Shop Direct in push to link print to digital marketing

By Matthew Chapman, marketingmagazine.co.uk, Tuesday, 03 April 2012 09:45AM

Shop Direct aligning its print catalogue and burgeoning online business by integrating augmented reality into magazines to drive cross-platform engagement.

Shop Direct: pushes digital marketing

The retail group, which owns brands including Littlewoods, Very and isme, is building on its heritage in catalogue-based retailing by modernising magazines with technology provided by Aurasma.

It is trialling the technology with its first interactive editorial in the April edition of the Littlewoods.com bi-monthly magazine.

An image of celebrity interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen will initiate a behind-the-scenes video of the designer, which will introduce his range of homewares when a mobile device equipped with the Aurasma app is pointed at it.

After the trial, the retailer is planning to introduce augmented reality content across its entire brand portfolio.

Gareth Jones, group retail director at Shop Direct, said: "Bringing our printed publications to life with exclusive and interactive video content will help us to drive further cross-platform engagement with our brands and to increase traffic and conversion."

Follow Matthew Chapman at @mattchapmanUK

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk