Imagine opening your newspaper and watching a video.
Or instantly buying from a web store.
Or seeing the story behind the story.
We can help you do that.
We are erasing the line between print and digital media through the use of augmented reality.
It's easy for you to join the experience. All it takes is Layar, an app that you can download for free to make The NOW come to life.
While Layar has been used by hundreds of magazines in Europe, Lower Mainland Publishing - our parent company -- is the first media chain in the world to use the app across all its publications.
"Our plan is to increase engagement between our newspapers and our readers, increase the time they spend with us, improve the utility of the product, and seamlessly integrate our customers' digital assets into our newspapers," said Alvin Brouwer, president of Lower Mainland Publishing, a division of Glacier Media. "It adds many different dimensions to a print advertising campaign or to the stories and photos that appear in our papers."
Layar uses your iPhone, iPad2 or Android smartphone or tablet to recognize images in The NOW that have been enabled for augmented reality. It translates these images into buttons and notifications on your device's screen, allowing you to instantly view related videos, share articles on social networks, click on websites mentioned in stories and much, much more. The app takes you beyond the paper's pages.
It's easy to use. Open the app, look for the Layar logo in an ad or a story and point your camera at the area indicated by the logo. Ensure the page or image you are directed to scan lies within the four white corner markers on your phone's screen. Hit the "scan" button and Layar's interactive buttons will appear on your screen. Tap on any of them to be taken to video, image carousels, Facebook pages, Twitter and more.
Layar is extremely versatile. If you can imagine it, Layar can do it.
"The technology's finally there to bring print to life, and more and more advertisers have digital content that can be Layared," said Brouwer.
Layar uses the natural components of your newspaper. Images, logos and icons can be invisibly tagged with Layar codes to allow the augmented reality components to appear instantly on readers' smartphones, making it cleaner for designers and easier for consumers to use.
Advertisers can make use of Layar in their print ads to run animated commercials and let readers buy their products with the touch of a screen. Layar bridges the gap between traditional newsprint and the evolving digital landscape.
"This will allow print to come to life," said Brouwer. "It's given us the ability to extend the story, to make the story more interesting, to turn a print ad into a video. It allows us to give readers and advertisers a lot more than they're getting today."
To join the more than 28 million people who have downloaded Layar, visit layar.com or your app store and start scanning your newspaper today.
