Domino’s UK Launches AR-driven Poster Campaign

January 5, 2012 by Dave Haynes

This is one of those applications of something that I could effectively argue for and against in a debate. A spotted in AdWeek, which saw it in PSFK, the pizza chain Domino’s has developed with Blippar a mobile ordering app for the UK market and is using augmented reality as part of the cool factor marketing effort.

People with smartphones who may hunger for a slap of tomato sauce-slathered cardboard can point their smartphones at  outdoor posters and billboards and see a more interactive version of said poster. Through the “experience” you can order a pizza, visit the Facebook page, and download the app.

The visuals suggest what one might see through the small window of a phone LCD screen is what could easily be laid out in a print poster, so the time and expense of developing the AR element of this is a little lost on me. A QR code or Tag could do the job of getting people downloading the app, and I am not sure how many people walking down a street or waiting for a bus order pizzas in that context.

On the other hand, if the novelty drives higher awareness and app downloads more than codes, tags or other calls to action, then maybe this is impactful.

My general take: for AR to be really impactful it should make something possible that couldn’t just be done by more conventional means. This tilts more to gimmick.

Image from AdWeek