Ford Goes 3D With Mobile Ka Campaign

Ford of Europe is launching its first “3D interactive” mobile phone campaign through Wunderman, is for the new Ford Ka, and seeks to engage new young drivers and influence their choice of car.
The campaign is focused on stickers that look a bit like QR Codes, but aren’t. When a consumer points a cameraphone at one of the stickers, provided they have the right model, they see a mobile URL (gofindit.net) for a Ford Ka prelaunch site.
When they go to this site, users can see films and photos created for the campaign. They can also click on a link to go to another mobile site (fordka.mobi) from where they can download an application that enables them to see a 3D image of a Ford Ka when they launch the app and point their cameraphone at one of the stickers.
Wunderman says the 3D Ka is viewable on Nokia cameraphones released within the last two years, plus most Windows Mobile cameraphones. In fact, the fordka.mobi site  lists 21 models of Nokia phone that the app will run on.
The stickers that the phone needs to be pointed at in order to see the 3D Ka are contained in packs that are being given out to individuals who match the Ford Ka target audience in bars, clubs, universities and other venues. Experiential youth marketing firm Don’t Panic is handling the distribution of the packs.
The campaign will launch initially in the UK and roll out across Europe. Wunderman says it is the first mobile campaign by an automotive brand to use ‘augmented reality’. As Wunderman describes it, this is: “a field of computer research which deals with the combination of real-world and computer-generated data (virtual reality) where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time”.
“The people we want to attract look beyond the obvious to discover the hidden treasure and that’s the essence of the Ford Ka ‘Find It’ campaign,” says Ford Europe Small Car Communications Manager, Claire Hepworth. “Our augmented reality mobile campaign is a key component of the pre-launch activity ahead of the official launch in January 09.”
Perhaps the best way to fully understand the campaign is to check out the video here.