Shoe retailer uses latest in 'immersive' technologies to engage customer both off- and online

Shoe retailer uses latest in 'immersive' technologies to engage customer both off- and online

Global footwear brand Clarks has introduced Aurasma augmented reality (AR) technology behind four of its women's spring/summer adverts this year.

As the first footwear brand in the UK to use Aurasma's app in this way, Clarks is aiming to engage consumers and bridge the gap between print and online, providing a new experience of the Clarks' brand.

Bringing static print ads to life

Available as a free downloadable app, Aurasma is an AR visual browser platform. It merges the physical world with the virtual to create an interactive advertising platform.

From the end of this month Clarks' consumers will be able to point the camera on their mobile device at any Clarks advert featuring the Aurasma logo to bring the campaign to life before their eyes.

As well as seeing the products in action, Clarks' consumers will then be able to click through to the Clarks website to continue browsing. Four different videos will be produced that are linked to through interacting with the AR adverts.

Valuable marketing insight

Roy Gardner, head of category at Clarks, said: "We're proud to be the first footwear brand to offer this experience to our consumers in the UK. Aurasma technology enables us to provide fantastic insight into the Clarks brand at a time when we are embracing new and innovative ways of inspiring and engaging our consumers."

Available on iPhones (3GS and above), iPad 2 and high-powered Android smartphones, Aurasma said its app uses cutting-edge image recognition technology that recognises images and objects in the real world. It can then blend the real world view with relevant digital content in real time, including videos, animations, audio or webpages.