Brief Explanation:

A car calendar without cars! The calendar showed only high-quality landscape photos. In order to experience the cars, the user had to download an iPhone app. Using augmented reality, one could then bring out the cars onto the landscapes, with sounds, animations and all!

Describe the brief from the client:

The brief was to develop a calendar for Audi clients. The calendar should differ greatly from other car calendars and position Audi as innovative and modern.

Description of how you arrived at the final design:

When Audi introduces a car calendar, that calendar has to be just as innovative as the brand itself. Audi should not merely say “Vorsprung durch Technik” (Leading through technology) but prove it as well.

Brief Explanation:

A car calendar without cars! The calendar showed only high-quality landscape photos. In order to experience the cars, the user had to download an iPhone app. Using augmented reality, one could then bring out the cars onto the landscapes, with sounds, animations and all!

Describe the brief from the client:

The brief was to develop a calendar for Audi clients. The calendar should differ greatly from other car calendars and position Audi as innovative and modern.

Description of how you arrived at the final design:

When Audi introduces a car calendar, that calendar has to be just as innovative as the brand itself. Audi should not merely say “Vorsprung durch Technik” (Leading through technology) but prove it as well.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market:

25,000 calendars were sent out. So far, the app has been downloaded 23,448 times. This means that most of the people who received a copy of the calendar have downloaded the app to experience “Vorsprung durch Technik” in a new dimension. Audi received numerous response mails from enthusiastic clients. Just one person obviously didn´t get it. He wrote an e-mail saying thank you for the lovely landscapes.

Advertising Agency: Neue Digitale/Razorfish , Germany

Managing Director: Sven Kuester, Sascha Martini

Creative Director: René Lamberti, Fabian Roser

Art Director: Kathrin Laser

Copywriter: Stephan Deisenhofer

Concept: Steffen Staeuber

Copywriter: Alexander Ardelean

Designer: Bartosz Elsner

Designer: Florian Uihlein

Interactive Designer: Jens Lembke, Julien Pietri

Programmer: Dennis Hantke, Dirk Tech

Technical Manager: Mathis Moder

Technical Director: Paul Schmidt

Account Manager: Kristina Klein, Dorte Luecker

Animator: David Loehr

Like every book, at the turn of each page comes content and illustration related to the subject of the story.

Unlike most books however, some of these pages contain  AR (augmented reality) markers, which when flashed towards the web cam, generates 3D interactive graphics on the computer screen. Readers can manipulate the graphics by rotating the book or camera!

Marketers and technology innovators have done some very interesting examples of AR for the home market, using symbols printed locally which are then placed in front of your PC’s web camera.

AR is now also being developed for retail displays and mobile phones.

Here are some quick examples from these three AR forums:

AR @ home

Magazine publishers have already started using AR to enhance their readers’ experience, albeit to mixed reviews. Magazines have included Esquire, Popular Science and USA Today (whose back cover featured a Harry Potter Augmented Reality map).

AR enabled locations

Lego installed AR retail kiosks in all of their LEGO brand stores worldwide. This let their consumers reveal a virtually built-up and fully animated LEGO product by holding the package up to the DIGITAL BOX.

AR in your pocket

AR applications are being written for the iPhone, Android, Symbian and Windows Mobile platforms.

Their uses have involved product promotions, educational information, outdoor advertising and location based services.

FAQ’s

Metaio, a company that develops AR projects for the European market shared this information in a webinar last week:

• Some AR promotions require the home PC user to download a specific program, install it and then run it to get their AR experience. This is too much to ask of your @ home market.
• The best way to promote AR for the home market is to make sure your AR application makes use of the existing Adobe Flash and Shockwave platforms prevalent in over 96% of all PC’s.
• Allow a 4 – 6 week time line for the software development of your AR promotion. This is dependant on the complexity of the job though.
• Currently allow a budget with a starting price of around US$50,000.

I would expect this price to drop as technology improves and AR becomes more readily available.

Digital print can connect to the world wide web with PURLS

Print can connect to mobile phones through TXT or SMS numbers and QR Codes

Now print can connect to your computer or mobile phone using a web or phone cam to create Augmented Reality

A “marker” on a printed page can be “read” by a webcam-enabled personal computer a bit like a barcode. A three-dimensional virtual object appears on the screen, suspended like a hologram over the image of the page.

Bring the square to life

1 If you have a computer with a webcam and Adobe Flash 9 or higher installed (and internet connection), click here. Your camera may work straight away. If so, skip to point 4.

2 Right-click (or Ctrl-click for Macs) on the large black square and select Settings.

3 Select the webcam tab and choose your camera from the list (if that does not work, try another from the list).

4 Show the camera the large black square in Friday’s Financial Times (or click here to print out the square). Adjust angle and distance until your screen displays a three-dimensional “augmented” image.

Car manufacturers such as BMW and Toyota have used the technique to show off their latest models. Paramount Pictures, the film distributor, used 3D graphics to publicise Transformers 2 and Star Trek.

On November 9th, Esquire Magazine is dedicating an entire issue to augmented reality http://www.esquire.com/the-side/augmented-reality-coming-soon

As an aside, not everyone is excited by Esquires decision, as stated by BoSacks at PrintCEO.com http://printceo.com/2009/10/esquire-looks-to-energize-print

Now Jonas Jager from Toxin has taken augmented reality from an oh-cute! status to holy-frack-that’s-cool position. His business card will make the owner appear like a 3D hologram, displaying Twitter information in real time, plus all kinds of cool stuff.

Note the QR Code on his business card alongside the AR Marker.

Click on the picture to view the video.

Augmented Business Card from jonas on Vimeo.