The future is here, and it goes by the name of Tacocopter.
With one simple install of the Tacocopter app on your smartphone, a remote-controlled flying apparatus (photo below) will be sent to your GPS location with your favorite order of tacos.
While there is some debate about whether Tacocopter is real or not (and for the record, we hope to god it is), the subject thatTacocopter brings up is an interesting one.
How is your company merging digital data with real life offerings?
Here are a couple examples of ways your brand could merge digital data and real life offerings.
Augmented Reality
Companies like Layar allow brands to use their smartphone to access a custom made alternate reality offering.
Their crown jewel, Layer Vision, is a smartphone browser that can turn any analog / static product into a interactive experience in and of itself. A great example is their partnership with Linda Magazine (click here to see video footage of what the experience is like), which turned a static print publication into an interactive experience that users could engage with.
Visual Search
The best example of visual search is Google Goggles, an Android application that allows users to take photos and search the web for information on products.
Listening to Social Chatter
Local Response, a hot new start up based out of New York, offers a new tool to advertisers that allows them to engage with users in real time.
Anytime a user on Twitter, Foursquare, Instagram and a host of other location-based applications mentions the brand / keyword terms, brands can offer a coupon or serve an advertisement that can be clicked on using at 'at mention'.
Hot dog sales slumping? Run a special where anybody who checks into the ball game gets a free hot dog with the purchase of a cold beer.
So I ask again: How is your company engaging consumers from digital to real life?
