Member Article

Brands made ‘a little less boring’ by augmented reality technology

‘To make the world a little less boring’ is quite a business plan. That’s the aim of an app that has developed augmented reality to bring everyday objects to life.

Zappar allows a user to ‘zap’ a code and give an extra dimension to something, be it an advert, a game, or a book.

Zappar brought arguably the world’s biggest boyband, One Direction, to life in what they believe to be the largest ever augmented reality (AR) campaign, with 1.5 million zaps; zap for an exclusive message, or to derive exclusive content from their 1D This Is Us film poster.

A world-first, an on-screen zapcode appeared during the course of an appointment-to-view broadcast event alerting viewers that it’s time to zap, with more than 20 interactions over the course of the day.

AR has existed in various guises for some years now, the most common being QR codes. Zappar sought to take the technology further.

An augmented reality zap produced for ASDA, featuring an Easter egg scavenger hunt

Founder and CEO Caspar Thykier said: “If barcodes were 1.0 and QR codes 2.0, then Zapcodes must be 10.0. That’s a lot more.”

After installing the app on iphone or Android, simply point the device toward a Zapcode, which appear on just about anything; delivering video, audio, 3D animation, photos, games, links and more.

This is where the fun of AR kicks in.

The premise behind AR is to make something a person is viewing come alive with additional content, and “unique and personalised experiences”, says Caspar.

Caspar told me a scanned Zapcode with 32 bits can generate nearly 4 billion permutations of content, and Zappar place a huge emphasis on fun within their zaps.

Caspar, 40, said: “Zapcodes are generating huge awareness and penetration, they can even be educational as well as fun.

“The snackable content brings a huge smile to the face of zappers. We specialise in AR entertainment experiences, taking the world of scanning - QR codes - and making them interesting.”

One of Caspar’s most favourite Zapcodes is the campaign Zappar ran with BBC Radio 1 in February, a “special, behind-the-scenes event.”

As part of Radio 1’s Access All Areas event, Zappar developed their AR offering, allowing the audience to scan Zapcodes on a picture of their Dj’s on the Radio 1 and 1Xtra homepage.

A special message from the Dj then appeared, and an opportunity to have a selfie taken with them.

Zappar has also been working with Morphsuits after they signed a licence agreement with Marvel to develop AR Spiderman - and other superheroes like Iron Man and Wolverine - and halloween costumes.

In this case, the wearer controls the AR through an app, and can fire Spiderman’s webbing, fire repulsors from their palms in Iron man style, and throw Captain America’s shield, amongst other things.

Zappar was born three years ago after Caspar “gatecrashed” a meeting of AR luminaries.

A friend was holding a meeting with Dr Simon Taylor - who encountered AR while studying for his PhD on fast markerless tracking methods at Cambridge - and Connell Gauld - a Cambridge Masters graduate in Engineering who started work on the code that became the Zappar content framework - and Caspar was “graciously invited at my request. The rest is history”.

Dr Taylor, 30, and 26 year-old Connell are now Zappar’s research director and platform director respectively. Kirk Ewing, 44, is Caspar’s business partner and now creative director.

Caspar said: “Zappar was created from the ground up, by myself and the guys who had been studying the technology.

“We held a meeting with the guys, who showed us a demo of AR technology and we were blown away. They are impossibly clever. We then worked to make it commercially viable.”

Zappar, who are approaching £1 million in annual revenue, now has plans to increase headcount at its London headquarters (currently 20), as well as expanding rapidly into emerging markets.

Zappar already has a presence in Brazil, China (Hong Kong) and the Philippines, has just launched in South Africa - indeed, Caspar was in Cape Town when we spoke - and will do so in Panama, Turkey, Vietnam and Israel in the very near future.

Caspar Thykier launching Zappar in South Africa last week

Caspar said: “These countries represent massive markets. There are 270 million mobile users in China, who are all tech-savvy.

“South Africa has 30% smartphone penetration, consumers there go straight to mobile networks. Israel offers free, superfast wifi. None of these emerging countries are suffering from aged, creaking infrastructure, it is all new. The potential is massive.”

Caspar stresses the need to understand local cultures and customs, and the nuances of the local market. Therefore, Zappar offer local companies the opportunities of becoming authorised sellers - on a sort-of licence model - rather than setting up offices, with all the logistical and financial implications that brings.

Zappar have implemented campaigns in over 25 different countries, with the US being their biggest market. Caspar hasn’t ruled out the potential of opening an office there.

The company has come to the attention of Hollywood studios, too.

They AR’d movie posters and ad pages for Dreamwork’s dancing penguins feature Happy Feet Two, enabling the penguin to dance in a bus shelter, for example. By zapping the Zapcode through the mobile app, the penguin comes to life and can dance in any setting you then choose it to. As if by magic.

The potential for AR for business is huge. Advertising comes to life, offering a brand a clear and distinct advantage over its rivals. Caspar said: “I once worked in advertising. I co-founded Zappar because I recognised huge opportunities for interesting adverts. I am an ad cynic, it is very difficult to engage an end user in advertising. This makes it easier.

“Zappar can help your business commercialise the space between devices and the physical world around you.”

One thing I am confident I won’t be trying is the Zap-tache; an AR moustache rendering my look to that of Tom Selleck. I will, though, be watching out for the next AR technological development with great interest.

Why not test Zappar?

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .