The Guardian wanted to promote the new Jay-Z in an innovative way. Newspaper ads for Jay-Z's greatest hits album allowed readers to experience the music through a ground-breaking fusion of print and digital media using Clic2c technology. By pointing their phone's camera at the ad they could then launch the greatest hits video on their phone giving an instant visual and aural reminder of the artist's most popular tracks.

Build awareness, drive trial of Click2c app

In November 2010, three full page ads for Jay-Z's greatest hits album ran on the back covers of The Observer New Review and the Guardian's Film & Music section. Hidden within the image was a 'digital watermark' - a unique pattern of dots invisible to the naked eye that acts as digital password. Using a smartphone and the Clic2c app, readers were able to instantly access a video montage of the album tracks just by pointing their phone's camera at the ad.

The full-page ad encouraged readers to download the Clic2c smartphone app to unleash the full potential of the communication. Devised by MediaCom's entertainment division and music label Def Jam UK, the underlying idea was to remind readers of the music behind the track titles, and to emphasise the quality and quantity (and therefore the value-for-money) on offer. The ad aimed to engage with the reader on an emotional (musical) level and on a more frugal "what do I get for my cash?" level.

This leap forward in print advertising combines the benefits of traditional newspaper advertising - mass audience, timely nature and scale and impact of a full page ad in a national - with the interactivity of digital. This was an innovative way to engage with a young, gadget-loving and hard to reach audience. Its groundbreaking technology also lent the campaign kudos that generated word-of-mouth for it. The Clic2c concept has wide reaching applications such as working with 'impulse response' ads, and working alongside the editorial updating the ad throughout the day.