ideas market place for people who want to work together in this area and beyond (check it out here).

Speakers:

Alex Stanhope – Technology Strategy Board
Julian Ranger – CEO of iBundle and DAD
Justin Spooner – Unthinkable Consulting

Sponsor: Creative Industries KTN

Partners: Microsoft BizSpark, SUN Startup Essentials, Skillsmatter

btw: MiniBar relies on sponsorship, so if you want to reach 3300+ of London’s and beyond web entrepreneurs, developers and digital media specialists, let us know at info at openbusiness.cc

Organiser:
MiniBar

Website:
http://www.openbusiness.cc/

via MiniBar Data about Data | Chinwag – the UK’s leading community media company for the new media industry.

Social gaming is attracting big audiences, whether these are social network enthusiasts on Farmville or woman playing casual games on portals. So how should social games be integrated into the overall marketing mix? This nma Live event takes a close look at social gaming audiences, uncovering what works when trying to reach them and explaining how to gauge the effect of games on your brand.

To book your place or for further details, email nma.live@centaur.co.uk or click here.

Chairman: Michael Nutley, editor-in-chief, New Media Age

9.00-9.20 Registration

9.20-10.00 Introduction: the latest research into the social gaming space.
- Ralph Risk, marketing director EMEA, Lightspeed Research

10.00-10.40 Social gaming in action. What works for which audience. Bespoke games and in-game advertising.
- Adrian Hon, founder and chief creative officer, Six To Start

10.40-11.20 Integrating social games into an overall marketing strategy
- Jean-Paul Edwards, executive director futures, OMD

11.20-11.40 Coffee break

11.40-12.20 Case studies
- Adam Yates, Director Advertising Sales EMEA, WildTangent

12.20-1.00 Panel discussion – the future of social gaming
- Jean-Paul Edwards, executive director futures, OMD
- Adrian Hon, founder and chief creative officer, Six To Start
- Ralph Risk, marketing director EMEA, Lightspeed Research
- Adam Yates, Director Advertising Sales EMEA, WildTangent

via Social Gaming for Marketers – NMA Live.

Our client is the one of the leading digital marketing agencies in the North East with an extensive local and national client list.

They are looking for a bright, ambitious PR person to join the agency with the remit of working closely with the Head of Digital Marketing to develop a fantastic social media and online PR service.

The ideal candidate will have at least two years client facing experience and will be familiar with the techniques used to deliver good social media and online PR plans.

You will need to be a good relationship builder with bags of creativity and be mindful that your work needs to deliver end goals for clients.

Sharpe Recruitment is a North East based consultancy, dedicated to placing professionals in rewarding jobs throughout the North of England across a variety of disciplines including Digital Media, Creative Advertising, Sales & Marketing, PR, IT and Business Operations.

If you are interested in the advertised position please apply by contacting Sharpe Recruitment.

The number of ads on Facebook is reported to have grown 33% in the last year.

The social media giant is reported to have served 19.7 billion ads in the UK during May this year – almost four times more than second-placed Microsoft.

Google Sites managed to reach third place on the list with its 2.68 billion ads, beating both eBay (2.71 billion) and Yahoo Sites (2.4 billion) by an inch.

However, the volume alone doesn’t necessarily reflect the effectiveness for the advertisers, Mark Redgrave, chief executive of semantic web service OpenAmplify, pointed out.

“The last year has been the first year advertising has really taken off on Facebook and I think advertising will increase by more than a third again in the next year,” he said. “But the key to the current growth is that it can only be measured in terms of volume, not value.

“Being there’s the easy bit, CPM rates are generally cheap, the hard bit comes when marketers try and fully engage. The technology now exists to really understand users based on conversations.”

Source: MediaWeek