AR in Print Media

Print media hasn’t changed much in decades which is probably part of its slow downfall. But the use of AR could bring new possibilities for print. Especially magazines could augment their content and add more information or reference older content through AR. Also, common posters, books, brochures and anything else printed could be made more interesting with AR. Depending on the application, an app could bring text and images to life. Modern image-recognition technology allows for markerless tracking.

Benefits

The marketing benefits of this are self-evident. The first movers who implement augmented print media could receive a huge push through free advertising from other media like internet and television.

By adding digital content to brochures, books, etc. publishers could even reach a whole new audience.

Challenges

There is a genuine question to ask if this is just a “nice to have” feature or if people are really going to use it. After all, customers buy magazines for example, to not read online. AR should be seen as an addition to well-designed content and not be the only interesting part of the product.

It would also be advisable to integrate the AR technology into a company app that already exists and that serves some other practical purpose. That way, users won’t have to download an otherwise useless app as that would keep a big part of your audience from using it.

Take Away

AR Print Media can be an incredibly effective marketing tool. But there are two requirements for that. First, users can’t be expected to download a new app. And second, the content has to be interesting on its own, AR shouldn’t be what makes it interesting.

Examples

Augmentop

Augmentop is a Los Angeles and San Fracisco based Augemnted Reality studio that offers AR brochures, business cards, etc.

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Madefire AR Comics

Madefire has built a platform for digital comics that can be read in an AR experience. The also provide artists with specialised software to create comics for their platform.

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