Back in February we shared how Net-a-Porter had launched a completely new magazine with Layar’s Interactive Print technology built in from day one. And now we’re happy to share the Summer 2014 issue of PORTER is on newsstands now!

If you’re unfamiliar, Net-a-Porter is one of the biggest names in online luxury retail. It was a unique, but innovative step to enter into the print realm by launching PORTER – it’s not often that online outlets look to expand into print, it’s usually the other way around. But the truth is, Net-a-Porter saw a big opportunity to expand its online retail presence by reaching people where they discover fashion: in the pages of magazines.

With the custom Net-a-Porter app, readers can scan the pages to reveal links and instantly buy the season’s hottest items as they see them in the magazine. Whether checking out new shoes or upcoming summer styles, the latest PORTER provides convenient links back to Net-a-Porter’s online outlet to buy the items.

This month, the one-and-only Lady Gaga graces the cover. Inside, along with all of the latest in fashion, PORTER features interviews with celebs and personalities including “strong women” like Arianna Huffington, Sarah Silverman, Zoe Saldana, Christiane Amanpour and more. Readers can also view bonus videos with their favorite interview subjects by scanning the pages.

And the extra content doesn’t stop there. PORTER also features links on nearly all of its advertising pages for the biggest names and brands in fashion.

The frontier of Interactive Print, as it spreads across the globe, has made a stop in paradise.

MediaHouse, one of the largest media companies in Bermuda, has introduced Layar’s technology in its portfolio of properties, including the Bermuda Sun newspaper, Bermuda.com, Island Press and more.

Readers of the Bermuda Sun can see stories and advertisements come alive with videos, photo galleries and music four sections of the paper: News, Life, Sports and Tech. The printed Bermuda.com guide for April (pictured on the right) features a cover video that brings the photo of a flyboarder to life. And employees at the Island Press are having fun showing off their interactive business cards.

Check out the video below of people around Bermuda reacting to the interactive content.

MediaHouse says it recognizes the opportunity not only to enhance its editorial content, but also to provide a premium service to advertisers. Several ads in the Bermuda.com guide have interactive elements that can be accessed by scanning the pages with the Layar App.

“Advertisers are keen to get their messages onto the smartphones of their audience, careful to entice without annoying,” the company said. “Augmented Reality (AR) provides that opportunity because users engage their smartphone or tablet voluntarily.”

The company says it intends to increase its use of Layar going forward, so expect more great content from Bermuda in the future!

Canada has been a hotbed of Interactive Print activity with newspapers ever since we partnered with publishers like Glacier Media and national papers like The Toronto Star. Over that time, Canadian papers have produced some outstanding campaigns using the Layar Creator and now they’re being rewarded for their creativity and innovation.

Three different Layar campaigns have been awarded five prizes at the 2014 Great Idea Awards, a ceremony honoring excellence in newspaper promotion and marketing in Canada. The awards for Layar campaigns include three 1st place prizes for both Glacier Media and The Toronto Star.

The Toronto Star’s “Go Beyond” campaign – a fully interactive newspaper produced in partnership with Nissan Canada – took 1st place for Print Innovation and 2nd place in the Advertising category for daily newspapers. “Scene,” a fully Layar-enabled magazine from Glacier Media’s Prince George Citizen (Prince George, British Columbia), took home a pair of 1st place prizes in the Magazine and Young Reader Engagement Initiative categories.

“It is a truly interactive print product that drives reader engagement using Layar technology,” said Norm Coyne, founder of Scene. “The ability of readers to use their smartphones to interact with the content and ads in the magazine has taken the Scene PG to a whole new level.”

Another Glacier Media paper – The Peak from Powell River, British Columbia – was awarded a 2nd place prize in the Newspaper Marketing & Promotion category. The campaign encouraged readers to discover the paper’s interactive features through a contest which raised funds for a local hockey club mascot.

“Our staff all participated enthusiastically in the Layar promotion that we hosted as game-night sponsor for our Powell River Kings Junior Hockey Team. They even brought their children to help demonstrate Layar to fans,” said Joyce Carlson, Publisher at Peak Publishing. “Sharing Layar technology was rewarding and placing second in Canada for our entry was extremely satisfying. I’m proud of our staff for coming up with this creative project.”

The awards will be presented at the annual Newspapers Canada Ink & Beyond conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on May 29th.

To discover more about how newspapers can take advantage of Interactive Print, visit our Layar in Newspapers page where you can download our Newspaper Industry Overview.

We’ve recently made an update to the Layar Creator that includes some fun and useful new features. Check out the video below to see what’s new! Read on below for more info.

GIFs – The Internet has fallen in love all over again with the animated GIF, and no matter how you choose to pronounce it, you can now use GIFs as buttons in the Layar Creator. It’s a really simple way to create a more engaging and visually rich experience, and can really help to make important items stand out. To do so, simply drag one of the default blue buttons onto your page, select “Custom image,” and then upload your GIF. Users will see the GIF animate when they scan your page, and they can tap on it to perform the action associated with the button. You can also use the “Show an image” button (now available as a basic button) to just display the GIF with no action tied to it.

Appearance Animations – Sometimes you want your buttons to make a grand entrance, rather than just appearing suddenly. With our new animations you can choose one of a few unique ways to bring motion to your buttons as they appear. They can spin, grow or pop into place – but don’t worry, they won’t repeat the motion over and over, it’s just a nice way for the buttons to appear on your page.

Add to Contacts – Our new “Add to Contacts” button (which uses the common vCard standard) is a perfect tool for allowing your audience to quickly and easily save contact details. While it can be used with any type of Interactive Print, it’s especially great for business cards! When you hand out your interactive card at your next networking event, your new contacts can scan your business card with Layar and add your contact info with just one tap.

Frequently Used Buttons – Do you use just a few buttons over and over in your campaigns? We’ve made it easier to access the buttons you most often use with this new section you’ll find in the right-side button pane. This is just another small way that we’re making it quicker and easier than ever to create Interactive Print.

Sign into the Layar Creator today to check out these new features!