Augmented reality marketing potential
Ad agencies are looking at using augmented reality as part of their campaigns in order to attract new customers as well as retaining existing ones. This means developing an in-depth knowledge about their intended customers; who they are, what they need and why they need it. This means understanding their browsing habits and the triggers for buying.
An example of this is targeted advertising when browsing online. You may be visiting a particular website when a series of carefully targeted ads pop up which display items that you had previously looked at. These are based on your browsing/buying habits and adopt a personalised approach to marketing. This is a direct way of appealing to a consumer’s subconscious needs as well as helping them to choose the right product.
The same applies to augmented reality advertising, the only difference here is that you are shown a series of graphical images overlaid on real-world objects. For example, a display board which advertises holidays as you wait at a bus stop or a series of adverts for mobile phones as you look in a shop window.
These images are viewed through a mobile phone or form part of what is known as ‘digital signage’. This signage can be combined with augmented reality to the extent that it is able to recognise an individual customer and shows images based on their buying habits. It could even be blended with virtual reality where through certain devices (google glass perhaps) the audience can interact with the adverts, bringing a new layer of brand emotion and potential to form lasting bonds. This level of communication is unprecedented and worthy of experimenting with.
Heat maps have been used for years on websites, to see where users look and click the most; however, VR can take this concept far further. Due to the way it tracks head movements, advertisers should be able to pinpoint which parts of their experience users find most interesting, tailoring their ads in response and hopefully producing far more quality content.
If you take a car manufacturer as an example, their VR experience could be to a tour of the new car, letting them play with the new gadgets or customising the interior. This should give the marketer the most relevant data into which part of the car was found most compelling for every user. From there, they can target ads based on this information, so if the user was looking at the stereo, the marketing could then see a banner ad featuring that car with an upgraded sound system rolled out in the real world.
As I suggested earlier, AR could have massive potential based on personal data, for instance after a person has completed the virtual car tour and shown interest in the stereo. The next time they enter their car and switch on the radio an advert could appear when the car is in stationary traffic (pop-ups when driving are probably too hazardous).
Disadvantages of augmented reality advertising
The problem with augmented advertising reality is one of information overload where the audience are so overwhelmed with the number of images shown day to day; that they are unable to make a decision. This augmented reality fatigue may work against rather than in favour of advertisers and turn off potential customers. This is especially prevalent given how people have reacted to online advertising with ad blockers and generally being uninterested.
Another concern would be the information put on show; let’s say that the augmented reality system works by scanning people’s cookies on their phone and displays adverts for their top searches or sites/brands that get high levels of traffic. This could be embarrassing if someone has looked at a product which is a bit suspect or offensive.
Advertisers need to weigh up both the pros and cons of augmented reality before proceeding.
Examples and impact
AR and VR are obviously exciting new avenues that brands have been embracing already. The first significant example comes from The New Yorker magazine: The magazine’s annual Innovators Issue came out with an original cover that features augmented reality content. Created by artist Christoph Niemann, the “On the Go” cover shows what looks like a slightly dull black and yellow image of a woman stepping through the doors of a subway car.
However, when viewed through The New Yorkers app (UNCOVR) the cover changes and comes to life. Showing an animated scene that became an online sensation within hours. The most fascinating part was perhaps the 3D cityscape of New York City that was able to change based on the device’s camera angle and perspective.
AR advertising is already very much in use in football, as on the pitch during televised matches virtual advertising boards are projected around the sidelines. Since the late 1990s, the virtual yellow line has been enhancing American football broadcasts by giving viewers a live, intuitive guide to the state of play. The graphic is engineered to appear painted on the field, rather than merely plopped on top of the players, so it doesn’t distract from the game at all.
The line debuted during a September 27, 1998, game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals. It was developed by a company called Sportvision Inc. and operated by six people in a 48-foot semi-truck parked outside the stadium.
ESPN was the only network that immediately agreed to pay the steep price of $25,000 per game. Before long, other companies began offering the yellow line to the other networks, and now you won’t see a football game without it.
This has led to Sportvision Inc. developing the technology for placing advertising boards on the sideline of sports matches for the past decade.
NHS blood donor
Another great example is the NHS blood donors register ad in Birmingham and London from earlier this year. The experience, created by agency 23red, ran for three days from 18 May on Ocean Outdoor’s screen in Birmingham and then on the Eat Street Screen in London for another three days from 20 May.
NHS volunteers gave members of the public an iPhone, which used augmented reality to replicate the process of a needle going into their flesh when they hover the smartphone over a sticker that is placed where an injection would usually occur.
As the iPhone virtually takes their blood over a 20-second period, the ad screen’s empty blood bag also fills up, and a message is displayed thanking the participant for “seeing the power of a blood donation”. The real-life patient on the screen even goes from looking unhealthy to healthy as the blood bag fills up, while participants will also be asked to register as donors.
With the NHS needing 200,000 new donors every year, Nadine Eaton, head of national campaigns at NHS Blood and Transplant, hopes the new campaign can make a difference. It will have a particular focus on the young as well as those of African and South Asian descent.
According to Eaton, the majority of donors are still aged over 45, so the NHS needs to make an effort to convince the next generation to become long-term donors. The two ethnic groups are needed as both often carry rare blood types the NHS struggles to get hold of.
This use of AR is particularly impressive as builds an emotional connection between the NHS, the donor and the patient as the donor sees what the service can offer. In short, it gives the NHS a personal feel when consumers can picture it in their own world.
IKEA augmented reality catalogue
To unlock 50 pages of digital content, including videos, furnishing tips and room designs, users needed to download the IKEA catalogue app, scan the plus logo in the catalogue with their smartphone or tablet and have access to a variety of digital content. One of the features was an augmented reality capability which allows customers to view and place selected 3D virtual IKEA products in their own rooms.
The app provides a unique experience allowing users to experience new furniture to scale in their room. Going to an IKEA store may be difficult for many customers so giving them the ability to see virtual images of products will help customers to make purchase decisions and buy online.
After selecting a piece of furniture, the user puts the catalogue itself on the ground, where it acts as a sort of anchor for the 3-D image of the chair or table. If the furniture needs to be rotated, the user just rotates the catalogue.
Marketers should look at every brand touchpoint as an opportunity to engage digitally, and this app is a perfect example of a brand adding entirely new value to an old medium with digital technology.
According to company reports, the app was downloaded 8.5 million times. The new app aims to improve the selection and purchasing process. It is designed because some people are afraid that they’re going to make the wrong colour choice, or the style of furniture might not look good with other styles that they’re mixing it with. So they may not buy it, and that’s unfortunate because maybe it’s exactly what they need. One of the great success’ of the app was the way it could show size and orientation. Since the catalogue acts as an anchor, the object is held in place so the consumer can move around the room and see the object from various angles.
Therefore the app was designed to make the process easier, to remove as much worry from the process as possible. This solution has evidently worked as many other home decoration companies have jumped on the idea as a result.
Land Rover magazine ads
In January 2014 Land Rover launched a new Range Rover Sport. Realising a traditional print ad wouldn’t be able to showcase the car or have the capability to fully allow the audience to appreciate the car’s diversity, Land Rover decided to put the reader in the driving seat by publishing a multi-sensory print out to show the versatility, power and speed of the car.
Using the image recognition app Blippar, users were able to scan different images in the advert with their phone to trigger different sensory experiences. For example, the user could scan an image to show the cars off-road capability, the user’s phone plays a video and vibrates according to the speed of the car and feel of the terrain.
The phone could also act as a virtual acceleration pedal, the user simply had to tilt the phone to produce the effect of revving the engine.
The final image causes the user’s phone to play a video demonstrating the car’s speed, showing a world record drive at Pikes Peak. After experiencing the Range Rover Sports users are then invited to share their experience via social media.
The viewer is able to experience the diverse capability of the car uniquely and engagingly. Adding the multisensory feature brings the print out advert to life. This campaign has been effective in engaging users who can then share their experiences on social media.
This campaign was a huge success for Land Rover, in the first week of the campaign launch it reached over 66,000 interactions and was in the top 5 of Blippar most liked, shared and interacted with in experiences in Blippar’s history.
AR marketing has shown itself to be extremely popular, but it’s when you start thinking about how it can combine with other advertising techniques that it gets exhilarating. Out of home advertising is having somewhat of a renaissance, and AR could work really well with this. As the headsets, or glasses, allow full visibility for the user they can and probably will be worn outside the home as the tech becomes more advanced/stylish, so it’s time to start thinking about how connected glasses could place your brand in front of people out in the world.
AR takes marketing strategies to a more immediate and sensory level with customers, allowing greater interactivity in the selling and buying process.
The only issue is how far can the technology be pushed, how much can people take and how innovative will advertisers be?
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