H&M / GOLDRUN

As 200 people queued outside H&M on London's Regent Street to snaffle items from the new Lanvin for H&M, designed by Alber Elbaz and released on 23 November, other shoppers are finding a more playful way to look at H&M's collections.

Earlier this month GoldRun a free iPhone app, was launched which allows retailers to create trails or 'Runs' and seed them with virtual augmented reality goods.

When users collect all the goods, they can be eligible for a special promotional item. Shoppers can also try on outfits virtually and post images to Facebook to create personalised look books.

The app launched with a partnership with retailer H&M and CondeNast's Style.com: fans could collect virtual items around the company's Manhattan locations, snap a picture of them and receive a 10% discount off their next purchase.

Contagious interviewed Shailesh Rao VP, creative, GoldRun, Vivian Rosenthal, CEO and Daniel Crowder, chief innovation officer, to find out more about how the new app works and its potential beyond retail.

Can you explain about the idea and aims behind GoldRun?

SR / GoldRun is not about honing in on one technical feature, but providing a highly flexible and easy to use system, for clients and end users, that inspires people to create a variety of cool, compelling and really just fun experiences that bridge virtual and physical space.

How did the partnerships with H&M and Conde Nast develop?

VR / We made a deliberate decision to integrate the brand experience with what users want: customisation based on their preferences, relevant user rewards, content that means something to them, and of course the ability to share that experience with friends through pictures, and in our case really cool pictures.

The collaboration with H&M was ideal for all of those reasons. We were able to showcase how GoldRun could use technology like augmented reality and GPS to not simply link people to a brand, but allow them to interact with that brand and create something, like their own virtual catwalk, and then share the results of that experience, in this case by posting personal "lookbooks" to Facebook.

How important is it that games - that are so popular at the moment as way of interacting with and motivating consumers - offer a valid reward?

DC / I've been a huge advocate of, what is now referred to as, gamification for years, and in many ways GoldRun is a culmination of how these principles can be applied in the branding space. The reward element is particularly important for a few reasons. For one, it's an essential dimension of what makes a game fun. Giving people something to achieve or win is what grants that sense of accomplishment, inspires people to share that achievement with others. A reward also serves as another touchpoint that connects brands to consumers and translates the virtual experience into a tangible interaction. And thematically, this dovetails with the aim of GoldRun. The reward creates a continual looping dialog between digital and concrete, between consumer and brand.

Could the technology be used outside the retail sector in the future? What other future plans are there for the app?

SR / We are moving into sectors beyond retail. NYCGO [official New York Guide] is developing a series of City guides for GoldRun focusing on restaurants, theatre and cultural events, with users earning rewards for visiting these locations. The band Far East Movement used GoldRun as part of their live show at Terminal 5 in New York, with audience members taking pictures alongside virtual members of the band and then posting those images to the band's blog. We are also currently developing a wider variety of runs: extending the reach of media outlets like television programs and magazines, creating virtual museums and photo booths at sports arenas, and bolstering brand presence at industry events, to name a few.

www.goldrungo.com