innovations
magazine
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Personal touch drives
growth of lettrs
Lettrs combines the benefits of digital
messaging with the personal touch and
longevity of a handwritten letter. Already
offered as an Android app, it is now also available
for the iPhone and iPad.
The platform for mobile-to-mobile letter writing
enables writers to hand-sign their messages, select
writing filters and attach photos and tags.
In addition, the iOS apps include a collection of
designer themes; geo-location stamping of signed
lettrs, including photo attachments; a one-stop letter
centre for organising personal and public letters; and
a tagging system for easy searching and sorting.
Lettrs CEO Drew Bartkiewicz said: “The disposable
messaging apps today are a joke, nothing more than
digital crack for society’s youth. Our company is
committed to transforming the future of written
communication and to powering the lasting mobile
letters we knew the world could write, even in a fully
mobile network.”
The Android app registered almost 1 million
downloads within just three months.
Argos has become the largest retailer in
the UK to offer customers the option of
digital receipts instead of paper ones.
After a successful trial, it is rolling out the
eReceipts platform to 750 stores in the UK
and Ireland.
The eReceipts platform gives Argos
customers the option of an emailed receipt
so that they have a permanent digital record
of their purchases and warranties. Argos itself
benefits from a new channel through which
to build relationships with customers and
view real-time information on customers’
shopping habits.
Emailed receipts sent by eReceipts currently
have open rates in excess of 70%.
•
The easy way to find your
favourite magazine
MyKIOSK.com is the latest example of how
digital tools are being harnessed to support
the printed word.
A search engine for magazines, it enables
internet users in Germany (and soon Austria and
Switzerland) to locate the nearest stockist of
their favourite newspaper or magazine, saving
much frustration and legwork, especially for
readers of minority interest titles.
Users simply enter their location (or allow
their location to be determined) via a web
broswer or smartphone app and select the
magazine they want.With one click, the nearest
stockists are displayed on a Google map.
MyKIOSK.com is backed by the Federal
Association of PressWholesalers whose members
provide data on orders placed by retailers every
day. This ensures that the information it provides
is always up-to-date. The service currently covers
up to 5,000 magazines and 110,000 retailers in
Germany.
One interesting possibility for publishers is
the option to integrate links or QR codes into
their adverts so that someone standing at a
bus stop, say, could scan the QR on a poster for
a new magazine and immediately locate the
nearest stockist.
Stylish and interactive
ArjoWiggins is adding interactivity to all
the papers in its Creative Papers range,
including Conqueror, Curious, Pop Set and
Rives.
The new Alive branding denotes creative
papers that have a laminated layer of
PowerCoat paper incorporating printed
electronics.
The combination enables brand owners to
marry premium packaging, cards, corporate
communications, labelling and advertising
with NFC-enabled interactivity for a more
engaging customer experience.
ArjoWiggins writes: “Cost-effective
paper-based printed circuitry can be used
to reveal instructions or ingredients in an
unlimited range of languages; take customers
to a dedicated website or online promotion;
personalise a product; or facilitate instant
sharing via any of the social media channels.
All it takes is a quick scan with an NFC-
enabled mobile device.”
Alive papers can also be used instead of
swing tickets and RFID tags to deter shop-
lifting, facilitate stock control, deliver useful
information or loyalty-building offers and
reassure customers that a product is genuine.
Powercoat manages to do this without
the use of environmentally damaging PET
plastics thanks to its unique cellulosic
formulation and patented coating process.
PowerCoat is FSC-certified, biodegradable
and recyclable. Like ordinary paper, it can be
folded, cut, shaped, torn and even burned to
create a desired effect.
alive/
Jigsaw Business Solutions has launched an
augmented reality (AR) application that
gives companies a new way to interact with
customers and deliver personalised sales,
promotional and loyalty messages.
Once it has been installed on a smartphone
or tablet, the Jigsaw AR application enables a
user to scan an image or logo and gain access
to a hidden world of content that can be
continually updated – long after the original
image to access the content was created.
John Bohan, Managing Director of
Jigsaw Business Solutions, said: “Augmented
reality offers firms a smarter way to reach
smartphone and tablet users and engage with
them on a personal level. Our AR software is
a bespoke system which, unlike others on the
market, does not require a data connection to
operate.”
A marketing beacon
Mobikats has launched an enterprise-grade
iBeacon Platform that will enable retailers,
museums, sports arenas, airports, hotels
and entertainment centres to interact with
smartphone-wielding customers. Beura, the
Gaelic for iBeacon, provides customisable
iBeacons – low-energy Bluetooth transmitters
that can track smartphones running a relevant
app – and a messaging platform for delivering
tailored, location-specific messages. iBeacons
can detect a user at three unique ranges:
immediate at up to 20cm, near at up to 2m
and far at up to 50m.
Argos offers
customers
paperless receipts
Augmented reality is latest piece of the marketing jigsaw
