Category: Mobile Marketing

Tesco launches new augmented reality campaign for Halloween

| October 30, 2012

 Tesco teams with Engine Creative for Halloween campaign

UK retail giant Tesco has joined with Engine Creative, a leading digital advertising agency, to launch an augmented reality campaign for Halloween. Engine Creative has created several augmented reality features that will be used in Tesco advertisements in various news publications and in other marketing materials. The augmented reality experiences are designed to appeal to those with smart phones and similar mobile devices, hoping to draw the attention of tech-savvy consumers that are interested in interactive marketing experiences.

Augmented reality may be able to reach out to tech-savvy consumers

Augmented reality is becoming a powerful component in effective mobile marketing strategies. The technology has proven that it is able to engage consumers that rely on the mobile devices on a daily basis. Many of these consumers have shown themselves to be interested in interactive marketing initiatives, especially those that provide them with digital content or the possibility to find deals on products they love. Tesco believes that augmented reality will help expand the reach of its overall Halloween marketing efforts.Tesco Halloween Augmented Reality

Digital content can be unlocked using smart phones or tablets

One of the digital experiences created by Engine Creative is called “Trick or Treat.” This augmented reality experience allows consumers to turn themselves into a zombie or other kind of spooky creature when they scan advertisements for costumes from Tesco. Engine Creative has also developed various animations and 3D advertisements that can be unlocked using a smart phone or other mobile device. The advertising agency has a great deal of experience with augmented reality technology and may work on future campaigns with Tesco if the Halloween campaign proves successful.

Augmented reality may hold the key to winning over mobile consumers

Tesco is the latest in a growing number of retail companies that are turning to augmented reality to engage consumers. More consumers are becoming mobile, thus leading Tesco and others to find ways to interact with these consumers in a way they will respond to. Augmented reality is highly interactive, rewarding consumers that take the time to initiate digital contact. As such, the technology may be the key to winning the favor of a new generation of consumers.

Project Oscar rebranded as Weve

| October 29, 2012

Weve emerges from floundering consortium

Mobile commerce is on the rise in the United Kingdom, but the consortium that would have established itself as a unified platform for the various NFC efforts that were taking root in the country has gone through a turbulent rebranding stage. The consortium, formerly known as Project Oscar, was comprised of mobile operators, financial institutions, and some technology companies, all of which had big hopes for NFC technology and mobile commerce. This consortium has been rebranded as Weve and has adopted a new focus that is very different from what the vision had been in the past.

 

Consortium was meant to provide platform for NFC applications

In the past, when Weve was still Project Oscar, the purpose of the consortium was to provide a standard platform for all companies interested in mobile commerce. These companies could import their NFC-based applications onto the platform, which would enable them to reach consumers across several mobile networks. The idea was that the companies that participated in the consortium would get a cut of the profits made through fees imposed on each transaction made through the NFC applications it supported. This quickly became unpopular when companies like Visa and MasterCard suggested they had no intention of sharing their profits.

WEVE Project Oscar

Weve shifts focus toward mobile marketing

The newly branded Weve is shifting its focus away from NFC technology and toward mobile marketing. The consortium has seen its ability to promote mobile commerce through NFC technology flounder and is looking for a way to provide a unified platform for businesses that is not entirely focused on a niche technology. Thus, the consortium will serve as a platform for various mobile commerce initiatives and those concerned with marketing to mobile consumers. Weve will not abandon NFC technology, but the technology with not be its sole focus going forward.

Mobile marketing may be a turbulent sector for Weve

Weve is keen to push the concept of mobile advertisements amongst businesses, but these advertisements have not been performing well for some of their largest proponents. Both Google and Facebook have invested heavily into mobile marketing and have found that mobile advertisements are not faring well with many consumers.