• by Melynda Fuller , December 20, 2018

AR company Perfect has created a new app, YouCam Makeup, that allows people to virtually try out makeup in AR on their smartphones. Now, in an effort to help brands and publishers increase revenue, readers can use the app across ad campaigns, capturing the makeup of a model and transferring that look to their face.

Recently, Perfect connected with its first publisher, Cosmopolitan, to test the limits of turning a print or digital ad from a distraction to a disruption. The partnership between Cosmopolitan and YouCam debuted in the October issue of the magazine as an eight-page native content package with Macy’s.

Cosmopolitan editors created a beauty look with Juicy Couture cosmetics that appeared in the spread. Readers could instantly “try on” the look virtually through the YouCam Makup app by snapping a photo of a dedicated QR code that brought them to a unique destination on Cosmopolitan.com.

According to Adam Gam, vice president of marketing, Perfect, the interactive ad space provides a completely new way for brands to connect with consumers. “Brands will now be able to track not just who has viewed their ad, but how they engaged with it via try-ons and social behavior, all of which our technology enables them to track,” Gam told Publishers Daily.

After using the app to capture a look, users can purchase the products in-app, allowing for stronger ad tracking that enables publishers to provide another metric for advertisers.

Perfect works with more than 200 brands, publishers and retailers, including Hearst, Estee Lauder, L’Oreal and Macy’s. Its app has been downloaded over 750 million times globally.

“A print ad can spark an instant curiosity that lends itself to a personal experience for those who come in contact with it,” Gam said. “This experience allows brands, retailers, marketers and media outlets to rethink and create an interactive experience, bringing their vision and products to life in a whole new way with emerging technology.” 

“At Cosmopolitan, we are continuously looking for new ways to innovate across platforms and deliver frictionless solutions to our readers and advertisers,” said Cosmopolitan senior vice president-publisher Donna Kalajian Lagani. “We are thrilled to be the first publisher to debut this true print-to-mobile experience to our audience of more than 81 million monthly beauty-obsessed consumers.”

Revenue and engagement data are currently unavailable.

YouCam technology will be further integrated into digital features on Cosmopolitan.com, future issues of the print edition and sister publications Seventeen and Women’s Health in 2019.