You can give new life to your Newspapers with AR. Since we all saw the first film of Harry Potter, back in 2001, we all imagined how it could have been to have the first page of our favorite newspaper moving, having life and maybe showing you exactly what you want to see. Well, thanks to the “magic” of Augmented Reality, this is now finally possible.
Of course, the AR “magic” can be activated only using a digital “wand” such as our everyday smartphone or tablet. The process itself is quite easy: using a mobile device, the AR app recognises the target image and lets you see the “magic” appear, watching the photo or the article coming to life through your device.
Why you should give new life to your Newspaper using AR
To increase the engagement and therefore sales
New generations tend to use printed products less, especially newspapers, since they now grow up surrounded by technology tools in every step of their lives. Younger generations, indeed, may find printed products slower, less updated and less engaging, simply because of a lack of interactivity that digital products instead offer constantly. It is known, now, that digital is taking over print more and more every year. Using AR, though, the interactivity aspect is fully filled, giving to the readers an enhanced engagement with the content.
To have an updated Newspaper with open information
If printed products are well known for their static nature, the use of AR can mutate this aspect too. When a newspaper is published, the information on it cannot be changed or updated and sometimes, when published, the news is already old. AR can resolve (or evolve) this feature by adding, for example, a link to the news to make the readers be able to stay updated about the developments of that particular news.
The article in the newspaper could also be only a fragment of the news and by using AR, the reader could have the chance to see more about that news, with deeper investigations by way of videos, updated articles, more photos and so on…
To make readers “hear” the Article
Everyone happens to be so busy that there is no time to read a full article, so think: “what if I could listen to it on my way to work?”. Well, with AR this is possible. Connecting the reader’s smartphone to the newspaper, the reader might be able to listen to the article or every other content present in the newspaper. Moreover, it is important to say that not only it is something that can help busy or lazy people, but also the ones who have sight problems and find it difficult to read a normal newspaper article.
To share a deeper knowledge thanks to the Three-dimensionality
The AR Three-dimensionality is definitely one of the main aspects that give new life to your Newspaper. The adoption of AR in newspapers can also help the reader to better understand specific graphic content thanks to the transformation of those in 3D models, perfectly seen in the mobile device. For instance, it is possible to have a full 3D view of a photo or an object present in the newspaper, by simply scanning it on the mobile device and looking at it from every angle.
To create active readers
Using AR in the newspaper might also mean being an active reader and making real contributions in the collection of the news. It might be possible, indeed, for the readers to add their own information, creating a sort of open source newspaper where everyone can add comments, integrate information and maybe share footage of what happened in that article. That could even help the journalists who are looking for deeper information and make the reader feel like an active helper in the newspaper and raise in him the willingness to read the next page, the next day and the day after and the day after that…
The worlds of information and publishing are more and more going through a digitalization path and the adoption of AR could integrate the print product with the digital, creative a more tangible, immersive and innovative way of making information.
