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.
In 2013, a group of developers at Dutch Rose Media created the “Smilez” app with the Layar SDK to allow anyone to create personalized Augmented Reality greeting cards.
The app is pretty simple. Using their phone, users can record a video message, pick a card design and add text. Then, Smilez sends a physical greeting card to the recipient who can scan the card with the Smilez app to watch the video message come to life.
After receiving attention both from the press and from large brands including IBM and Deloitte, this small Dutch company wants to go international. They’ve launched a Kickstarter project to help fund the production of an international version of the app with more features, as well as the other elements of the business including global printing and shipping.
“People can back us on Kickstarter with different amounts. In exchange we offer some cool rewards as a thank you,” says Dutch Rose Media founder Natasja Paulssen. “These rewards can range from Smilez cards and Smilez campaigns to Augmented Reality posters.”
The company is hoping to raise €25,000 by August 27th, so have a look at their Kickstarter page if you’re interested in donating!
Here at Layar we are no strangers to the benefits of interactive print in education. In fact, the education space is one the fastest growing areas for interactive print. Students and teachers are using Layar to make their materials and projects interactive with digital content, but that’s not all.
Many schools and institutions are using interactive print to attract prospective students. In the case of the University of Applied Sciences (UAS) Leiden, a school of 9,200 students in the Netherlands, they’ve teamed up with creative agency UWMERK!WAARDIG, a member of the Layar Partner Network, to create interactive brochures for all 24 of their bachelor studies programs. We spoke with representatives from both groups to get the details on this terrific project.
Can you briefly introduce University of Applied Sciences Leiden and multimedia consultant UWMERK!WAARDIG to our readers?
Agnita Mur, Member of the Executive Board: “University of Applied Sciences Leiden (UAS Leiden, in Dutch: Hogeschool Leiden) is a medium-sized University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands with approximately 9.200 students and 900 employees. We offer bachelor’s programmes and perform applied research in a variety of domains ranging from (health)care and social work to economics, and from technology to education. We challenge students to realize their potential.”
André Batenburg, CEO & Owner of UWMERK!WAARDIG: “UWMERK!WAARDIG is a full service multimedia company (strategy and execution) that works for a variety of companies, for instance University of Applied Sciences Leiden, DHL Global Mail, TROS Broadcasting Company, ANWB Media, ADO Den Haag Footballclub and Broekman Logistics Group.”
How did you learn about augmented reality (AR), interactive print and Layar?
Mur: In the strategic overview 2012-2016 UAS Leiden chooses, amongst other strategic issues, that we innovate our marketing and communication taking into account sustainability and the strong growth of mobile devices (amongst which smartphones). In the strategic workshops with our agency UWMERK!WAARDIG we were introduced into the world and possibilities of augmented reality, especially through Layar. Education in the near future will be growing into interactive and on demand concepts, therefore we also need to change our information in that direction.
Batenburg: We strongly believe that the growing penetration of smartphones and consumer behavior creates a successful role for AR.
What are your goals and objectives for using interactive print and AR regarding University of Applied Sciences Leiden?
Mur: As I stated before, as a University of Applied Sciences, we must engage with our students and target groups. Using interactive print in our brochures will help us to give future students a better impression of what they can expect and why to choose UAS Leiden as their educational partner.
Batenburg: We feel that the Layar concept can help grow the interactive connection and engagement between the current students and future students, using film and a variety of interactive buttons.
Do you consider interactive print and AR a strategic choice or rather a trail / experiment?
Mur: We are developing towards being interactive in various ways. Therefore this is not an experiment for one year, but a strategic choice.
Batenburg: We have a growing potential of companies asking for interactive concepts and film. The opportunities of Layar helps us making interaction more easy. Our business is also changing and it gives us new opportunities.
Did you get any feedback within the organization and from students / future students?
Mur: As we speak, we just started the distribution of our study guides in interactive print. The initial reaction in our university is positive and it shows that we are working towards ‘ sustainable recruiting’ and that we innovate.
Batenburg: Within the organization there is an awareness that the Layar concept can create a different dimension in the dialogue between people and brings an easy to use marketingtool.
How do you think interactive print and Layar are a part of future plans of the school?
Mur: First we have to evaluate and have to learn from the results from this year. We hope and believe that interactive communication in all kind of applications can help UAS Leiden to perform and engage better.
Batenburg: Interactive print can increase the number of users in all printed material of the school and can create interactive orientation when people are visiting the school.
What are the strategic changes in the educational field and how can Layar be a part of it?
Mur: Education historically happened mainly inside the building of our university. This changed gradually and will remain changing step by step to new educational concepts. That means video driven classes, flipping the class room, e-learning concepts and the ’traditional’ way of education all combined.
Batenburg: Film, online engagement, interactive concepts and data-analytics will be the future. Layar can be a part of that.
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!
Later this year, PSV Eindhoven – one of the oldest and most successful Dutch football clubs – will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Starting this week, the club is counting down the last 100 days until its 100th birthday with a daily interactive print campaign with Layar in the local newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad.
A series of articles and ads in the newspaper detail the history of the club. Fans can scan the pages with Layar to view extra videos of exciting moments from the last 100 years of PSV, interesting facts, unique stories as well as social media comments from fans on Twitter and Facebook.
“PSV is a very professional, marketing-driven organization which is always looking for new, innovative ways to communicate with their fans,” says Layar Partner Limebizz, which worked with PSV on the campaign. Incorporating Layar’s technology into this momentous campaign allows the club to interact with its fans continuously over the course the 100-day countdown in a unique way.
“Layar gives us the opportunity to share all memorable moments from 100 years of PSV,” said Guus Pennings, Head of Marketing for PSV. “Together with Limebizz and their conceptual approach, we developed an attractive Layar campaign.”
PSV isn’t the first football club to use the Layar Creator to build an interactive print campaign. Just last month, another Dutch club, ADO Den Haag, enhanced its logo and encouraged fans to scan it during a match to enter a contest and purchase special team items.
Click here to try the PSV campaign out by scanning with Layar!
