Frito-Lay?s Cracker Jack brand is bringing a fresh digital approach to its well-recognized packaging promising a prize inside by allowing consumers to download an augmented reality mobile application, scan a sticker in the snack pack and engage with four interactive baseball-themed experiences.

With baseball season getting into full swing, Cracker Jack is seeking to ramp up brand awareness and customer engagement by digitizing its most iconic experience: uncovering the prize located within its snack packages. Now, consumers can download the Blippar app and scan the sticker inside their Cracker Jack package to play one of four available mobile games or superimpose a picture of themselves on a baseball card shareable through social media.

?Interactive mobile experiences are becoming more and more ubiquitous in the consumer journey, so it makes sense that food marketers meet their customers where they are ? on their cell phones,? said Omaid Hiwaizi, president of global marketing at Blippar. ?Food is, by nature, often a social experience that is shared with family and friends, so interactive mobile marketing that consumers naturally feel inclined to share with others is a strong fit.

?Cracker Jack is a fun snack people relate with sharing. Using Blippar?s augmented reality technology, they can now share their experience in a new, fun way.?

Going to the big leagues
Cracker Jack?s iconic prizes are an integral part of the brand?s marketing, which centers on memorable family moments and warm afternoons at the ballpark. The company is attempting to stay relevant, however, by revamping its look with a contemporized logo and new packaging.

To top off the transformation, Cracker Jack is gamifying the prize discovery experience after acknowledging the increasingly digital behavior of many of its customers. Families are encouraged to download the Blippar augmented reality app onto their smartphones, scan the Prize Inside sticker and interact with the baseball-themed mobile games: Get Carded, Dot Dash, Dance Cam and Baseball Star.

Players will be able to shimmy around on a simulated baseball field?s jumbo screen, influence the Dot Race?s outcome and step into the shoes of a baseball star by superimposing a photo of themselves onto a template.

These autographed photos can then be traded with friends and family or distributed via social media. After a user snaps his or her picture, the app will enable him or her to share the mobile baseball card to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

Consequently, consumers will still be able to enjoy the classic prize discovery experience ? just in a much more engaging and convenient manner.

?Cracker Jack being such an iconic part of American history with the ?prize inside? becomes a great opportunity for the brand to include interactive experiences via a digital connect point to introduce a game or contest to millennials,? said Marci Troutman, CEO of SiteMinis. ?Millennials do want to embrace iconic historical brands, but any brand needs to recognize that this demographic wants more than a peel-and-stick tattoo.?

Meanwhile, the restyled Cracker Jack packaging showcases a new logo, a contemporized white and red striped pattern alongside a youthful Sailor Jack and Bingo the pup.

The brand hopes that the mobile gaming experience will keep its young-at-heart mentality alive.

Augmented reality home runs
Cracker Jack is not the only brand to have teamed up with augmented reality apps.

Last spring, Heineken tapped Blippar for a digital campaign that offered consumers a look at beer's ingredients while stirring up interest in sustainability matters by asking users to snap a photo of a Heineken bottle to unlock exclusive content and create selfies to share across social media (see story).

Additionally, the September issue of People StyleWatch received a mobile makeover thanks to Blippar, enabling readers to scan merchandise to instantly shop the items and receive additional fashion tips and music playlists on their smartphones (see story).

The Cracker Jack redesign and newfound mobile focus will likely yield plenty of customer excitement, particularly among families with smaller children.

?Consumers will respond positively to Blippar?s interactive gamification because it includes an entertainment factor that adds value to the brand experience,? Ms. Troutman said. ?Think about it, would a consumer rather have a penny toy or a mobile interactive game experience that is long-lasting?

?It's a marketer?s dream ? sell a consumable product and gain exponential traction. The only thing the brand needs to be ready to tackle is making sure the experience is constantly rejuvenated.?