Let’s get this straight – we are all obsessed with the heart glasses and other cute filters on Instagram and other platforms today. Have you ever wondered what the technology behind this is? Let us introduce you to AR or Augmented Reality.
What is augmented reality? AR or augmented reality is an interactive experience of the real-world where the items and objects in this real-world are enhanced by computer-generated information which enhances the user’s visual, olfactory, auditory, haptic and somatosensory senses. It provides a composite view of the real world which is generated by a computer.
In recent years, AR has reshaped the marketing sector with more and more businesses taking it up for their marketing efforts. It has already penetrated deep into the market and is no more an emerging one but a mature technology. It is not just useful for the gaming industry but finds many uses in different sectors. The importance of augmented reality is being realised and it is expected to grow to be a 198 billion US dollar industry by 2025!
Well known brands like Ikea, Sephora etc have already used AR to help their audience research products more thoroughly during online shopping. AR has already overtaken the automobile industry and the gaming industry. Today, the hardware is available for each & everyone and the usage of AR is easy.
How Brands Can Use Augmented Reality In Marketing?
1. Augmented reality for branding materials
Businesses and brands can take this branding like brochures and business cards to the next level with the use of AR. They can simply ask the users to scan them to reveal a plethora of information in a fun and quirky way.
For example, augmented reality can allow a user to watch a video highlighting a message once he or she scans on a particular part of the card or brochure. AR can also allow a user to use multiple options that can help them contact the business via email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp and more. Augmented reality helps marketers to include dynamic virtual content into the text thus increasing customer engagement.
2. Develop and create a buzz around the brands
AR can help produce diverse and unique marketing campaigns for marketers. Customers can soon simply wear a headset and walk through the stores with augmented reality apps that highlight products from a particular category.
Advertisers could hide promotional materials and deals in public spaces offering a unique scavenger kind of experience using AR. This helps the marketers in giving the audience a one-of-a-kind shopping experience at a retail event or at a mall or shop. Successful campaigns can significantly increase engagement and create a buzz amongst the audience.
Best Examples Of AR Marketing
1.IKEA
It is a known fact that customers want to research a product today before purchasing it online. They want a similar experience that they would get by walking into a physical store just from their seats.
Famous brand Ikea has mastered this and gives customers a solution to this problem. The app lets users insert a virtual rendering of the piece of furniture in their homes or space to give them a better sense of how it would look in their homes.
2.LENSKART
Another example is of an Indian brand Lenskart that uses AR to help customers try on different frames that suit their face and style before making the purchase. This makes the online shopping experience of the user on the website or platform a fun one thus helping them make informed decisions with respect to the purchase.
3.TIMBERLAND AND TOPSHOP
Retail brands like Timberland and Topshop have been developing AR fitting and changing rooms, challenging the way people shop for clothes. They use the technology to display their collection on a screen and the user or the customer can choose from various sets of tops, bottoms and shoes to see if they match and if they like the style, before purchasing the products. This is a fun way to make shopping futuristic and exciting. Advancements in this can help to completely eliminate the use for fitting or changing rooms in the future.
Click Here To Get Inspired By The 15 Best Marketing Campaigns Of 2020
What is the future of AR?
Market experts predict that AR will rapidly grow and will be used in various industries across defence, medical research, education, safety, arts and architecture. After the huge success of Pokemon GO, experts believe that the use of AR in the gaming industry will continue to grow multifold. Gaming consoles, iOS and Windows applications will adopt AR in the aim of making it mainstream.
More and more e-commerce platforms will start to use this technology to connect with their customers better. The advertising sector will see even more rise in the application of this technology. In conclusion, the future of augmented reality is as bright as the sun and the way in which it is going to get integrated with industries is something we as marketers are eagerly waiting to see. With AR, the sky is the limit!
We can do this for you right now!
If you are a business that recognizes the importance of augmented reality and are looking to use AR to enhance the way you market, you can do so by partnering with a creative agency specializing in the development of this technology. Augmented Reality is a powerful technology that brings practical value and aids brands to connect with the audience at an emotional level.
We recently launched an augmented reality campaign on Facebook to create fun and engaging filters for the manpower agency – Aishwaryam Facility Services Management. Once the user clicks on the post, the camera opens, revealing three gift boxes with offers placed inside it. This is an interesting and fun way to use AR and bring your marketing campaigns alive.
Coordinate with us, we are Let’s Goo Social, a creative digital marketing company and take your marketing to the next level. We bring in the best technologies combined with the latest advancements in the marketing sector to skyrocket your business. Together, let’s take full advantage of this technology for your brand today! Happy marketing!
Check out the AR campaign we did for AFSM and try it for yourself here.
