kooaba is giving its smartphone app, Paperboy, a new name and an attractive new design. Shortcut is the image-recognition app that the two Swiss media leaders, APG|SGA and Publicitas rely on.

Shortcut replaces the existing app name, Paperboy. It connects media to the Internet via image recognition. Shortcut users can take a picture of any page of a supported newspaper or magazine and obtain the corresponding digital version of that page. This can then be commented on, saved, and shared via email or Facebook. For selected articles, readers can be directed to further information such as videos or image galleries. Smartphone users are well aware of these features online, but now these features are also available for supported print media. Today, Shortcut supports over 1,000 print titles worldwide.

The connection between print media and the digital world is of great interest to advertisers. With Shortcut, traditional billboard and print advertising attract added value for the consumer and strengthen the overall impact of the campaign. Advertisers have the opportunity to communicate with their customers on a whole new level, offering services like sweepstakes, digital coupons, and store locators.

"Interactive print will play an increasingly important role in advertising. The combination of Shortcut and traditional print ads offers customers a clearly-defined, added value, a new way to communicate with the consumer," explains Othmar Fischlin, Head of Marketing at Publicitas.

Shortcut supports a number of individual advertising campaigns. But now, the goal of kooaba APG|SGA and Publicitas is to make each and every print and billboard ad interactive. "With Shortcut, we are setting the standard for interactive advertising," says Dr. Herbert Bay, cofounder and CEO of kooaba.

"It is in the interest of all parties to use a single app for all interactive ads. Therefore, we are supporting this development and are currently offering Shortcut to our customers. For example, Shortcut is currently supporting the billboard campaign in Zurich for the Tres Amigos Restaurant," adds Markus Ehrle, Head of Marketing and Business Development, APG|SGA.

Shortcut is available for iPhone, Android und Windows Phone 7.