Augmented reality ... at McDonalds? #blogjune

I went to McDonald’s for breakfast this morning. (Yeah, don't judge me!)

Imagine my surprise when my tray mat featured an invitation to download the new World Cup Augmented Reality app.

Augmented Reality? At McDonalds?

Augmented Reality (AR) isn't new and in the GLAM sector we've been using it to do all sorts of interesting things for some time now.

However, I've always thought of AR as being a little 'out there', a bit specialised, maybe only for the 'early adopters'. That sort of thing.

So, what’s it doing at McDonald’s? Was AR now mainstream? Have I not been paying attention? 

Copious amounts of googling later and I find… apparently not!

To quote Bruce Sterling "... From now on, when people ask you, “Is AR mainstream yet?” you can say, Hey man, McDonald’s." [1]

Sterling was actually talking about an AR app launched by European McDonald's in 2013. (http://youtu.be/my4JtK3W5vE) McDonald's has experimented with AR in other areas with a "Track my Maccas app" in Australia in 2013. [2]

But now, McDonald's AR has gone global. The Huffington Post reports that: "... By the time the soccer competition begins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 12 (concluding on July 13), the boxes will be in 119 markets."[3] 

Not only that… I have to say it's the first time I've seen AR promoted on a tray mat!

McDonald's also appears to have learnt from previous outings and now offers the app on both iOS and android platforms.

Many of the write-ups about the new app seem to follow the press release, but there are a few highlights. Ina Fried discusses the use of Qualcomm's Vuforia Technology in the app. [4] She writes: "Augmented reality is one of those things that is perennially around the corner, but Qualcomm VP Jay Wright says it is starting to catch on, particularly with marketers looking to give more life to physical goods."

My google search revealed that there are many uses for AR "out there". Some are still pretty "out there", but some are being used by brands we know - Ikea, Lego, Nivea - to reach out to customers and engage with them.

There's still room for libraries and museums in this space. There's an interesting summary of AR and its application to libraries by Carli Spina over at the American Library Association site [5] and I liked Shelley Mannion's post at the British Library [6].

What are your favourite AR apps?
For those of us who want to know more, where would you suggest we start?

Will I download the McDonald's app. Maybe? It's free... and I'm willing to bet that if there's going to be a good example of AR in the marketplace, this better be it.

References:
[1] Sterling, B. (9 March 2013) Augmented Reality: McDonald’s and Metaio http://www.wired.com/2013/09/augmented-reality-mcdonalds-and-metaio/

[2] http://youtu.be/7iFQQGADjf4; http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/augmented-reality/mcdonalds-augmented-reality-app-shows-whats-inside-your-meal/

[3] Burger Business (20 May 2014) McDonald's Fry Boxes Get World Cup Artwork http://www.huffingtonpost.com/burgerbusiness/mcdonalds-fry-boxes-get-w_b_5357456.htm 

[4] Fried, Ina (20 May 2014). McDonald’s World Cup Promo Uses Augmented Reality to Turn French Fry Boxes Into Soccer Fields. http://recode.net/2014/05/20/mcdonalds-world-cup-promo-uses-augmented-reality-to-turn-fry-boxes-into-soccer-fields/

[5] Spina, Carli. (Feb 2014). Keeping up with… Augmented Reality. http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/ar

[6] Mannion, Shelley. (2012?) British Museum - Augmented Reality: Beyond the Hype. http://www.museum-id.com/idea-detail.asp?id=336

Related links:
McDonalds: 
Burton, Bonnie. (21 May 2014). Gol! McDonald's World Cup app turns boxes of fries into field of dreams. http://www.cnet.com/au/news/play-soccer-with-new-mcdonalds-world-cup-french-fry-boxes/

Jackson, Christopher. (22 May 2014) McDonald’s French Fry Boxes Turns into Soccer Fields with Augmented Reality. http://www.augmentedrealitytrends.com/ar-app/mcdonalds-gol.html

Johnson, Lauren. (20 May 2014). McDonald's Overhauls Packaging for World Cup Digital Push: Also moves from QR codes to augmented reality. http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/mcdonalds-overhauls-packaging-big-digital-world-cup-push-157867

Freeman, Mike. (24 May 2014). McDonald's World Cup app uses new Qualcomm tech: Augmented reality software lets users place objects into soccer app. http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/May/24/Qualcomm-augmented-reality-McDonalds-world-cup/

McDonald's app site: http://gol.mcd.com/en.html

AR examples
10 Mind-Blowing Augmented Reality Campaigns
http://www.business2community.com/marketing/10-mind-blowing-augmented-reality-campaigns-0160078#!TeHTq

10 Examples of Augmented Reality in Retail http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/augmented-reality/10-examples-augmented-reality-retail/

10 Rockstar Examples of Augmented Reality for 2014 http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/10-rockstar-examples-augmented-reality-2014/

#blogjune