[April 17, 2013] Nellymoser Reports on Print-to-Mobile Emergence of Image Recognition and Augmented Reality in 2012 Tweet Apr 17, 2013 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- Mobile activation in the Top 100 U.S. magazines has dramatically changed from 2011 to 2012. Several patterns have emerged, notably the increasing popularity of issue-wide mobile programs and magazine branded scanning apps, particularly those leveraging augmented reality, image recognition, and invisible watermarking technology, reports Nellymoser. Over the last two years that Nellymoser has tracked the use of print to digital content in magazines, the company noted, there has been overwhelming growth in mobile activations used in both editorial and advertising content. This initiative was designed to amass the most comprehensive picture of how mobile is being deployed in the U.S. magazine market. Every page was examined, every mobile enhancement was launched, and the data was collected on both advertising and editorial pages. Nellymoser noted they use this data for both industry-wide benchmarking and to inform the design and implementation of print to digital experiences. According to a release, some of the results include: -Number of mobile experiences has risen to 8,448 mobile activations in 2012 with Q1 at 1,472 and Q4 rising to 2,252, over 150 percent growth -In September of 2012, typically a special issue month, total activations peaked at 1,312 for the year -Image-based activation, driven by either invisible watermarks or image recognition, represented just under 20 percent of all activations -Augmented reality for the first time has become a strong presence, comprising almost 10 percent of all mobile activation points -Magazine-specific scanning apps, such as those published by Lucky, Seventeen, GQ, Teen Vogue, Brides, Popular Science, and Maxim, were released by 12 percent of the Top 100 -Although advertisers are actively driving the use of interactive experiences across print and cross channel to tablets, the exciting development tracked in the study is the growth of editorial engagement, creating more interactive experiences for the reader "2012 was a watershed year for mobile activated print. Close to 20 percent of all activations were image-based. This represents a significant shift from code-based activation (e.g. QR codes) to image-based activation," stated John Puterbaugh, Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer Nellymoser. "We expect this year over year growth to continue, fueled by the unique opportunity for editors to connect their print and digital content and engage readers via mobile." Nellymoser creates mobile companion apps and cross-media campaigns. More Information: www.nellymoser.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]