Google is trialling UK print ads, which can direct users to a brand’s mobile site using its Google Goggles function, with brands including Buick, Diageo and Disney.
The print ads will run with a specific Google Goggles logo, and can be photographed via the image search function to return a link that directs users to the relevant product’s mobile site.
The project is still in its trial phase and is being conducted to better understand the relationship between on- and offline media consumption via mobile phones.
Amanda Rosenberg, Google’s business development manager for mobile, EMEA, explained the trial while speaking at a Mobile Marketing Association event this morning. “We’re interested in where mobile’s at within the purchase funnel,” she said. “We’re testing it out in the UK right now and just seeing what the results are like.”
The ad formats, which could be seen as a rival to QR codes, are being trialled with UK advertisers, including Buick, Disney and Diageo, following earlier trials in the US, in which HTC participated.
During the presentation, Rosenberg also demonstrated print ads that can direct users to relevant product sites via a smartphone’s NFC capabilities, a function she termed as “tap to search”.
