The pandemic altered daily routines for all of us and with the change to contactless and virtual communication came an increase in time online. Consumers are on the web more than ever and willing to interact with brands that can reach them. Companies across every industry have needed to adapt to the increasingly virtual business environment and many have taken the pandemic as an opportunity to refresh marketing plans. While sustaining a physical presence has become a challenge for many businesses, augmented reality technology has inspired a world where distance will no longer restrict your ability to be within reach of a customer and bring a branded experience to their environment in a personalized and engaging method.
Augmented Reality (AR) is technology that incorporates digital imagery and virtual experiences overlaid on top of an image of the real world in front of the viewer. The most common vehicle to experience augmented reality is a mobile device, making it more accessible than much of the virtual reality technology currently on the market. It was used in experiences like the 2016 app sensation Pokemon Go and Snapchat lenses. What was once predominantly applied in gaming and entertainment, has rapidly become a top technology for industries ranging from healthcare and science to real estate and art. As more creators look for fresh ways to build audience engagement, 700 million people are using augmented reality on Meta apps each month. Brands must practice the key principles of connecting with people, having a driving purpose and building a technologically immersive experience to craft an effective augmented reality marketing component.
Determine the Purpose of Your Augmented Reality Campaign
A unique value of marketing with augmented reality is its ability to establish personal customer experiences that increase impressions and reach. By creating an AR component of advertising, your brand expands the potential audience a campaign can reach and introduces new viewers to a fresh interaction with the brand.
Cadbury used AR to create a nostalgic connection when they reinvented their traditional advent calendar to target teenagers who may have kept up with an advent calendar as young kids, but no longer have that interest. By scanning the physical advent calendar each day, consumers would unlock a surprise selfie filter based on the chocolate of that day. The campaign was a success with over 5.7 million user impressions and demonstrated how valuable a rewarding AR experience can be.
Connect with your Audience with Experience-Based Interactions
To make it a successful part of your campaign, an augmented reality effect must tie to your brand identity and resonate with the user. This step is critical in fostering connection, as people enjoy AR when it is entertaining and useful to their personal needs. Users want the effect to offer a value to them, whether that value be entertainment, education or making shopping more efficient.
For example, Ikea recently launched the Ikea Studio app which incorporates augmented reality, allowing shoppers to customize their physical spaces with virtual furniture and decorations to test out what looks best in their home. This helps the customer browse different Ikea products, virtually testing them in their own homes. This use of AR meets Ikea’s brand value of making home decor accessible. By tying in the company values, Ikea created a mutually beneficial AR experience that eases the process of furniture shopping for consumers and makes them more confident in their purchasing decision.
Develop an Immersive and Exciting Augmented Reality Experience
An effective augmented reality experience should be engaging enough to record a high volume of impressions on mobile devices. This means augmented reality features need to be designed with a high-speed effect load time and allow for rapid interactions by the user. Most importantly, the effect should have clear, simple functionality so the effect can make an immediate impression on the user.
Clearly, a Canadian eyewear brand, used Snapchat’s lens feature to allow users to swipe through five different pairs of Clearly glasses and overlay them on top of their face for a virtual try-on. After snapping a picture with the product, users could share with friends or even go straight to the Clearly website to shop for the glasses. The brand leveraged the augmented reality technology of the lenses to introduce their product to a differentiated audience. Clearly saw positive results like a seven point lift in brand awareness and a 3.6% purchase lift. Here, augmented reality marketing allowed for users to directly interact with a product virtually, drive users to and stirs conversation around products presented through the technology.
According to Meta, 75% of business leaders plan to use augmented or virtual reality technologies by 2023. Will you be one of them? If you follow the guiding principles of AR marketing, your brand can be on the forefront of a new communication era. Rivers Agency has the tools and the team to take you to the next level of consumer interactions. Our strategists, developers and copywriters are ready to help your brand develop a strong connection with consumers. Contact us today to break into all we have to offer!