How can Metro News Canada
use augmented reality to engage its audience?

Marketing, Innovation, Technology
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The Challenge

Metro is challenging students to apply creative thinking to a new frontier in the publishing world – augmented reality. They’re looking for the Big Idea that will resonate with their Millenial audience – and reflect the Metro brand personality: smart, urban, tech-savvy, opinionated, in-the-know.

Your winning submission could net you a $500 Future Shop gift certificate and be implemented in all 10 Metro markets!

The Question

How can Metro use augmented reality to engage its audience?

Metro AR represents the first time a newspaper has developed a custom, native solution for bringing augmented reality to their product. What makes AR particularly interesting is that while it represents storytelling through the lens of mobile devices today – it is a precursor to how news and information will be distributed in the near future – whether through wearables like Google Glass or windshields on vehicles or some other iteration that has yet to come to market.

What Metro is looking for

Metro is looking for a compelling and innovative way to use their new Augmented Reality (AR) technology (embedded in their app) to bridge the paper and digital worlds in an always on/always visible environment.

Metro will be assessing your submission based on four major criteria:

Is it creative?

Does it have popularity potential?

Is it shareable?

Is it audience-relevant?

Though there are many simple, fun ideas for incorporating AR into print, Metro is looking for something new and significant.

The winning submission for this Challenge will connect with Metro's audience and usher in a new way of engaging with print and digital media.

Your submission should be compelling – but you'll also have to identify a real need it can address in a significant way.

Getting started

Begin with some thorough research.

Explore how Metro and other print publications have begun to use AR. What are these groups doing well? Are there any areas for AR application that they're overlooking? Most importantly, what needs are they trying to address?

Next, get a feel for the tools at hand.

Download the Metro app at https://metronews.ca/mobile and use it to interact with a Metro AR content piece – they carry the AR logo. What do you like about this experience? What would you improve, and how?

The best way to come up with a game-changing idea is to understand the needs of Metro's audience and identify an area where AR can provide a real benefit.

Make sure you know which need you want to address before you start planning your submission.

Ready to get cracking?

Click "Register" to accept the Challenge!