A mobile promotion from British pub chain Wetherspoon and Bacardi has garnered 9,000 mobile downloads in its first six weeks and a 40 percent coupon redemption rate.

The campaign includes a mobile augmented reality application that enables users to find hidden food and drink offers on posters found around university campuses. The goal of the effort is to position Wetherspoon as the pub of choice for university students.

?Students are bombarded with paper flyers, tickets and vouchers, especially in the first few weeks of term which is when our campaign launched,? said London-based creative director of digital for OgilvyAction Greg McAlinden.

?We needed something that would cut through all of this,? he said. ?And, we know all the best nights out happen spontaneously, so we wanted to allow students to download the app and participate in the campaign right there and then.

?Happily that's exactly what they have done!?

Augmented experiences
Wetherspoon wanted to create a n engaging way for students to be able access food and drink offers via their mobile phones.

To accomplish this, symbols were placed around university campuses on posters and other marketing materials. The offers could also be found on stickers and bar mats at participating Wetherspoon pubs.

Students were encouraged to download the Unlock You Night @Wetherspoon app so they could hold their phones in front of the symbols and unlock offers hidden behind. Students who did so received a coupon that could be redeemed at the pub.

Thanks to the use of augmented reality, the posters spin and move around when viewed on a mobile phone using the app.

App users could also attach photos of themselves to items in the bar and send them to friends who could unlock the content using the app.

Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands and Wetherspoon launched the promotion at 280 pub locations on September 12 . It garnered 9,000 mobile downloads, 34,000 coupon downloads and a coupon redemption rate of around 40 percent in its first six weeks.

The app is available for iPhone and Android.

The use of augmented reality is key to the success of the effort so far, per Mr. McAlinden.

?The work centers around a mobile app that allows users to download digital content from symbols on real world posters, beer mats, t shirts and badges, but the really interesting bit for us is the secondary function - the ability to do the same in reverse - post and tag digital content to real-life stuff,? Mr. McAlinden said.

?That means the app lives beyond the confines of Wetherspoon pubs and gives students a chance to do the things they already do -- i.e. post pictures and videos -- but share them in new ways,? he said. ?The potential for this app is only limited by their own creativity. ?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York