Digital Bridge: Dawn of motion pictures

When the latest Range Rover Sport was launched earlier this year, the car-maker ran a print campaign injected with a little something extra: augmented reality.

When smartphone cameras hovered above certain images on the advert, seen in a handful of international magazines, different videos would play, bringing the car ''to life".

Known as AR, augmented reality refers to still images coming alive through videos, sounds, 3D graphics, GPS data or animation, with the help of an app downloaded on a user's smartphone. International brands have been using AR to add a new dimension to their print campaigns, jazzing up what has become a trusted yet stale part of marketing. South Africa is slowly catching up.

The April issue of SA Home Owner magazine features a home spread that is AR-enabled, and a previous cover was augmented with a television advert for the magazine.

Editor Kerry Hayes said augmenting an entire feature gives the reader a ''live, virtual tour of the home, as if they are walking through it themselves".

Asked why the magazine has incorporated AR into some of their pages, Hayes explained: ''We saw the tremendous potential of this technology as a catalyst in bridging the gap between print and digital - a buzz phrase in the industry with the burgeoning presence and popularity of content in the digital arena, and the continued battle of print to stay relevant and in demand."

But many brands are reluctant to hop on the AR bus because they think it's a passing gimmick.

Atiyya Karodia of SDK Digital Lab, which has created AR content for brands such as Miller Genuine Draft and Ponds, said local brands prefer to follow tried and tested methods of advertising rather than risk potentially losing money on something unfamiliar.

''People think it's either going to take too long to build up or it will die out. But it is the next step in communication and living," Karodia said.

"AR is progressing faster than when the mobile phone was first introduced. There is an entire world which can be branded with advertising and it can give access to information you wouldn't have had before."

Hayes agreed: ''The market in general is at the educational brink of the AR floodgates, that will open up and bring waves of fresh new content experiences to the market once they understand what it is and what it can offer them."

Karodia said: ''There is a notion that print is dying because people are more inclined to click through a link on Facebook than to buy a magazine or a newspaper. While print is not irrelevant, we do need to bridge the print and digital. That's where AR comes in.

''It's not just visual popcorn. The boundaries are endless, especially if you can see a video while you read a newspaper. It's the joining of two worlds: the online world and the tangible, real world we live in."

Hayes said brands need to wake up because AR benefits both the consumer and advertiser.

''From a business point of view, AR has opened up a new world of advertising opportunities linked to a single page. And for consumers, added value to the cover price of a publication - where almost all the senses can get involved in an image and a few words printed on a page. This begs the question then: can you really afford not to jump on the AR bullet train?"

Get real

A guide to some of the best augmented reality apps available.

• Wikitude:The AR browser uses your smartphone's camera to supply geographically relevant information for travellers, from the history of landmarks to directions to the nearest Thai restaurant.
• Zappar: An entertainment-based app that adds an extra dimension to everything from T-shirts to books, if they are partnered with Zappar. Also has a functionality to help users create their own 'zaps'.
• Ingress: Google's AR game puts users in one of two feuding factions that fight for control over virtual territories. It is a massively multiplayer online game for sci-fi lovers and strategic thinkers.
• Blippar: The company behind the Range Rover AR adverts offers consumers interaction with brands.