French Connection, Garnier, Sony Music and Samsung are among the top brands testing Google’s new visual search ad platform.
The platform uses Google Googles, a visual search application that searches based on images taken by a user’s phone camera.
The brands will run Google Goggle’s campaigns as part of their poster advertising.
Customers that activate Google Goggles and point their smartphone at the posters will receive additional content via the internet.
CBS Outdoor is responsible for the advertising placement, which will see Sony Music and French Connection ads appearing this week in the Westfield Stratford City and Westfield London shopping centres.
Campaigns by L’Oréal’s Garnier and Samsung will follow in October.
Smarter Goggles
The news comes as Google Goggles is given a significant upgrade, with the app now able to auto-check photos for any recognisable items – such as landmarks, paintings and other objects.
This means users no longer have to load the application up for it to work, as it will sit in the background waiting for you to take an image and then ping you if anything in the photograph matches what’s in its database.
The app will only check your photos if a user opts-in by going into the settings and ticking the Search From Camera box.
On its blog, Google said: “Let’s say that I’m going on vacation, and I decide to use my Android-powered phone as my primary camera. Goggles would identify landmarks, paintings and other interesting objects in my photos. I can share these facts about my vacation with my friends right from my Goggles search history.”
