Gamers around the globe have been anticipating this week’s release of the next saga in one of the world’s most popular videogame franchises - Assassin’s Creed 3. For those in the Netherlands, a new ad campaign from CBS Outdoor Advertising and Bol.com provides a special discount for anyone who scans a new billboard ad and buys the game.

As seen in the photo to the right, the ad has begun popping up in Holland’s many train stations. Eager gamers can scan the ad to see a video trailer of the game and instantly buy the game with a €5 discount on Bol.com, the largest online retailer in the Netherlands and Belgium.

This summer, we announced that Bol.com had hooked its database of product packaging (books, DVDs, games and more) into Layar, enabling users to shop for products online by simply scanning them with Layar. Now, Bol.com is taking part in a new kind of Layar campaign, one on a much larger scale!

This is a great example of the versatility of the Layar Creator. Whether your print is as small as a business card, or as big as an outdoor billboard, the Creator can quickly and easily add engaging digital content on top. By offering a discount, Bol.com is enhancing the viewer experience and providing valuable engagement with their advertising - a concept we heard Nissan discuss recently at our Toronto event.

Perhaps the best aspect of the Assassin’s Creed III campaign is the large and clear call-to-action. Translated, the text reads “Scan with Layar for discount!” The capitalized red text makes sure people see it, and the Layar logo lets people know they need to download the app to scan it.

Augmented reality is gaining popularity in the corporate promotion and advertising space, and Layar is a common solution for many companies. One such example which just launched this week is that of Enel, Italy’s largest energy provider, and the second largest in all of Europe.

The company’s vision for 2011 is to inspire “a future built on sustainable well-being” - a dream they say has persisted throughout the years. A TV ad shows a boy in the past tossing a paper airplane into the air and through time as it eventually lands at the feet of a boy in present day.

To help with the campaign, Enel is enhancing their billboard advertisements in airports across Europe with an augmented reality experience built on Layar. The billboards feature a marker which encourages viewers to download Layar and launch the Enel layer for additional information.

You can see the same paper airplane from the ads floating around you, and can click it to watch the video on your phone. Other 3D models include videos and information about electric vehicles and the smart grid.

You can view some of the videos at Enel’s website, and the billboard ads can be found in airports in London, Pairs, Madrid, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Brussels, Bucharest and Moscow.

On your mobile device? Click here to launch the Enel layer now!