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Yoplait Greek taps augmented reality to help fight hunger

Yoplait Greek has rolled out an augmented reality advertising campaign that lets consumers help in the fight against hunger.

Consumers can download the Yoplait Greek4Good application to interact with their Yoplait Greek cups. Consumers in Chicago and New York will have the opportunity to use the app to view augmented reality experiences on billboards and other postings around their cities.

?The Greek yogurt segment grew largely in a grassroots manner, through word of mouth,? said Lauren Amira, associate marketing manager at Yoplait Greek, Minneapolis, MN.

?Behind that growth were a strong following of millennials,? she said. ?We wanted to appeal to this group in a way that was reflective of their values, and the values of Yoplait Greek through channels that were relevant to their lives.

?We created the Greek4Good app to help fight hunger in an innovative way.?

The Greek 4 Good campaign was developed and executed by Olson.

Mobile messages
To decode messages, users simply download the free Yoplait Greek app to their smartphone.

Then, consumers hold up their device to the Greek4Good image and watch as Greek letters translate to English and figures animate on screen.

For every message decoded using the app?s viewfinder, one point will be awarded to a Feeding America member food bank.

?Augmented reality was a great way to intrigue, surprise and delight our tech-savvy millennials, engaging them with our product and advertisements in a new way,? Ms. Amira said.

?Mobile augmented reality is not only a new area for Yoplait Greek but also for our parent company, General Mills,? she said.

Good cause
The program between Yoplait Greek and Feeding America will continue through Dec. 3.

The food bank with the most points awarded will receive a $25,000.

Additionally, consumers can track their point totals, in addition to locating food banks in their area and view point totals of the top user-selected food banks.

?In addition to on-the-street word-of-mouth, this initiative is relying heavily on social and mobile media platforms,? Ms. Amira said. ?We are also using our Yoplait Facebook page and Twitter account to engage our loyal fans on a daily basis and to encourage pass along.
 
?By using mobile tools, we are increasing opportunities to engage our consumers,? she said. ?We know our consumers are constantly on their smartphones using apps and social media, so it is a natural fit for us to better incorporate these tools and technologies.?

Final Take
Rimma Kats is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York