Hearst Magazines UK brings December covers to life

The December covers of Cosmopolitan, Company,

and Harper’s Bazaar are to be brought to life using the Zapper augmented reality application. The special moving image enabled covers can be viewed by downloading the Zapper app, and gives readers access to exclusive content.

The Zappar partnership is among a number of new digital product initiatives embraced by Hearst Magazines UK. Last week, Hearst Magazines UK made 21 of its ipad titles available on Apple's newsstand while ELLEUK.com partnered with Nokia to promote the phone manufacturer's latest smartphone handset. Men's Health and Company have also launched their own mobile websites.

Harper's Bazaar, which goes on sale November 3, features five of the world’s top supermodels - Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Eva Herzigova, Yasmin Le Bon and Helena Christensen; singer Jessie J is on the cover of Cosmopolitan, on sale November 7; and Company’s December cover, which goes on sale November 10, has TV presenter Caroline Flack on it.

Each magazine features exclusive content that plays on the handheld device directly from each cover. For Harper's Bazaar, users can watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip of the covershoot which took place at the Savoy earlier this year as part of a short film for Duran Duran directed by Jonas Akerlund, in association with Swarovski.

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK says: "Interacting with our readers beyond the printed page is a key part of our business strategy so we are delighted to be partnering with Zappar to bring this exciting and innovative technology to our portfolio of brands. This partnership further demonstrates the many ways in which we can enhance our brands, from apps to mobile sites, providing our readers and web users with that all important multi-media, interactive experience."

The Zapper app is available to download free of charge from iTunes or the Android Market Place.