GoldRun and Flavorpill Partner for Internet Week Secret Party Hunt

Posted on June 14, 2011 by thomaskcarpenter

NEW YORK, NEW YORK June 9, 2011– Flavorpill, known for curating the best cultural events in cities across the country, will launch their New York City Culture Hunt during the culmination of Internet Week New York. Part of Flavorpill’s social mission is to get people away from their computers and out exploring their city, and that’s precisely the intention behind their collaboration with GoldRun.

To participate in the NYC Culture Hunt campaign, users download the free GoldRun application from the Apple iTunes Store, and select the NYC Culture Hunt “run” to follow it.

The GoldRun campaign challenges Flavorpill readers to find and visit 10 of the most influential venues in New York City’s entertainment, arts, and education scene. Participants will visit each location, in teams of five, where they will capture an interactive virtual object using the GoldRun app. Capturing all 10 objects will lead players to a secret Flavorpill party, followed by an afterparty conceived by local artist collective, CHERYL.

“GoldRun was able to seamlessly tie into their promotion, adding a unique layer of engagement so participants could experience the event on a deeper level,” says Alex Poole, GoldRun’s Director of Strategy & Engagement. “We worked closely with Flavorpill to creatively integrate their partners into GoldRun’s built-in technology and create this dynamic experience.”

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Weekly Augmented Reality Linkfest

Posted on April 17, 2011 by rouli

It’s time again for the weekly linkfest, a collection of augmented reality news stories that I didn’t find the time to blog about during the past week:

This week’s video comes to us from Nokia Research, showing their indoor navigation solution. Coming from Nokia Research, one of the first bodies to look into mobile AR, this should be considered as no more than a teaser. It’s very cool and alluring with its 30cm accuracy, and its “where I put my keys” functionality, but not likely to be adopted anytime soon. Five years from now, Apple/Google will probably come with inferior solution which will be hugely successful. You can read more about the technology on GSM Arena.

Have a great week!

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Interactive Billboard with Feelings

Posted on April 13, 2011 by thomaskcarpenter

My favorite part of the billboard is that it’s made for when you’re stuck in traffic.  I’m thinking the billboard is going to be mostly sad.

Partnering with Tronic the billboard sits near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel and reads, ‘Today I’m Feeling _____’. Using a the GoldRun GPS augmented reality app, passerbys or drivers stuck in traffic can see if the billboard is happy or sad or, whether it feels like dancing or cheering on its favorite team.

Because the billboard is GPS tagged, a number of images can appear at the same site making it more interactive than typical augmented reality applications, essentially, taking a traditional billboard and making it digital. For example, users can change the feelings themselves using large-scale emoticons, and then post them to Facebook or Twitter.

This billboard is part of ADstruc’s ‘Billboards for Everyone’ campaign that partners with artists and designers to help promote creativity and innovation in the outdoor space.

ADstruc Interactive Billboard from TronicStudio on Vimeo.

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GoldRun Raises $1.0M to Expand Reach of Mobile AR

Posted on April 11, 2011 by thomaskcarpenter

* A year ago we were scanning the heavens waiting for VC manna.  Now it seems we have a blizzard.

NEW YORK NY April 11- GoldRun, a leading mobile augmented reality platform, has raised $1.1 million in angel funding. Participants in the round include Ed Mathias (The Carlyle Group), financier Jon Ledecky, Jeremy Zimmer (Founding Partner of United Talent Agency), Jim Hauslein (Former Chairman and CEO of Sunglass Hut), and Mark Ein (CEO of Venturehouse Group).

New York-based GoldRun will use the funding to develop a series of new user and client side feature sets that will greatly expand the range of programming and AR interactions on their platform. The funds will also support increased sales activities and accelerate the deployment of services across the U.S. and international markets. 2011 will see the introduction of GoldRun-hosted gaming, v-commerce and user generated content.

Comprised of a mobile app coupled with a dynamic content delivery system, GoldRun uses augmented reality to bring the visually-driven, content rich experiences of the web into the offline world. By GPS-linking 2D and 3D virtual goods to physical locations such as retail stores, airports and events, GoldRun enables users to locate, interact with and take pictures alongside virtual objects, and earn immediate, relevant real world rewards for every one of these interactions.

GoldRun launched November 1st, 2010 and has since worked with H&M, Airwalk, Young & Rubicam, Esquire, Barnes & Noble, Marc Ecko, Universal Pictures, A&E Network, Sorel, Interscope Records and Oklahoma University among others.

“GoldRun allows for a new form of communication where our digital and physical lives meet,” says founder/CEO Vivian Rosenthal. “We’ve already evolved beyond check-ins, making them visually-driven and image-based. With the integration of location and context, along with photo taking and sharing, we’ve set ourselves apart by creating a new virtual goods economy mapped onto the real world.”

As part of the financing, Ed Mathias and Jeremy Zimmer will join GoldRun’s board of directors; Greg Golkin and Evan Morgan will serve as board observers.

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Augmented Scavenger Hunt At Sundance Film Festival

Posted on January 25, 2011 by thomaskcarpenter

** These AR scavenger hunt games are fantastic.  I just wish they would make them where us common folk could play.

GoldRun, an augmented reality mobile application, is working with Sorel, a premium footwear brand, to turn Park City into a rewarding social media experience during the Sundance Film Festival. Consumers can embark on a virtual scavenger hunt through augmented reality, QR codes and Facebook to win some of the most popular boots from Sorel’s Fall 2010 collection, hats and more, including access to VIP areas in Park City during the Sundance Film Festival, January 20 -25.

Sorel has an exclusive partnership with GoldRun that will host the virtual scavenger hunt during the first six days of the festival. Ten virtual Sorel bears will be placed in high traffic areas around Park City. The GoldRun app, available free from the Apple iTunes store, lets people track down, interact with and collect the virtual Sorel bears. People who pose with the Sorel bear can email a picture via the GoldRun app for a chance to win Sorel boots, like the popular Joan of Arctic, for women, and the 1964 Premium, for men, access to VIP-only events, including Sorel happy hours, and cool prizes. Participants are encouraged to upload their photos from the festival to the Sorel Facebook page.

“In the past, our boots have been on the feet of celebrities and festival-goers, but this year we wanted to do something innovative and unexpected,” said Linda Reese, Sorel’s director of brand and marketing communications. “Working with GoldRun to place our virtual Sorel bear logo around town is a new and exciting way for us to interact with consumers.”

“Sponsorships are an essential part of effectively marketing a brand. It’s exciting to partner with Sorel to extend their promotional reach throughout Park City during the festival,” says GoldRun’s vice president of business development, Shai Rao. “GoldRun isn’t simply about bringing people to products. It’s just as effective in bringing products to people.”

Sorel has a dedicated Facebook tab with information about all of its activities during the festival, including opportunities for consumers who aren’t attending to get in on the action and win prizes. The virtual Sorel bear scavenger hunt and QR code contest runs from Jan. 20 through Jan. 25. For the official Sorel at Sundance contest rules, please visit http://sorelatsundance.com/contest_rules/.

About Sorel
For 50 years, Sorel boots have been engineered to provide outstanding warmth, comfort and durability in the most extreme cold-weather conditions. They have accompanied explorers to the North Pole and earned a legendary reputation among winter outdoor enthusiasts as well as those who work outdoors in harsh winter conditions. While the brand’s Caribou style remains a winter classic, Sorel now offers an exciting range of comfortable, luxurious, all-weather products that merge high-quality materials with outstanding design to produce durable, fashionable warmth. Sorel boots can be found in specialty outdoor stores, as well as upscale department and footwear stores around the world, reflecting growing appeal among discerning consumers who trek the most demanding urban jungles year-round. Sorel is a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear Company, based in Portland, Ore. For more information about Sorel, please visit http://www.sorel.com, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/sorel or @SorelFootwear on Twitter.

About GOLDRUN
Download the App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goldrun/id396800792?mt=8
GoldRun is a new augmented reality app that enables users to locate, interact with and take photos of GPS-linked virtual objects positioned in the real world. A powerful promotional tool tailored for the mobile environment, the app hosts AR-driven social media games, guides, virtual photo booths and loyalty programs designed to drive traffic to physical and online destinations, increase product sales, enhance brand engagement and bolster viral impact.

GoldRun users take pictures alongside virtual objects and can immediately post these photos to Facebook. By helping brands tap into this image sharing impulse, the app turns social networks into even more effective distribution channels as GoldRunners share images of themselves interacting with everything from scenes in blockbuster films, to iconic sports figures and the season’s must have fashion items.

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Goldrun Augmented Window Shopping

Posted on January 17, 2011 by thomaskcarpenter

This article is a contribution from Arvind Ramachandran, a second year MBA student at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta.

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The World Wide Web has become passé. Now I know that’s a big statement to make, but just hear me out. Nowadays, marketers around the world are tuned into the World Wide Web on an unprecedented scale. Most brands today have a website and significant presence on social media forums. The brands which don’t are fast playing a game of catch-up, with ever increasing contests, events and other forms of consumer engagement online. So, if most of the competition has already started occupying the digital space, then what next for marketers?

In steps augmented reality. Augmented reality (AR) platforms offer marketers the unique opportunity to enrich and enhance the consumer’s brand experience. It helps integrate the potential benefits offered by the internet with the consumer’s real environment. Sounds confusing? Let me explore this in a bit more detail.

Augmented reality, as the name suggests, attempts to augment or enhance your physical environment by adding computer generated input and content to the world around you. It would allow marketers to place virtual products, markers and other forms of brand promotion in the consumer’s environment. How would the consumer be able view this content? Generally, augmented reality projections can be viewed through head mounted displays, spatial displays or using handheld devices. Handheld devices are certainly the most convenient of the lot.

Now imagine being able to use the most ubiquitous handheld device of all, the mobile phone, to view augmented reality content. A host of AR platforms and mobile apps are now available which allow you to do just that. And going by how they are being used today, they may just be the next big thing in promotional campaigns.

One such campaign that I came across recently was carried out by fashion-retailer H&M in partnership with GoldRun (http://www.goldrungo.com), an AR platform startup. The mobile app allowed people to view and take pictures with virtual garments placed in their environment and in return, they were awarded with discounts and offers. A promotion of this nature holds immense potential as it takes consumer engagement to a new level and makes participation more exciting and enjoyable. And by allowing you to share your pictures and gifts on Facebook, these apps hold the potential to integrate your World Wide Web experience with your real environment and transform your world into one hyper-connected experience. Basically, you would be able to interact with virtual goods in real surroundings and then share your experience online in the digital space. Sounds cool, right?

The best part is, you can now become part of this experience, just at the touch of a button, by using these apps on your smart phone. Why is this important? For the same reason the World Wide Web and mobile phones have now become integral parts of your everyday life. Augmented reality platforms hold the potential to extend the benefits accrued from the internet to the user’s real world. With marketers cashing in on the opportunities presented by AR platforms, consumers would be provided with better options and thus benefit from promotional activities carried out in this space. Also, becoming part of this exciting new space would provide common folk like you and me with a chance to explore and become part of a truly unique augmented reality experience.

The possibilities and opportunities which the Augmented Reality space offers are limitless. And the fact that this unique experience is now available at the touch of a button, thanks to mobile AR apps like GoldRun, provides a truly compelling reason for you to engage and become part of the AR experience.

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