The Freya Heartbeats campaign encourages customers to submit their favorite romantic songs to the Freya playlist on Spotify with the end goal of driving retail sales. Using the Aurasma smartphone app, users can scan in-store cards and posters to view behind-the-scenes content from Freya’s latest photo shoot and enter the contest.

“Mobile is an integral part of the Heartbeats campaign,” said Ann-Marie Manley, head of marketing at Freya, Northamptonshire, Britain.

“Our advertising is targeted at mobile users by using the augmented reality app, and also by having a mobile-optimized entry page specifically for the competition,” she said.

“The mobile entries are currently matching our Web entries which show how necessary it is to have mobile technology in campaigns.”

Embracing innovative technology
The campaign is supported in-store with in-store POS including bags, swing tags and packing tissue paper.

Freya, which offers a wide selection of lingerie, swimwear and sports bras for women with larger cup sizes, is also promoting the Valentine’s campaign online, via social channels and in national fashion press, including such titles as Glamour, Grazia and Stylist.

“Freya is a very fashion-forward brand and we like to constantly push the boundaries and embrace innovative technology and media in our campaigns in order to achieve market stand out,” Ms. Manley said.

“We regard our Freya fans as being very online savvy and they respond well to music,” she said.

“We have previously run campaigns which have used QR code technology, which worked really well for us, and it made sense for Augmented Reality to be the next step.”

Driving retail sales
All print ads for the effort include an augmented reality feature, enabling readers to scan the image once they have downloaded the free Aurasma app on their smartphone. Once they do, they can access Freya’s Spring/Summer 13 campaign behind-the-scenes video and enter the contest.

The campaign is also running on Facebook and on Spotify.

There has been a noticeable uptick in the number of augmented reality campaigns over the past few months as merchants and brands look to make mobile a bigger part of their marketing strategies.

For example, Kraft Foods is driving brand engagement by enabling grocery shoppers in Britain to point their smartphones at a tub of Philadelphia Cream Cheese and unlock an augmented reality experience that includes recipes and other content (see story).  

Freya’s goals for the campaign include driving retail sales.

“Freya is a bold and energetic brand dedicated to comfort and style, and its exciting ad campaigns are designed to get noticed,” said Lauren Offers, head of global marketing at Aurasma.

“With Aurasma’s augmented reality browser, Freya’s advertisements are only the beginning to a richer more visually compelling story,” she said. “The AR-powered print campaign is giving shoppers what they want – immediate access to a remarkable mobile experience with exclusive – and rewarding – digital content.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York