Commonwealth Bank fully 'augments' its determination

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 29 March 2011 13:30

Your IT - Home IT

Determined to be different is the Commonwealth Bank's slogan, with the company having ditched the memorable 'let's offend Americans' campaign, switching now to augmenting your reality instead!

Following the launch of the Commonwealth Bank's rather impressive new flagship branch in Brisbane, combining the good looks of an Apple Store with the feel of a 7-star hotel lobby complete with concierges ready to help you with any need, the Commonwealth Bank is now going into the augmentation business.

Sure, plenty of customers will already be familiar with the wealth augmentation effects of interest, but it's another kind of reality that CommBank wants to augment, with a full page ad in the mX newspapers to 'bring life to a virtual world'.

Claiming a 'worldwide industry first', the CommBank says it ran a 'mobile-driven, augmented reality (AR) advertisement in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane mX titles on Monday'.

This 'AR advertisement' will also run 'across a number of News Limited titles this Sunday; Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Herald Sun, Sunday Times and Sunday Mail Brisbane and Adelaide.'

But how do you do augmented reality in the flat 2D dimensions of a page of newspaper?

The answer is via a 'CommBank 3D reader app', which then lets you 'access the full features of the ad'. The app lets you access 'Cherryford Hill, a 3D virtual town where users can interact, move around and experience the features of the multi award-winning CommBank Property Guide app.'

It's also a 3D ad, which the CommBank says 'represents a giant leap forward in AR technology, being the first time multiple markers have been used to trigger the 3D experience, previous applications have only ever used a single marker.  The benefits of which include greater interaction with the characters and features of Cherryford Hill.'

CommBank says it is blending 'traditional press advertising to engage and digitally interact with upwardly mobile readers' which 'leads to a true one-on-one consumer experience.'

The CommBank's General Manager of Consumer Marketing, Mr Mark Murray, celebrated the 'new format advertising [which] sets a benchmark in the industry.'

Mr Murray said 'We are constantly looking for ways to better engage with our customers and ensure they have a positive experience with our brand.

'The augmented reality press advertisement is an interactive way to communicate the benefits of the CommBank Property Guide app to the customer, and we will continue to explore the convergence of traditional and digital marketing channels in the future.

'The recent success of the Commonwealth Bank Property Guide app at the AIMIA awards further demonstrates our position as industry leaders.  Our aim is to make it simpler and easier for our customers to deal with us, by using the latest technology and innovation', concluded the marketing-minded Mr Murray.

As is the case with most banks, the CommBank has won 'numerous accolades and awards', including 'The Grand Prix - Best of the Best'.

So, if the reality of interest being augmented in your account on a daily basis isn't enough, and you want to travel into a virtual world to have your reality augmented even further, look out for those News Ltd papers this weekend and take a trip through Cherryford Hill for a virtual thrill!