Google is helping five brands, including Disney, integrate its Goggles image-recognition-based search Android app. Goggles is designed to add to another dimension to searching the mobile Web. The app allows users to take pictures of products, paintings, landmarks, etc., with their mobile device and search the Internet for information about those pictures. Disney already has tested Goggles via movie posters for “Tron Legacy.” Taking a photo of the poster immediately redirects the user to the “Tron Legacy” mobile microsite. On the microsite, the user can view the trailer of the film. The other brands testing Goggles are Buick, Diageo (a beverages company), T-Mobile and Delta Airlines, which are experimenting with print ads and other media.
To interact with these Goggle-enabled campaigns, consumers must download Google Goggles from the Android Market or the iTunes store and then look for appropriate advertising from the companies. The technology compares with 2-D bar codes, which, when photographed by the user, directs them to a relevant mobile site.