Monday, August 13, 2012

Budweiser, Kevin Harvick, and Blippar

Have you heard about Blippar? I hadn’t. However, when Budweiser and NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick announced a partnership with the innovative augmented reality app; NASCAR Race Mom (NRM) had to check Blippar out. I am super happy I did!



First off, what is Blippar?

Blippar is a FREE magic ‘lens’ which uses your device's camera to 'blipp' and instantly unlock the world around you with exclusive information, entertainment and virtual experiences. ‘Blipp’ any real world item carrying the 'blipp' instruction – such as magazines, newspapers, billboards, travel cards, logos or even grocery products. By simply holding your phone up in blippar mode to look at the image, it will magically jump to life with an exclusive content experience.

Budweiser racing and NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick go into high gear as they team up with Blippar (which is based in London) for their U.S. launch.

For the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, when fans view the Budweiser logo through the Blippar app on a mobile device, a vivid new world will appear and give fans the chance to take their picture with Sprint Cup Chase Contender Harvick and enjoy other interactive material and behind-the-scenes videos. Fans also will be able to interact with the Budweiser logo on beer cans, packaging, posters and images on the internet!

The first thing NASCAR Race Mom did was to download and install the Blippar app on my iPad. Then it was very simple to open the app and point it at a Blippar’d ad. Unlike the more familiar QR codes, the whole ad became a response mechanism; so just pointing it in the general direction of the ad worked.

I blippar’d the Budweiser/#29 Harvick graphic above, at the beginning of this article.


It was really easy and a fun interactive experience. Besides viewing several neat videos, I used the photo app to take the photo below, of Kevin Harvick and NASCAR Race Mom in the snow.


I believe that Blippar will be very popular in the near future. Be sure to download blippar to your device and use it on the ad at the beginning of this post to see it come alive on your device. Then you can share this new technology with your friends. You will surely impress them when you blip your bottle of Budweiser!

The video below will show you how to Blip a Budweiser Blippable Image:




For more information, you can like Blippar on Facebook; follow them on twitter @blippar and/or go to their website.


ABOUT BUDWEISER RACING: As 2012 kicks off with Kevin Harvick at the wheel of the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet, the King of Beers will celebrate 30 seasons as a primary sponsor at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) level earning one championship, 56 race wins, 43 pole awards, 278 top five and 472 top-10 finishes. The partnership with Kevin Harvick began in August 2010 when Budweiser announced that the King of Beers had partnered with the Richard Childress Racing team and driver Kevin Harvick to field the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet starting with the 2011 NSCS season. 

ABOUT KEVIN HARVICK: Kevin Harvick is a top NASCAR driver and has accrued many victories under his belt. 2012 marks Kevin Harvick’s 12th season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 394 starts, 18 wins, five poles, 86 top-five and 174 top-10 finishes. He is also one of 21 drivers to have won a race in each of NASCAR’s national series (Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series). As of 2010, he began driving the No. 29 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. 

ABOUT BLIPPAR: Launched in the UK in the summer of 2011, Blippar is the first image-recognition phone app aimed at bringing the real world into a world of exciting augmented reality experience, instantaneous content and digital discovery. Users can “blipp” real world items – such as newspapers, magazines, products, posters, online images – to bring them to virtual life with overlaid digital information, videos, games or interactive experiences. Blippar is starting their US debut this Summer 2012 partnering with clients like Budweiser, Maybelline and Justin Bieber.


2 comments:

PitMomWV said...

Thanks for sharing. It looks like a really cool app. I have android so will have to wait until avail. Hopefully soon! I want a puc w/Harvick! :>)

NASCAR Race Mom said...

PitMomWV - you can download Blippar for Android now:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blippar.ar.android&hl=en