Technologies Used
HearstGoogle Cardboard
Project Team
About
Our project involves the use of the Hearst API and Cardboard API in order to display a simple test of AR functionality displayed over ELLE magazine. We believe that the physical content medium of magazines has a place in media that has been challenged by its high costs and legacy ad model. We believe this can be mitigated enough to make the magazine model viable if consumers can provide usage data to Hearst through the use of AR enabled devices. The challenge we have encountered is not in capturing data once the user is engaged, but rather, engaging the user with meaningful and compelling value-adding experiences. The separation of the editorial process between analogue and digital content at Hearst is perhaps the biggest barrier to enabling continuity between these two platforms. This presents a business and organizational challenge for Hearst, should they wish to pursue AR in this form, but we believe the potential value-add for both the consumer, as well as for Hearst in terms of knowledge of and engagement with its audience is sufficiently compensatory. This can also extend the lifecycle of the magazine, and make it cost-feasible to make further physical innovations to the product that increase the quality of the experience of leafing through. In this way, magazine publishers will be able to introduce more artistry and quality to the magazines. Some of the more obvious advantages of introducing AR is to evolve print adds into points of sale by providing readers with instant access to (in the case of ELLE) brand information, item numbers, pricing, etc., as well as cart and checkout functionality. Readers can also collect content that they find compelling and save it in their own private folder on the ELLE app.
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