What Esquire’s Augmented Reality Magazine Could Mean For Events
Esquire magazine did something really cool and innovative! They turned their paper magazine into an interactive experience with augmented reality. While the idea is novel – I like how they gave readers several interactive experiences.
Here is how it works: First, you need Esquire magazine. Then, download some software from Esquire’s site. After, you point your magazine at your webcam the screen changes. As you move the magazine around the screen changes. OR Watch this video:
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What Does This Mean For Events?
Truthfully – probably not much right now. However, that didn’t stop me from coming up with a few ideas!
The first thing that came to mind was combining this technology with brochures to create interactive experiences that would work at tradeshow kiosks, small events and on the prospect’s computer. It brings your brochure to life, your brand to life and creates a reason for people to keep your marketing materials. Also, it gives you one digital marketing tool that can be used in several customer/prospect encounters.
Another possibility that I saw was in real time segmentation and lead qualification. Think about this: a person picks up your brochure, goes to the interactive kiosk at your booth and holds up the pages with the features/benefits that are important to him. Then, he sees some content that is relevant to his needs. When he is done, there is a place for him to answer a few questions, enter his contact information and take the next step in your marketing/sales process. If you do it right – he could end up with an email on his smart phone asking him to meet with a company representative later that day.
Bottom Line
This is a fun technology that we are going to see start popping up in more places. For now – it is probably just something cool. Expect the technology to become more sophisticated and cheaper as more people start to use it.
What do you think? Any other ideas?
Written by Samuel J Smith
Samuel J. Smith is the Managing Director of Interactive Meeting Technology, LLC. He wakes up every morning to save the world from stuffing attendees in chairs for hours on end at events. Oh, and he has small children who usually want some breakfast.