As magazine publishers we are well versed in bringing our covers and pages to life with all kinds of creative techniques. We’ve tried (with arguable and vastly varying degrees of success) pop-up and fold-out sections, fluorescent fifth colours, fake flaps, lenticulars, foils and so on but now there is another option: augmented reality.
Pioneered by American magazine publishers over the last few years and introduced to the UK a few months back by the ever-effervescent Grazia, AR is all about superimposing the virtual world over the real world or, in other words, enhancing the content on the page and bringing it vividly to life. With AR content, magazine readers get an awe-inspiring 3D experience by holding an AR page up to the webcam on their computer, which then triggers a 3D animation to be displayed above the page.
When we were looking to add that little something extra to our July issue of Focus all about ‘The Science of Fear’, AR gave us that edge. Readers of a certain disposition are already being scared witless by a 3D spider scuttling all over the cover. It’s a bit of frivolous fun, sure (and we make no apology for that), but inside the issue we have used AR to genuinely enhance the readers’ experience. For example, on page 49 you will not only be able to read a feature on what happens when two stars collide in the sky but also hold your copy up to your webcam when you’ll be able to watch a 5-minute, 3D annotated animation of what it looks like. Never before has someone been able to interact with such animation from the printed page.
Putting the issue together was not only a steep learning curve for us but also a creative joy. Nothing gets the office buzzing more than doing something new and innovative that makes everybody involved feel proud. Crucial to us was choosing the correct partner to help us bring our Focus vision to life. We chose Total Immersion, a global leader in AR technology, and they worked side-by-side with us throughout the process. They understood the Focus brand, the demands of its readers and what we wanted to achieve with our enhanced ‘Science of Fear’ issue. It was an endeavour that required input and collaboration from not only the Focus editorial team and Total Immersion but also our web and IT teams, the commercial teams and PR department.
Focus’ AR issue has an editorial agenda: it is there for our readers and because (no apology again) it’s cool. However, it is plain to see the advertising potential for such a powerful, innovative and interactive tool especially in this rich media world of iPads, eReaders, digital magazines and such like where advertisers are gearing themselves up to exploit all these new platforms. What’s interesting about AR is that it genuinely offers readers an enhanced experience of the magazine they love and the future of magazine publishing in this digital age might just depend on that.
About Focus
Focus is BBC Worldwide’s award-winning popular science and technology monthly. Leaving the science jargon in the lab, each issue brings readers in-depth features on science, technology and the future, covering everything from archaeology and astrophysics to geology and genetics, and the latest scientific breakthroughs with expert opinion on topical issues. It has a monthly circulation of 71,783 and is published by BBC Magazines Bristol.
