AR Visual Aids Are Changing The Face Of Advertising

Augmented Reality has made its special place in users hearts across industries around the globe. While the gaming industry has made the most of it others are also catching up quickly. Latest Marketing and Advertising techniques are also looking for making their place using augmented reality to its benefit.

AR-based product advertising connects with consumers on a deeper level providing better user experiences.

In times when technology is gaining major footholds in various businesses, marketing is now no stranger to it. The real concern is whether businesses will be able to adapt to the changing consumer-brand dynamic.

Did you know that presently AR technology is worth 15.3 billion dollars? It’s worth exploring the different avenues and trends that drive the surge in the augmented reality market. By the end of 2024, AR active devices are projected to grow to 1.73 billion.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that superimposes digital content (images, sounds, text) over a real-world environment. This emerging element has fascinated marketers and is changing the marketing and sales game. It is becoming one of the favourites among B2C markets.

The consumer bases have already let AR technologies into a major part of their lives.

Many social media applications that we are using today are developed with a combination of AR and AI. For example, on Instagram and Snapchat there are various fun face filters, transliteration of text etc that are consumer-loved applications.

Because of the increase in telework, new solutions have come out to maintain productivity in many professions. For instance, AR allows IT technicians to guide customers using on-screen direction”. Learners can be subjected to safe vehicle-driving training in real-time. AR has proved its worth by decreasing the amount of risk and the cost rates in association with training.

More and more brands are embracing the power of GPS data and what it can do for them. Facebook’s Place Tips is an example. Companies like Yext are serving up location-based ads, allowing shoppers to get information on deals and offers only when they’re in-store.

The Market for AR and VR Gaming forecast is set to reach $11.0 billion by 2026, growing at a global rate of 18.5% from 2021 to 2026. The market is driven by the integration of AR technologies in mobile phones, headsets and other wearable devices.

Crowdfunding by start-ups to develop nascent applications and devices is considered to be the major opportunity for relatively newer and smaller companies.

For clothing, accessory, and makeup companies, AR presents a new way to show customers how to use or wear their products. Retail industry players, like American Apparel, Uniqlo, Lacoste, Sephora etc. are at the forefront.

With the help of AR technology, IKEA’s app let the customers see how the products might look like in their homes. While in-store, there are smart mirrors and RFID tags that give the customers product suggestions.

Through Amazon Salon’s ‘Point and Learn’ initiative, customers have come to see a broad range of things. This includes brand videos, educational content and trying out the product before actual purchase. This virtual sampling of products is the perfect mix of personalization with convenience. It is a win for both consumers and businesses. Customers craving the ease of window shopping with the in-store experience get the best of both worlds.

Virtual fitting room technology’s global market is projected to hit $10 billion by 2027. Its appeal to customers has increased with improved accuracy, precision, and ability to approximate the real world.

But what could be the standards that allowed AR to soar to such heights?

It subtly preys on the customer’s attention.

“The more effective your marketing strategy is in grabbing the customer’s attention, the higher is your customer engagement.”

Brands can reach a large number of consumers, in a brand-safe environment, and make themselves unique and noticeable. People can now interact actively with brands. They can be educated on product features and combine entertainment with business.

This ensures higher satisfaction for potential customers and more agreeable advocacy of the company’s services.

 The conversation media platforms of the 21st century are creating large, vibrant networks of like-minded people on the Internet. They have broken down the barriers of traditional communication media. This has turned consumers into contributors and a group of users into a community.

This whole visual facet of digitalization has now entered the waters of modern brand marketing. With the use of avatars in AR or GIFs on roadside billboards, it is only going to skyrocket from here.

It gives a playground for combining product ads with customer needs.

Examination of user behaviour and interests with machine learning algorithms and AI can be kicked up a notch. Offering proper products and services to the right individuals has never been easier before. Advanced geolocalization advertising lets advertisers reach specific audiences. Audiences based on demographics, interests, shopping history and location.

For example, Toyota used geotargeting to pinpoint people who lived near key dealerships and were interested in shopping for a new car. The car maker’s campaign led to 1,200 visits to targeted dealerships, as well as visits to other nearby dealerships.

It creates not only commercial but psychological connections between customers and brands.

AR  ads are immersive, which means they help marketers create a certain emotional connection with customers. Brand recalls works better when people associate them with positive experiences. So AR ads are perfect for promoting sales and building a company’s reputation.

The Arctic Home Campaign by Coca-Cola and the World Wide Fund was aimed at protecting polar bears. An AR event in London where visitors interacted with virtual animals in their natural environment. Now, the same people who visited the event then, remember Coca-Cola fondly!

It offers consumers a collective community experience with AR event marketing. Increase a prospective buyer’s product recall by giving them a memory!

Augmented reality can greatly enhance in-person and virtual events such as career fairs, sports events, conversation media marketing campaigns. This can be achieved via two methods – AR Apps or WebAR solutions.

Attendees can have unique experiences and interact with brands they are shopping from. Such events provide opportunities for customers for sharing their takeaways on social media. The potential for brand awareness and reach is enormous.

For instance, Pot Noodle, along with Gradbay, launched a virtual Careers Fair where anyone could go by pointing their smartphone. They could do that at a large, flat, outdoor space. It was one of the highlights of AR experiential marketing in 2020.

The advent of social networking and the empowerment of the customer has sent marketers scrambling to adjust to this narrative. Augmented Reality enables marketers to provide a portrayal of their product in real life. It allows them to craft the desired product around the customer’s inclination. Also, to strengthen the reality of the brand promise.

With AR’s value in the market climbing up to $25 billion by 2025, the future of augmented reality is bright. It can, if used properly, become a marketer’s best friend in an era where customers have the freedom of how to engage brands.