ELLE, the fashion magazine brand in the world, and HuffPost RYOT, one of the most prolific virtual reality and 360° content studios, have partnered to create an augmented reality (AR) experience that brings ELLE’s Women in Hollywood to life for readers. Utilizing HuffPost RYOT and Verizon’s proprietary AR/VR/360 platform, Envrmnt, through the ELLENow app, readers get an immersive content experience by hovering a mobile device over any one of ELLE’s eight November covers to view an exclusive video interview featuring Kristen Stewart, Lupita Nyong’o, Amy Adams, Anna Kendrick, Aja Naomi King, Felicity Jones, Helen Mirren, and Kathy Bates that comes to life within the frame of the magazine cover.
ELLE is the first Hearst Magazines brand to partner with HuffPost RYOT, with more brands scheduled for 2016 and 2017. ELLE and HuffPost RYOT share a drive towards innovation and creative storytelling, and the November AR covers deepen the magazine media experience, increasing engagement. By embedding Envrmnt inside the ELLENow app, readers stay seamlessly within the brand, rather than use a third-party app to activate the AR. AR functionality on the ELLENow app currently supports Apple devices, with Android coming soon.
„This is one of our biggest, most important issues of the year, and we are always looking to take it further. This partnership gives our readers dynamic bonus content that they can’t find anywhere else,” Robbie Myers, editor-in-chief of ELLE, said. „Technology’s effect on fashion is fascinating to me and to our readers – we cover it and the women who are innovating in the field in every issue, and in our annual Women in Technology issue. Film is a medium our Women in Hollywood honorees have mastered, and augmented reality is the perfect way to further celebrate their collective genius.”
„ELLE is a first-mover in so many ways – it was the first to use beacon technology to drive to retail, and in fact, it was the first fashion magazine to launch a website years ago,” Michael Clinton, Hearst Magazines president of marketing and publishing director, said. „RYOT’s ability to power augmented reality through our owned-and-operated app opens up so many possibilities, and we’re looking forward to collaborating with RYOT on more of the brands in our portfolio, and to bring the opportunities to our marketing partners as well.”
„Augmented reality will radically transform nearly everything around us. It’s just a matter of time,” said Bryn Mooser, CEO and co-Founder of RYOT. „We couldn’t be more excited to harness the momentum of this platform shift together with Hearst Magazines, to help write the future of editorial and advertising together.”
„We’re proud that Hearst Magazines is leveraging Envrmnt for this integration,” said Christian Egeler, Verizon Labs head of product development for VR/AR. „Envrmnt’s streaming capability provides the best-in-class functionality to blend print and digital media, bringing ELLE’s cover to life.”
