Budweiser strengthens FA Cup ties with Aurasma

Budweiser, to promote its sponsorship of the FA Cup, has updated its Man of the Match app to allow users to pose with a replica of the trophy by pointing their smartphone at a branded beer mat.

Budweiser Interactive is a new section within the app, powered by augmented reality technology Aurasma, and brings to life “anything from an advertisement in a match day programme to a beer mat”.

It tells users that they can “view vidoes and animations while still seeing the surrounding environment ahead of you – bringing physical and virtual worlds together”.

The Man of the Match app also allows users to vote for man of the match, browse fixtures and access match stats.

Beer mat marketing is a tried and tested method, largely by beer brands directly, that might seem old hat – but actually strengthens branding subtly in the very places where people spend large amounts on alcoholic beverages.

Bringing something interactive to this ambient form of marketing, seeded via a pre-existing app that provides useful information to users, is a great way to get people to create content in an environment where they’re receptive to it – and prone to random spouts of boredom.

The only thing missing here is clearer social links (and perhaps a better description within its App Store listing), perhaps with an incentive or competitive element wrapped in to further encourage people to upload their photos.

Aurasma is being used more and more by brands around the world to power interactive apps (we covered Net-A-Porter and Citadel's campaigns most recently), but there could be more direct ‘Post to Facebook’ links within Budweiser’s app to make the most of this.