As technology goes, so goes advertising. This is the first article of a three-part series that tracks trends in advertising technology.
Newish, coolish and undoubtedly engaging, augmented reality is solidifying its place in the world of advertising and marketing. We’ve all had our bit of fun with BMW’s clunky “An Expression of Joy” app. (If not, see demos of both the PC and mobile apps here.) And while Unilever’s “Where Fallen Angels Appear” program at London’s Victoria Station for its Lynx brand was only a one-day event, it was by most accounts a notable success in elevating brand awareness.
But how does AR ultimately get consumers to open wallets?
AR thrusts us into a new sensory environment by overlaying the real world with digital enhancements. It’s really not that new, the term first being used in 1990 by a Boeing researcher to describe a head-mounted digital display that assisted workers in assembling aircraft. Today, any TV viewer of American football gets a good dose of AR on every play, where it is used to visually indicate strategic areas on the field as well as convey information. (In the video, the orange and blue lines along with the “2 & 4” indicator are AR.)
For businesses hoping to pump up their ad and marketing campaigns with the latest digital technology, AR has been the flavor of the month for some time thanks to its immediacy and ‘wow’ factor. It provides the means to deepen trust and forge a closer connection with consumers than other media: Users can now interact with product and brand promise like never before, even before unwrapping the package as this kiosk-based AR display from Lego demonstrates. And as consumers become more tech savvy, they are not only receptive to new technology like AR, but are actually hungering for it. According to Juniper Research, mobile AR app downloads will increase to more than 400 million by 2014; that’s from around 1 million in 2009.
But simply achieving Level Cool won’t cut it for long in AR used for advertising and marketing. Attention spans grow shorter as technology marches forth and consumers ultimately demand useful solutions, not just techy marketing gadgets. BMW’s campaign mentioned above is kind of fun, but requires downloading an app in order to customize and drive a virtual car around making colored tire marks. And access to mobile AR apps requires a trip to the app store; not a deal breaker but if an AR-powered marketing app doesn’t offer prompt, reliable user benefits the result might be a mood killer. Consumers expect value if they are going to download a corporate app, not just another “experience.”
Its relative newness and ability to engage with consumers on a different level makes including an AR program in a campaign hard to resist, and therein lies the key: Businesses should not be so blown away by AR’s coolness to base their entire campaign on it. Rather, it might be better employed as a tool to personalize a brand, thereby creating an emotional connect with the consumer.
In Japan, smartphone users were able to preview the hugely successful TV mystery thriller “Kyogu” by pointing their phones (pre-installed with a free app) at ads in newspapers then having a short video appear. This functionality was extended to work with billboards: Pointing the phone at a billboard superimposed the video preview over the billboard image on the phone’s display.
Another good example of useful AR marketing is “Le Bar Guide”, a mobile app from Stella Artois. It locates bars serving up the brew in your immediate vicinity then displays arrows pointing the way. As an added touch, after your three or five pints, a “Le Taxi” function helps you contact a local cab, presumably so you won’t have to stagger home on your own – a very attractive reality indeed, augmented or not.
Japanese articles may not fully reflect English content.
