Category: Emerging Technology

Marie Claire: Print Pages You Can Tap to Buy

Enabling readers to buy directly from magazines or newspapers is slowly going to become the industry standard, as revenues from print continue to slip.

Last year Ikea re-imagined their catalog via a special visual recognition app that brought its pages and offerings within to life. Now Marie Claire has taken it one step further by letting their readers use the Netpage app to interact with its printed pages, clip, save, share, watch and buy.

The Netpage app is described as using a combination of image recognition, augmented reality and digital twin technology. Hence no special codes, watermarks or special printing processes are required. In this context, “digital twin” is used to describe a digital counterpart of each page that can be recognized and linked to interactive layers.

Shoppable print, without QR code clutter

Shoppable print is the fusion of editorial content and commerce, where a reader can move from “I want that” to checkout directly from the page. The key difference here is interaction that is designed to feel native to reading. Not bolted on as a separate scanning ritual.

Why this matters for magazines and brands

Once print becomes tappable, the page stops being an endpoint. It becomes a trigger for a whole set of actions, saving for later, sharing with friends, watching richer product context, and buying immediately.

That shift reframes the business model. The magazine is no longer only monetized by ads and subscriptions. It can also participate in the transaction path.

What to steal if you publish or sell through content

  • Design interaction as a reading behavior, quick actions that fit the moment, not a separate “tech demo.”
  • Reduce visual noise, if recognition can be invisible, the page stays premium.
  • Offer multiple intent paths, not everyone wants to buy now, but they might save, share, or watch.
  • Make the jump from inspiration to action short, the fewer steps, the more commerce you unlock.

The future is all about content being fused with commerce so that it’s a quick step from reading about an item to buying it. So get ready!

A few fast answers before you act

What does “interactive print” mean here?

It means a printed page can be recognized by a phone app and instantly connected to digital actions like clipping, saving, sharing, watching content, and buying.

How is this different from QR codes?

The interaction is designed to be code-free on the page. The recognition layer is meant to feel invisible, so the magazine layout stays clean.

What is the core value for readers?

Convenience. Readers can act on interest immediately, whether that means saving an item, sharing it, or purchasing it, without leaving the content context.

What is the core value for publishers?

A measurable engagement layer and a commerce path. Pages can generate trackable actions and potentially incremental revenue beyond print ads.

What is the biggest adoption risk?

Habit change. If the scanning flow feels slow or unclear, people will not repeat it. The first experience must be fast, obvious, and rewarding.

Omote 3D: The 3D Printing Photo Booth

Ever wanted a life-like miniature action figure of yourself. Not a cartoon avatar, but a small, physical replica you can hold in your hand.

Omote 3D makes that possible by setting up what is billed as the world’s first 3D printing photo booth for a limited time at the Eye of Gyre exhibition space in Harajuku, Japan.

From November 24 through January 14, 2013, people with reservations can have their bodies scanned into a computer. Then, instead of a photograph, they receive miniature replicas of themselves.

The miniature replicas are available in three sizes. S (10cm), M (15cm) and L (20cm) for US$264, US$402 and US$528, respectively.

In consumer experiences where attention is scarce and products are increasingly interchangeable, turning personalization into a tangible object is a reliable way to earn talk value and remembrance.

Why this “photo booth” feels like a shift

The mechanism is the message. A booth that normally captures a flat memory instead captures a 3D dataset, then materializes it into a keepsake. The output is not content you scroll past. It is content you place on a shelf.

Definition-tightening: this is not 3D “photography” in the traditional sense. It is full-body 3D scanning plus full-color 3D printing, packaged in a familiar photo booth ritual.

What makes it work as an exhibition idea

The booth turns the visitor into the exhibit. It also turns waiting and anticipation into part of the experience, because the “print” is a manufactured object, not an instant print strip. That shift makes the end result feel earned and premium.

What to steal if you build brand experiences

  • Use a familiar ritual as the wrapper. “Photo booth” is instantly understood, even when the technology is new.
  • Make the output physical. Physical artifacts extend the campaign life long after the pop-up closes.
  • Price by meaning, not by material. People pay for identity and memory, not for plastic and ink.
  • Gate with reservations when demand is the story. Scarcity plus scheduling can reinforce that this is special.

Additionally click here to see how Polskie Radio in Poland has used 3D printing technology to market their website.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Omote 3D’s 3D printing photo booth?

It is a pop-up booth that scans your body in 3D, then produces a full-color miniature figure of you instead of a standard photo print.

Why call it a “photo booth” if it prints a figure?

Because it borrows the familiar booth ritual. You step in, you get captured, and you leave with a keepsake. The technology changes, but the mental model stays simple.

How is the miniature created?

Your body is scanned into a 3D model, then the final figure is manufactured via 3D printing in full color and finished as a physical object.

What sizes are offered and what do they cost?

Three sizes are offered. 10cm, 15cm, and 20cm. The listed prices are US$264, US$402, and US$528, respectively.

What is the marketing lesson for brands?

Personalization becomes more valuable when it becomes tangible. A physical output turns novelty tech into an object people keep, show, and talk about.

Strongbow Gold: StartCap Bottle Top

Strongbow Gold is testing what is being billed as the world’s first digitally enabled bottle top. Trigger it, and the bottle top activates a surprise designed to make the night feel more refreshing, more unexpected and more exciting.

For its first public appearance, the Strongbow Gold team rigged an entire bar in central Budapest with RFID readers, antennas and wires. Then during the night, StartCap triggered a string of memorable activations.

A bottle that behaves like a remote control

The core mechanism is packaging as a trigger. An RFID element in the cap signals nearby readers when the bottle is opened, and that signal kicks off a pre-set sequence in the environment, lights, music, props, anything the system is wired to control.

In European FMCG brand launches, connected packaging is a direct way to turn a product claim into a lived experience because the consumer action, opening the bottle, becomes the start button for the story.

Why this lands in a bar context

Bars already run on anticipation. People are there for the next moment. StartCap simply makes that “next moment” programmable, and ties it to the brand in a way that feels earned rather than announced.

It also builds social energy without forcing “sharing” prompts. When something unexpected happens in a shared space, people naturally look up, react, and talk. The product becomes the cause of the reaction.

What the brand is really proving

This is less about a new cap and more about a new role for the brand. Strongbow Gold positions itself as the catalyst for a better night out, not just a drink choice. The technology is the proof device that makes that positioning tangible.

What to steal for your next connected-packaging idea

  • Make the trigger unavoidable. Opening, pouring, unwrapping. The action must be natural.
  • Design for surprise, not complexity. One clean signal, one clear payoff, then scale the choreography.
  • Use the environment as media. If the space reacts, you earn attention without buying more screens.
  • Keep it safe and reliable. In live venues, failure is public. Redundancy matters.

A few fast answers before you act

What is StartCap in one sentence?

A digitally connected bottle top that uses RFID to trigger events in the surrounding environment when the bottle is opened.

Why is packaging-triggered tech so effective?

Because it links the brand to a physical action the consumer already performs. The experience starts at the product, not at an ad.

What is the biggest risk with “connected bar” activations?

Operational fragility. If sensors misread, activations lag, or the venue is too noisy to notice outcomes, the magic disappears.

Does this need a smartphone app to work?

Not necessarily. This model can be environment-driven. The venue infrastructure can detect the trigger and run the experience without asking the guest to install anything.

What should be measured to judge success?

Participation rate, repeat triggers per guest, dwell and sentiment in the venue, plus any post-event lift in brand consideration and trial.