Augmented Reality: The Future of Marketing

Augmented reality (AR) is a marketing tool that offers potential, which is not everyone on our market yet has fully appreciated. Meanwhile, the American mobile augmented reality market is expected to grow from USD 7.6 billion in 2020 to USD 29.5 billion by 2025.

Andrey Tymoshenko, founder and CEO of Live Animations, one of the leading companies on the global AR market, tells below about the potential opportunities for AR marketing in various business areas.

FMCG

With augmented reality technology, FMCG brands can turn routine shopping trips into exciting adventures. The loyalty program created by Kinder and UK retailer Tesco — Jump into Africa — is an example of smart use of AR technology in marketing strategy.

The program was launched to promote a new range of African wildlife toys hidden in chocolate eggs.

Сustomers do not have to download a special app to take part in the loyalty program. It is enough to scan the QR code attached to the price tags of the promotional items and point the smartphone camera to the floor.

After this, a miracle happens — a magic portal appears right between the supermarket stalls.

After passing through it, the customer enters the virtual African savannah and meets animated versions of friendly toys waiting for him. Also, an information window appears above each animal featuring amazing facts about it. To return to reality (store), it is enough to turn 180 degrees and take a few steps.

This is a well-thought-out program:

● Minimum number of taps: all is needed is to start the camera;

● There is no need to buy a product to experience the loyalty program — this greatly increases brand trust and loyalty, and, as a result, stimulates the desire to buy;

● QR codes are located next to the price tags — that means if the customer wants to buy the product, it is within his arm’s reach;

● The ‘trip’ to and from Africa is organized so that the risk of user’s disorientation or injury is reduced to almost zero, and protects the next-shelf items from damage.

Real Estate

Another business area in which AR is gaining ground is the real estate market.

Here is a case from the developers of the Serenia Residences, Dubai. A special app was created for this project. After downloading it, a potential investor can point a smartphone camera at a page with a two-dimensional plan of an apartment and see directly on the screen how his future dwelling will look in 3D. Besides, he can see all zones of the apartment and one of the furnishing options.

It is also a good case. Since Dubai’s real estate market is super-competitive, developers are trying to convince investors that their projects are the most technologically advanced. AR helps the company to stand out from the competitors and demonstrate its innovativeness to the client.

It is also important that the user needs to download the app. The real estate investment process is not a common thing, so there is no need to rush. The customer needs to sit down, have his cup of coffee, download the app — all this establishes an emotional connection with the developer, which, as a result, affects the purchase decision.

Fashion Brands

Virtual fitting rooms have already become a common thing. Clothing, footwear, and accessories brands offer to try on their products directly on websites or social networks. Timberland took this a step even further by offering the familiar technology in a completely unexpected format. Using an 80-inch screen, they set up a virtual fitting room directly at their storefront in the shopping center.

When a person approached the window display, the camera captured his image and projected it in full growth onto the screen. On it, using their gestures, customers could freely change their outfits from the brand’s current collection and immediately buy any item.

This case demonstrates the ability of augmented reality not only to boost sales but also to make salespeople more productive.

After all, when shopping for clothes and shoes, we are guided by four criteria: convenience, functionality, aesthetics, and price. While it is enough to check the price tag to make a decision on the last one, to consider the first three criteria — you need to put on clothes in the fitting room, and then the staff has to pick up the ‘unfit’ items and hang them up again. If the customer goes to the store after he has selected the looks that aesthetically work for him, then he will carry much fewer items to the fitting room, which will speed up and simplify the staff work.

Well, of course, having organized such a fashion show at the storefront, the brand will certainly attract the attention of all people in the shopping center passing by. And this is the first step towards boosting sales.

Gaming

AR gives toy manufacturers a unique opportunity to blend the real world with gaming. This is exactly what Nintendo has done with the release of an innovative AR version of the game with world-famous plumbers to celebrate Super Mario’s 35th anniversary. The company put the brothers in toy supercars and created for them unforgettable races in two realities at the same time.

The game comes with two remote-controlled, camera-equipped cars and a set of track-marking gates. The players see the track through the cameras built into the cars. The trick of the game is that augmented reality content is superimposed on the image from these cameras in real-time: in-game obstacles and power-ups pop up at the gates. Of course, the racers themselves come to life too. They can throw at other karts all sorts of things. Moreover, when a kart hits a virtual object, it slows down or stops in the real world.

In this case, the technical features of AR were used at their best. And of course, children are crazy about this toy. As it requires the skills of driving in the real world and at the same time has the limitless possibilities of the virtual world. Double gaming, double joy, double brand loyalty.

There are many successful AR projects in our portfolio. Well, here I will focus on just a couple of them.

Steam AR: Boosting sales and driving repeat customers

This case was created for Ugears, an eco-friendly plywood mechanical model kits manufacturer. The uniqueness of this project is that it uses the marketing potential of augmented reality to boost sales and at the same time drive repeat customers.

The project consists of two parts, the first one presents WebAR technology. Here, as well as in the Kinder case, no special app is needed. The potential buyer has to scan the QR code on the package right in the store to see the assembled model popping up right out of the box. This gives him a more complete picture of the product. Such models are often bought as a gift, and therefore the opportunity to preliminarily see an already assembled puzzle simplifies the customer’s purchase decision and increases sales.

The second part of the project aims to increase customer loyalty and boost repeat sales.

The target audience of such puzzles is children; therefore, for this part of the project, we created educational AR content.

It works as follows. The user has to download the free Ugears AR app and scan an already assembled model in it. The app will show an animation in augmented reality that in all details shows how the assembled mechanism is used in real life.

The goal of this part of the project is to make complex things simple, to explain to young customers how common mechanisms around them work, and thereby increase brand loyalty.

AR Books

The augmented reality technology has breathed new life into the book industry. It was AR that helped children’s books come back on the same level with mobile gadgets and regain their positions in the battle for children’s attention

More than 30 of our projects created together with American publishing company Little Hippo prove the economic efficiency of come-to-life books.

This format is so successful due to the following:

1. AR turns a paper book into a fully-featured multimedia platform with almost limitless possibilities. Such a book can feature 3D animations and exciting, organically woven into the plot games directly on its pages.

2. The come-to-life books’ price does not actually differ from ordinary ones. Profit is achieved by increasing the number of sold copies.

3. These books are ideal for educating the youngest readers. For example, one of our projects features Mickey Mouse himself teaching the alphabet and counting numbers to children. He cheers up the little ones and praises them for success. Without any doubt, such lessons have the maximum efficiency.

This is not a complete list of successful cases of AR implementation in marketing. I am convinced that this particular technology will soon completely change the promotion and sales approach in all business areas. That is why if you want not only to stay on the market but also to strengthen your position on it, you should be ready for these changes right now.