Custom apps created by Marxent Labs of Beavercreek allow users to watch a hidden video on Heineken bottle labels, or to “see through” the models’ clothing in a Moosejaw apparel catalog when viewed through a smartphone or tablet.
“It is creating a kind of magical experience for consumers as they interact with brands,” said Barry Besecker, a Wright State University graduate and Tipp City native who co-founded Marxent in 2010 with his brother, Bret, aka “Beck.”
Barry, 39, and Beck, 41, previously started Copient Technologies, a firm that specialized in retail marketing technologies and was acquired by NCR Corp. in 2003.
Marxent, whose name blends “marketing” and “entertainment,” builds marketing, branding and gaming mobile applications, specializing in mobile augmented reality. The company has 12 employees, including seven locally, at offices in Beavercreek, Tampa and Detroit. Marxent currently is hiring for three new technology positions in Beavercreek.
The venture-funded startup has raised $1.4 million in capital, including $1 million from Detroit Venture Partners and $400,000 from Boston-based Stage 1 Ventures, said Sonia Schechter, Marxent’s director of digital marketing.
Marxent has doubled its valuation in the past six months, Schechter said. She declined to disclose the company’s annual revenues.
Augmented reality technology has existed for several years, but it is still a nascent market, experts said.
Google boosted interest with the April announcement of Project Glass, a wearable augmented reality device that resembles eyeglasses. Google plans to make the technology available to developers early next year.
“We are participating in that platform, and helping to make it a bigger space and bring it to the consumer,” said Barry Besecker, Marxent’s chief technology officer.
Marxent first made a name for itself last year with the popular Moosejaw X-ray app. Like some schoolboy’s dream, the app makes it appear that users can see the underwear beneath the clothing that models are wearing in a physical catalog.
Moosejaw’s free X-ray app “went viral with no marketing” and has more than 500,000 downloads, Besecker said.
The outdoor apparel retailer saw a 62 percent increase in Black Friday weekend sales; a 37 percent increase in same period sales; and a 33 percent increase in catalog response rate, according to a Marxent case study.
Besecker said the X-ray app provides an entertainment experience for customers using their mobile devices, “and then that ‘Buy’ button is just an easy touch away.”
The Moosejaw campaign has served as a calling card for Marxent, which has since created augmented reality apps for such brands as Heineken, Emerson Industrial Automation and Tractor Supply Co., among others. The apps often are used in conjunction with print advertising campaigns and retail or trade show displays.
The Emerson app will debut Tuesday at the InterBev Expo in Las Vegas. Augmented reality allows the “man in the boat” from the company’s advertisements to “come alive in order to promote and encourage show attendees to find out how Emerson can help with sustainable solutions in beverage manufacturing facilities,” said Emerson spokeswoman Jackie Catalano.
“I really feel this will be one of the most innovative attractions for promoting our message,” Catalano said.
An augmented reality campaign typically takes six to eight weeks to develop, at a cost from $15,000 to $20,000, Besecker said. More complex campaigns can take from three to four months, he said.
Marxent also creates custom mobile applications with e-commerce and social media components. In the coming weeks, the company will launch a customer loyalty app for a large local retail chain, but officials could not disclose the company’s name before the app’s release.
In addition, Marxent is developing its first augmented reality mobile game.
“Think of the ‘Holodeck’ on ‘Star Trek’ and that is what we are really trying to get to,” Besecker said.
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