Frozen yogurt chain Orange Leaf is serving a new integration with the Colorbug augmented reality application, bringing the brand's Orange Unicorn mascot to life for customers.  

The interactive experience bridges real world and digital experiences, with customers encouraged to color in a stencil and then use their phones to watch their creation leap off the page. Orange Leaf is currently running the #BeOrange brand campaign, which includes the AR activation. 

?Orange Leaf is passionate about inspiring and celebrating originality, creativity and inventiveness in store? in the new snacks we introduce and in the ways we engage with our customers and employees as part of our new brand campaign, #BeOrange,? said Geoff Goodman, president of Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt.

To experience the AR engagement, consumers first need to download the free Colorbug app from Google Play or the Apple App store. 

Then, customers can pick up a coloring page from a local participating Orange Leaf store or download one at the brand?s Web site, orangeleafyogurt.com. 

Orange Leaf has approximately 300 locations around the world. 

Next, customers color in the page. After coloring, they open the app, point a mobile device at the stencil and watch their original Orange Unicorn come to life. 

Consumers can also interact with Orange Unicorn and his favorite flavors and snacks within the app. 

The Colorbug app, which was developed by Dubai-based Pixelbug, combines physical coloring with AR technology so users can interact with their creations. 

Pixelbug has also worked with marketers such as P&G, Nestle, Lego and Sony on AR programs. 

Orange Leaf's Orange Unicorn coloring page is Pixelbug's first U.S.-based AR development.

Augmented reality appears to be experiencing a resurgence in interest from marketers. 

Last month, Frito-Lay?s Cracker Jack brand encouraged consumers to download an augmented reality mobile application, scan a sticker in the snack pack and engage with four interactive baseball-themed experiences (see story). 

Also this year, Covergirl became the latest in a growing line of beauty marketers embracing augmented reality, with the Procter & Gamble brand?s new application featuring a long questionnaire for a more personalized approach (see story). 

Sephora boosted its augmented reality shopping offering with real-time facial recognition (see story). 

?The simple message of #BeOrange can be translated in many ways,? Mr. Goodman said. ?One such way is through the use of technology and our new partnership with Pixelbug that brings to life our spokes-thingie, Orange Unicorn, through its Colorbug Augmented Reality Application. 

?The app is an interactive way to take coloring literally off the page, which will make our guests? visits to Orange Leaf all the more fun,? he said.