Its probably fair to say were all used to Augmented Reality-enabled magazines by now, following the recent flood of partnerships with AR firms. But this is a novel way of linking print and digital content via mobile: NFC (Near Field Communication).

For the latest issue of womens monthly Marie Claire, IPC Media has teamed with Nuffield Health to run the first NFC-embedded print ad in a UK magazine.

Readers with an NFC-enabled smartphone can hold it next to the page to launch a webpage offering a free two-day gym pass. For phones without NFC capabilities, users can text in to a shortcode or visit the site – which, unfortunately, isnt mobile-optimised – manually.

IPCs Innovator department worked together with specialist marketing company Kyp, which provided the NFC technology for the campaign.

“This is another great example of how magazines continue to provide innovative and effective advertising solutions,” said Declan Boyle, advertising director at IPC Innovator. “As the number of NFC-equipped handsets grows, this technology becomes attractive for advertisers looking for a way to bridge the offline print world with the online digital world and boost consumer engagement. It’s an immediate, measurable, dynamic, and low-cost platform with flexible distribution.”