A few weeks ago we asked for feedback in our Creator Survey. We received lots of great feedback, but what we heard the most was a need for more help with creating engaging campaigns and attracting users to them.

We heard loud and clear, so here are a few resources that will help with just that.

Presentation: Creating Effective Campaigns
We’ve created a very helpful presentation (embedded above) that provides a lot of great tips for creating an effective campaign with the Layar Creator. You can view it on Slideshare or download it as either a PDF or a Keynote file. In it you will find:

• Steps and guidelines for creating effective campaigns
• Tips and best practices
• Examples of effective campaigns
• Links to support resources, like video tutorials and step-by-step guides

New Instructions Downloads
We’ve noticed that the most successful Creator campaigns include clear instructions and calls-to-action for readers. To make this easy for you to implement, we’ve created some handy images and icons that you can use with your campaigns. The downloads available include:

• The Layar logo - Use this with some action text (like in the images above) to attract readers to your content.
• Instructions - Use this imagery (like the one shown below) to show readers how to download and use Layar with your publication. Available in Dutch and English.
• Instruction Copy - The text from the instructions imagery if you wish to use it on your own.
• Logo & Instructions Pack - Download all of the above, and more, in one easy pack!

Video Tutorials
And finally, we’ve continued to create more helpful video tutorials for quick and easy glimpses into using the Creator. So check out the videos below to learn how to use AR video in your campaigns, and a step-by-step guide to exploring and understanding campaign statistics!

How else can we help you? If you have requests, send them to devsupport@layar.com!

Today in Amsterdam, we’re hosting our “Activeer Print” (Activate Print) seminar, which we invited members of the media and publishing industries to learn all about Layar and interactive print.

Our CEO, Quintin Schevernels shared some interesting new bits of data today with the audience in Amsterdam. We’ve been using Distimo Monitor to review our stats, and today we’ve got some exciting stats to share here on the blog as well.

Averaging 1M Downloads Each Month

Layar now averages roughly 1 million downloads of the Layar App for iPhone and Android each month. This is a significant leap from the first quarter of 2012, when Layar downloads averaged around 500k each month.

This increase in downloads parallels several new Interactive Print campaigns in recent months and the launch of the Layar Creator in June. More people are now downloading Layar to interact with their print products.

In our Layar whitepaper, released in May, we mentioned having just over 20 million total downloads all-time for Layar. Later this week, we will surpass 23 million downloads.

Layar Creator Takes Off!

It’s been just over a month since we launched the Layar Creator publicly, and so far we’ve been thrilled with the reception and usage.

To date, over 8,400 editors have started using the Creator, publishing over 4,500 campaigns of interactive print. That’s equal to roughly 125 new published campaigns every day.

Spreading Across the Globe

Traditionally, we’ve seen Layar’s popularity centralized around Europe. Our leading country, however, by a wide margin is the United States. The U.S. continually represents over 20% of Layar downloads. 1 of every 5 downloads is from the U.S.

It towers over any other country. In fact, the U.S. accounts for as many downloads as the combined total of the 2nd through 5th ranked countries - Germany, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

The majority of the remaining top countries, in terms of downloads, are in Europe, but recently we’ve seen new countries in new continents join the fray.

The biggest mover? It might be a surprise: Saudi Arabia. Just a few months ago, Saudi Arabia accounted for less than half of 1% of Layar’s total downloads. With just over 2,000 downloads in January, the Middle Eastern country has grown considerably to nearly 40,000 (over 4.5% of all downloads) in June.

Other countries on the rise include Brazil and Chile - our top South American countries. Each has increased its amount of downloads by 300% over the last six months, helping Brazil move among the top countries worldwide.

We feel this represents a globalization of Layar. It’s not just a European phenomenon anymore. Now, our top countries span the globe, across all continents. Check out the Layar Creator and get started with your campaign today!

We built in some really great stats into the Layar Creator which you can use to analyze your Creator campaigns. You can see views, clicks and users on the campaign, page and button level, and you can even export the data and play with it yourself.

Below is a short video that shows you all of the features found in Creator stats and how to use them. Have a look!

The following is a post from Layar co-founder and BizDev head Claire Boonstra.

Earlier this week, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to speak at TEDxBinnenhof. It was truly amazing!

450 people were present in the “Ridderzaal,” with HRH Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima of the Dutch royal family sitting in the first row. 39 Dutch embassies across the globe even had their own livestream viewing party. On Twitter, #TEDxBinnenhof was the #2 trending topic all day!

My talk was well received - I even performed a live demo of the Layar Creator. The crowd seemed very excited and surprised as I added content to the event’s program and it instantly became viewable in the Layar Creator.

Watch the quick, 8-minute video above to see my presentation and the demo of the Creator in action!

Attention travelers and adventure seekers!

As of today, the massively popular Lonely Planet travel guides will be able to help you with your travels even more! Just open the Layar app on your smartphone, hold it over the cover of one of the guides and you’ll be able to see tons of practical and up-to-date information to help you on your way.

The print guides now feature live weather, updated event listings and even hotel prices and availability. What other print guide can provide that? But that’s not all. Editorial and Product Development Director Matt Swaine says exclusive content awaits those who view the guides with Layar.

“We’re offering travelers access to hundreds of additional points of interest reviews, video content that they can only get through Lonely Planet’s Layar service and easy ways to book hotels and activities,” says Swaine.

So far, Lonely Planet has enhanced 42 guides from its European city titles. Paris, Rome, London, and (of course) Amsterdam are just a few of the popular tourist destinations with augmented guides.

For Swaine, the opportunity to add digital content to the printed Lonely Planet guides opened up new channels of communication and interaction with customers.

“We very quickly saw the potential for Layar to enhance our books by giving travelers access to content we couldn’t put in the books and by linking to other Lonely Planet services, products and online content,” he says. “There are lots of opportunities out there to chase with print, but clearly digital is going to play an increasing role in people’s lives, and this is where we are focusing the larger part of our product thinking.”

Lonely Planet is looking for your feedback! The first 50 people to email online.editor@lonelyplanet.com will receive a free copy of a Lonely Planet European City Guide, Pocket City Guide or Discover City Guide of their choice. To qualify you must own an Apple iOS or Android device, provide a valid shipping address and agree to provide feedback on the using Layar in conjunction with Lonely Planet books. Use “Layar Trial” as your subject line, and let them know which European city guidebook you’d like them to send you.

Check out the guides today and view them with Layar!