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Marmite puts augmented reality to work in new customer recognition campaign

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Snatch, the augmented reality (AR) treasure hunt app, is working with Unilever to give players the chance to win the world’s most expensive jar of Marmite ever made, as part of a Gene Project campaign to recognise its both lover or hater fans.

The British brand has created a one-off luxury Marmite jar dipped in 18ct, and valued at £1,500 by Boningtons Auction House. Engraved to replicate the style of the famous 250g glass jar there are also 1,000 personalised Marmite jars available to win.

Marmite admirers will be able to compete for the gold-plated jar in the Snatch app, which pairs users’ location with augmented reality to transform their surroundings into an interactive playground. Those who want to try out their luck and participate in the challenge have one week only until the end of this weekend (February 11) to take part.

In the Snatch app, players will be able to hunt for jars of Marmite around the map. Once they find one, they then see cracks on the floor, rubble rumbling from the ground, and a plinth rises with a Marmite jar on top-presenting itself to the winner. The interactive competition aims to immerse the participant into the Snatch world and provides a unique branding experience for Unilever.

The game then takes a participant on another level where a player has to answer whether they were ’born a lover’ or ’born a hater.’ Once the conundrum is answered, a copy of their choice will give them an additional information on the Gene Project and they’ll also win a randomly-selected prize. This could be the gold-plated jar, a personalised Marmite jar, or a sample of Marmite.

“AR provides a new way to interact with consumers,” said Kate Taylor Tett, head of UK marketing at Snatch. “The immersive tech draws players in with a heightened level of interactivity which was previously unavailable to phones – it is a great way for brands to increase their engagement with potential customers. Our collaboration with Marmite capitalises on this with a fun piece of activity for our users, as they actively seek out in-game jars on the map to trigger an AR experience, with one lucky winner scooping the golden prize,”

The campaign is linked to the Gene Project Campaign, which worked with genetic lab DNAFit to find that British nation is genetically predisposed to either loving or hating Marmite, via more than 8,000 hours spent swabbing, analysing and interpreting results.

As the study explains it has identified that trait by analysing SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms), more commonly known as ’snips’ which have an impact on specific taste trains and able to recognise whether an individual naturally likes Marmite.

However, Thomas Roos, principal investigator of The Marmite Gene Project at DNAFit, also offers hope for all Marmite lovers hoping to convert friends and families to the ‘love’ side of the spectrum.

“Like anything in genetics, taste preference is dictated by both nature and nurture. Our environment can impact our taste preference as much as the genes we are born with,” said Roos.

Free to download and play, Snatch is available on the GooglePlay or Apple store.

For extreme Marmite lovers, Marmite will be selling a limited-edition jar topped with an 18ct gold-plated lid, developed with Engravers Guild of London until Sunday.

Image courtesy of Snatch

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