How VISUA powered augmented reality for Heineken and James Bond

On September 22nd 2015  LogoGrab (now VISUA) exclusively launched the world’s first-ever global Augmented Reality campaign for one of the world’s largest beer brands.

Powered exclusively by LogoGrab, Heineken launched the digital campaign simultaneously across 55 countries around the world. The aim was to boost engagement through digital innovation and sell hundreds of millions of cases of James Bond-branded Heineken around the world.

By deploying LogoGrab’s seamless logo recognition and Augmented Reality technology, Heineken was able to create a 100% pure, end-to-end brand experience. Giving their consumers and fans a chance to unlock secret, behind-the-scenes footage from SPECTRE, the latest James Bond film, simply by “grabbing” the logo on limited-edition Heineken packaging which was created exclusively for the campaign.

LogoGrab’s unique technology means that no app download is required, ensuring that there is no longer a blip in the brand experience. This means that consumers, shoppers, and fans are taken on a truly authentic brand experience, from start to finish, all from a single grab of the brand’s logo.

A recent study by Similarweb in the US showed that, for every 1,000 apps downloaded, only five people continue to use the app after 30 days. In the UK, statistics are even less favourable: only 1.5 people hold onto the app after 30 days.

Not only can apps have a very short shelf life – they are typically very restrictive in terms of use.

Where the mobile website offers immediacy to your customers, making things instantly possible to view or connect with, downloading and installing an app creates a significant barrier between the brand and consumer engagement.

Heineken is known for the creation of the ‘full brand experience’: witness their Heineken Experience ‘brand home’ in Amsterdam, or the many award-winning TV commercials from recent years. Heineken knew that the customer experience needed to come across strongly in the latest Augmented Reality campaign, so that’s why they chose LogoGrab.

Today, VISUA offers fast, seamless, and precise technology which allows consumers to effectively connect with the brand, without the undesirable interruption of downloading an app. The campaign ran in over 55 countries worldwide, including the key ‘giants’: USA, India, China and Russia.

The USA was one of the first countries to launch the Heineken/SPECTRE campaign. In partnership with Fandango, Heineken offers participants a ‘1 in 007’ chance to win tickets to see the movie. This is important: strong, appealing rewards such as this are proven to greatly increase buy-in and engagement from consumers.

By 2020, the combined Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality market is projected to reach $150 billion. Augmented Reality will become a crucial part of brand marketing. Just as social media is embedded today, consumers in future will expect to engage and participate via Augmented Reality.

The most switched-on brands will get on board now – and get it right – so that they can offer their consumers a complete, end-to-end and multi-channel, brand experience.