The company is working with GoldRun on the mobile initiative. Users can participate by downloading the free GoldRun app and following the “GoldRun X Clutter Magazine Designer Toy Run” to participate.

“The campaign is incredibly effective,” said Vivian Rosenthal, CEO and president of GoldRun, New York. “Augmented reality is all about visuals and advertising is all about visuals.

“So rather than just rely on Twitter or foursquare to do a campaign about vinyl toys augmented reality an GoldRun lets us actually show the vinyl toys as virtual versions,” she said.

“GoldRun is using AR to connect the digital and physical worlds in totally new ones that opens up the possibilities of virtual commerce translating into real commerce.”

Clutter is a media source for Designer Toys.

GoldRun uses augmented reality to bring the visually-driven, content rich experiences of the Web into the offline world.

Mobile reality
Using the GoldRun app, users will see virtual representations of real life toys which were created by 30 acclaimed artists.

Participants can capture the virtual toys to gain points and compete against each other to win the real toys.

Additionally, users can photograph the virtual toys, collect points, and then whomever collects the most points for each toy wins that real toy.

“Over 30 artists that participated in the campaign are tweeting and using Facebook to spread the word,” Ms. Rosenthal said.

“Also, our partner Clutter Magazine is doing a big push to their fans,” she said.

Hunt for toys
The GoldRun X Clutter Magazine Designer Toy Run initiative will consist of three different types of runs all varying in geographic scope to maximize community gameplay.

The first is a globally available hunt and then a city-specific hunt in New York, London, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Finally there will be a location-specific hunt that will be deployed within three high-traffic locations throughout New York, London, San Francisco and Chicago.

The campaign will run through the course of six weeks and the toys will be rotated twice a week in the GoldRun app to optimize exposure for all 30 artists in participation and provide a well diverse selection of collectibles for those playing.

“GoldRun is a mobile platform so of course mobile is integral to our overall strategy which is about connecting brands and consumers in the mobile space in a fun, visually driven and interactive way,” Ms. Rosenthal said.

“We are moving beyond the check-in and providing a direct call to action to take photos of branded virtual goods and get rewards for doing so,” she said. “Those could be winning products, getting discounts, buying products.

“The rewards are flexible but we’re rewarding people for taking and sharing photos and becoming the ambassadors for the brands they like.”

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York