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"Men's apparel retail site Mr Porter, which we dubbed one of the three best personifications of the content and commerce model, is staging a mobile treasure hunt across five cities to celebrate its first birthday.\nAfter debuting in Sydney, the treasure hunt kicks off in New York Friday and runs until March 22. Paris (March 23 to 29), London (March 30 to April 5) and Hong Kong (April 6 to 12) will follow.\nInterested parties are invited to download augmented reality app Goldrun [iTunes link] to participate. The app will guide users to locations in each city, where Mr Porter shopping bags will appear \u2014 via augmented reality \u2014 on their phones. Each bag will contain a prize, such as Lanvin sneakers, Paul Smith cufflinks or a pair of A.P.C. jeans.\nMr Porter is also giving away $2,500 gift certificates for one winner and a friend via Facebook.\nIn addition to the giveaways, the UK-based retailer is also releasing a printed special edition of its weekly journal. There is, of course, a digital tie-in: users can shop from the pages using Mr Porter's Style Help app for iPhones, powered by augmented reality app developer Aurasma.\nAs an online-only retailer, Mr Porter \u2014 and its parent company, Net-a-Porter \u2014 are compelled to be more creative when staging offline events. Net-a-Porter has certainly risen to the challenge, staging shopping events and giveaways for Fashion's Night Out and collection launches that required the use of mobile devices at specific locations.\nIn general, UK retailers have proven much more digitally proactive when it comes to online and offline promotions. Topshop, for instance, has brought in augmented reality-powered fitting rooms, Instagram-styled photoshoots, SCVNGR hunts and QR code-activated catwalk livestreams to its stores. Tesco also rolled out an AR-enhanced catalog last year. And this Saturday, Ted Baker London will set up a digital portrait service at stores in the UK, New York and Ireland, after having delighted shoppers with a live, Twitter-operated styling event in late 2010."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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