Commonwealth Bank of Australia has launched an 'augmented reality' press campaign to promote its mobile banking services.
The bank is running a series of ads in commuter freesheet MX that encourage readers to download an iPhone app that transforms the page into a 3-D interactive environment.
Upon download, users can point the camera of the phone at the page and discover an interactive 'neighbourhood' which they can navigate and explore through handset gestures and screen links.
The ad is being used to promote the bank's Property Guide iPhone app, which uses augmented reality technology to provide rich data - such as past sales history, current property listings and recent sales - to real estate properties when viewed through the handset camera.
Neighbouring bank WestPac is also promoting an innovative mobile app dubbed Impulse Saver, that enables customers to save denominations of their choice up to $50 at the click of a button.
The app is initially available in New Zealand from the App Store for iPhone, Wi-Fi enabled iPod Touch or iPad devices. Its launch follows a recent Westpac survey of more than 500 New Zealanders that showed Kiwis spend $16.1 million a day on impulse and less than half (49%) have a savings account.