Print is no longer restricted to the page. Smartphones are bringing print advertising to life, giving audiences a multi-dimensional, interactive experience with companies and their products and services.

Interactive ads combine sound and motion with the background of a print advertisement, adding another level to the ad and giving audiences a chance to interact with the brand. When consumers roll over an interactive ad with their smartphone, they get a real-time, live experience with the product, complete with video and sound. The following are just a few innovative examples of the ways companies are marrying print and mobile advertising-to the delight of their customers.

 

To promote its new CL63 AMG Coupe, Mercedes Benz placed an ad in the South African version of Car Magazine. When readers placed their smartphone over the rear view mirror of the car in the ad's upper left corner, they could take a "test drive" through the screen of their phone, demonstrating the power and acceleration of the car. Watch the ad here.

 

Brazilian cosmetics company O Boticario brought a make-up artist to its customers through their print ad in Vogue. Readers were instructed to place their smartphone over the right eye of the model in the ad. The model's eye then came to life, showing a step-by-step tutorial of how to duplicate the model's makeup. See the ad here.

 

In Belgium, Reporters without Borders ran a "talking" print advertisement to raise awareness about countries where freedom of speech is repressed. The print ads show the photo of a leader with a reputation for blocking press freedom, with a QR code in the bottom corner. When readers scanned the code and placed their phone on the mouth of the leader, they heard a journalist talking through the leader's lips about freedom of the press. See it here.

 

Other companies have followed suit and released apps that users download and scan to experience an augmented reality. For instance, IKEA released their 2013 catalog and an interactive app to go with it. With a simple wave of a smartphone over the pages of the catalog, readers get additional content, including 3-D models, interviews with IKEA designers, behind-the-scene videos, and how-to guides.

 

The next few years are going to see unprecedented technological leaps in interactive print advertising. Combined with a smartphone and creative marketing, these innovative ads give users a unique interactive experience that will leave them talking long after they close the magazine. 

 

   

Sincerely, 

 

Mona Graham
 
Monogram Communication Services

798 University Avenue

  

  

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