The Reading & Writing Foundation (RWF), an organization based in the Netherlands, has recently used the Layar Creator to make use of Augmented Reality in its communications.

In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of public libraries as modern learning hubs, RWF has launched Public Libraries 2020 (PL2020). The project aims to spark a movement recognizing and supporting the contributions of public libraries, focusing on three areas: social inclusion, digital inclusion and lifelong learning.

This June, the organization launched the (e)publication “Libraries Change Lives”, a collection of interesting data insights and inspiring stories from libraries across Europe. The goal of the digital publication was to bring the importance of the work of libraries closer to both the public and the policy makers, and now RWF has published a print version complete with Augmented Reality features from Layar.

“This publication aims to bring alive the stories of some of the 100 million people who use library services in Europe every year. Adding the AR video functionality allowed us to bring their stories even closer to the readers,” said Ilona Kish, Public Libraries 2020 Programme Director at the Reading & Writing Foundation.

Readers can use the Layar App by scanning the pages of the book to access videos of individuals from all parts of Europe who share their experiences with public libraries. One features a man from Ireland who discovered his local library when he was looking to improve his digital skills. Another tells the story of a blind man from Bulgaria who was able to take technology training courses thanks to his library, greatly impacting his future.

Gerard Lakwijk, publisher of several books about various locations in the Netherlands, has taken it upon himself to compile an all-encompassing anthology of the country’s past, present and future. The book, Beautiful Holland, features pages and pages of lavish photos and illustrations of the country’s scenery – all of which has been made interactive with Augmented Reality.

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Over the course of World War II, the Dutch Navy lost seven submarines – six of which disappeared in unknown locations. Since then, five have been recovered, and the search for the final submarine, designated O13, is the subject of a documentary by filmmaker Wilco Pleging.

To accompany the documentary, a book has been published containing stories, documents, drawings, photographs and more. But this book, O13: Still On Patrol, is unlike any other. The pages have been made interactive with the Layar Creator and the publisher plans to regularly update the content with new information.

Right now, book readers can scan the book with Layar for access to copies of the original construction plans of the O13, new photos from the search for the ship and more. Each week for the next few months, readers can enjoy more new extra digital content by scanning pages with the Layar App.

It’s not the first time we’ve seen publishers enhancing books with Layar, but the regular updates are unique in this case. This is a great way to bring more interactivity to books. By being promised more content each week, readers will be eager to pick up the book again and again.

See more great examples of how Layar can bring print to life on our new Inspiration page!

Fans of thrilling fiction novels have long been anticipating its release, and now you can get a sneak peek with Layar!

Inferno, the latest book from author Dan Brown, author of the massively popular Da Vinci Code, is the latest book to use Layar’s interactive print to help promote its release. Readers in the Netherlands can get an exclusive look at this highly anticipated release by using Layar to scan an ad for the new book.

By scanning the ad in Volkskrant Magazine, fans can read, watch, listen and buy with just a few taps. Brown readers can get a sneak peek of the first chapter, watch a video trailer for the book, listen to a sample of the audio book or directly buy the book right from their phone! 

Volkskrant Magazine is distributed with de Volkskrant newspaper, which translates to “the people’s paper.” De Volkskrant is the largest newspapers in the Netherlands, read by 750,000 people each day. Already, thousands of readers have scanned the ad and interacted using Layar. Volkskrant Magazine is part of multimedia publisher de Persgroep. De Persgroep Advertising worked together with their client to produce this ad.

“We enjoy looking for creative crossmedia solutions together with clients to be able to interact with our readers”, says Olav Bongarts, director of de Persgroep Advertising. “We are quite overwhelmed by the success! More than 2,000 readers scanned the ad with Layar and created almost 5,000 interactions. It’s great that we can measure the Return on Investment so quickly and accurately.”

Interactive print has seen a lot of activity lately around books as publishers use Layar to promote new releases in exciting and engaging new ways. Just last month we shared with you how CBS Outdoor had again used Layar on advertising for popular author David Baldacci’s latest novel, boosting web traffic to Baldacci’s site by over 500%!

Click here to see the ad and try it yourself with Layar!

Previously we’ve mentioned CBS Outdoor’s campaigns with both VIVA women’s magazine and the Assassin’s Creed III video game to enhance transit stops in the Netherlands with interactive print. But CBS didn’t stop there, and judging by the results they saw from another campaign, it’s not surprising they keep coming back.

Last year CBS also used Layar’s interactive print on billboards to promote a new book from popular author David Baldacci. By scanning the ads with Layar, anyone could access and read the first chapter of the book, download the ebook or purchase it online.

According to CBS’s Interactive Europe report, the interactive “Out-of-Home” ads increased web traffic to Baldacci’s website by 500% during the course of the campaign. Later, after the campaign had ended, web traffic remained 250% above average.

“This proves that Out-of-Home delivered against its traditional strengths of building brand awareness and driving a response,” the CBS report says.

According to research performed around the ads, those who scanned with Layar were consistently more likely to report a positive response across several areas, including being more likely to mention the ad to others.

“Interaction also improved opinions, which is a good result for a category that is conservative and notoriously difficult to encourage people to try new authors or genres,” the report adds.

This is yet another example of how interactive print is booming and producing real results for brands and marketers. It’s just one of many campaigns CBS Outdoor is running on Layar, and shows why the well-known advertiser keeps coming back again and again to interactive print.

To learn more, including the interactive print lessons CBS learned from this campaign, download their Interactive Europe report.