JCDecaux USnap: the effective way to provide extra content

U snap is a smartphone app (iPhone and Android) based on image recognition technology, which enables advertisers to provide digital content directly to the consumer’s phone from a poster. This integration of mobile marketing into Outdoor advertising is pushing the boundaries of the medium and opening up new opportunities for advertisers. It is the opportunity for brands to create a new relationship with consumers by turning each JCDecaux Street Furniture unit into an interactive meeting point. How does it work? A user downloads the application free of charge from the Apple Store and once launched, the user can take a picture of a poster, which will be immediately recognised by the application. The user is then automatically redirected to the content provided by the advertiser, be it information about a new product, discount vouchers or videos.     Lancôme was the first advertiser to utilise U snap with its campaign for L’Absolu Rouge. Once the poster was 'snapped,' users were offered a wide range of high quality digital content: from the introduction of a new collection of lipsticks to advice given by the in-house make-up artist. Since October 2010, there have been 80,000 U snap app downloads and over 400 campaigns. U snap is available in France, Germany, Hong Kong ("U tie") and China. "...[U snap] enables us to reach the growing number of smartphone users to achieve the greatest efficiency in communications..." Ms. Angela Yam, Head of Branding, Marketing and Communication at Ageas Insurance Company (Asia) Limited.