Snap Happy Mr Bean goes on holiday
First UK campaign for revolutionary mobile technology
[March 26th 2007] The launch of Working Title’s eagerly awaited movie ‘Mr
Bean’s Holiday’ heralds the first UK use of new mobile technology called
Snap Happy exclusively from marcomms agency Magnet Harlequin.
Following on from the success of the first Mr Bean movie that took $260 million
at the box office, this latest offering, which is the official film for Comic
Relief, follows the hilarious adventures of our accident prone hero as he
journey’s to the South of France
Magnet Harlequin’s mobile division, headed up by Scott Seaborn, has created Snap
Happy to offer brands a tactical marketing solution that unlocks the potential
of mobile technology. Universal will be the first brand to use the solution and
the campaign for Mr Bean’s holiday will appear on posters nationwide.
All the consumer needs to do when they see a Mr Bean poster with the special
Snap Happy logo is to take a picture of the poster using their mobile phone and
send it via MMS to Mr Bean’s special mobile number – 07786 200547. The Snap
Happy technology will automatically identify the type of phone they have and
then offer them the appropriate free ring tones, wallpaper or video, all
exclusively recorded by Mr Bean.
Picture recognition technology is a real break through for mobile marketing and
a valuable addition to the marketing mix. Unlike other technologies that use
barcodes or require the consumer to download an application, picture recognition
can be seamlessly incorporated into existing campaigns. The technology behind
Snap Happy uses an algorithm to match the consumer’s camera phone picture to the
promotional image logged on the database - even partial images taken in poor
light or at an angle will be recognisable.
Scott Seaborn puts the potential of this technology in context. “In the UK 40%
of brands 1 have already used text messaging which has been extremely
successful. WAP enabled mobile phones are the second most popular digital device
owned by Britons after the PC 2, so we know the potential for this kind of
activity is huge.”
Marketers can now enable print ads, POS, posters, packaging and even websites to
allow consumers to interact with their brands in real time. The Snap Happy
technology, with its real time reporting structure, could inspire a new
generation of media analytics. Magnet Harlequin are experimenting with coupling
this technology to GPS (satellite navigation) systems giving brands a true
picture of which advertisements are working best for them,
and where those ads are located geographically.
The Snap Happy campaign for Mr Bean’s Holiday will launch through
cinemas nationwide on 26th March.
1 Airwide Solutions (2006)
2 MDA, Nielsen/Net Ratings & bbc.co.uk (2006)
About Magnet Harlequin
Magnet Harlequin is a marketing communications and technology
agency. Our strength lies in our ability to get to the bottom of
the problems and issues that marketers (and businesses) have, and
in creating the right blend of technical and creative tools to
achieve practical and successful solutions to address these.
Magnet Harlequin began life nearly 30 years ago in creative
production. Ever since we have been developing technical tools
and thinking creatively to address our clients’ business and
communications issues. This heritage has provided us with an
innate ability to use the right blend of tools at the right time.
www.magharl.co.uk
