How Businesses Use Augmented Reality In Marketing To Engage Customers

One of the many technologies that has found its way into marketing is Augmented Reality. Brands could showcase their products using advertisements or posting a video on social media, but these methods have gotten quite old, and the customer today doesn't just want to watch a video. They want something that they can interact with. Thus, this is where AR comes in. While several similar technologies like VR and MR also exist in this space. AR is the one that businesses use when they want to create an experience that is quickly ready and easily accessible by a mass audience. Hence, here is what it is and how it is being used in different industries and by our client.

What is Augmented Reality in Marketing?

Augmented Reality in marketing is simply using AR technology to create some kind of an experience or a campaign to promote or create awareness about the product or the brand. Typically, AR can be used for promotional campaigns, product experiences, advertisements, retail environments, and events.

What this technology does is it brings digital content to the real world with the help of smartphones, tablets, AR glasses, kiosks, or other specialized installations. Some of the most popular examples of AR apps include Pokémon GO, where players could capture Pokémon on their phone that they find in the real world, or social media apps like Snapchat or Instagram where they could play with face filters.

Thus, AR technology can be used by brands to create a digital version of their product and allow users to bring it to the real world. What separates an AR campaign from a VR campaign is that it doesn't rely on VR headsets. So while the latter is more immersive and has the capability to take the user to a different virtual world altogether. AR campaigns are much easier to set up and make it more accessible to a wider audience.

How Different Industries Can Use AR to Create Engaging Experiences

Real Estate

The real estate industry can get quite creative when it comes to marketing using augmented reality. One of the uses of AR in this sector is with virtual staging. What this would do is allow buyers to virtually place furniture in their new home. Thus, they could see what size bed they prefer in their bedroom, the kind of couch they would want in their living room, and more. Furniture is just one example; they could also use AR to place appliances like a washing machine, microwaves, or decorative objects like vases, photo frames, and more to get a better idea of what their future home would look like.

Augmented Reality in Automotive

The automotive industry benefits from AR through AR HUD, or Augmented Reality Heads Up Display. It allows the driver to access information like map directions, speed limits in the area they are in, and the car's current speed directly from their windshield. This is made possible through the use of sensors and cameras. The car uses them to find its existing location on the road, the cars around it, any speed bumps or obstacles in the road, and more. This information is then presented on the windshield so that the driver can focus ahead on the road, reducing distractions.

Retail

Augmented Reality in the retail industry isn't something exactly new. We have several cases of brands using AR in different ways to let their customers virtually try on their products. One of the most popular examples of this was the AR smart mirror by Sephora. These were mirrors that customers could find in select stores; all they had to do was walk up in front of one and select the cosmetics they wanted to apply. The mirror gave them the options to apply different shades of lipstick, eyeliner, blusher, contour, and more. Thus, the customer got to experience a new look without actually applying any of the products. This makes the trial experience not just immersive but also fun.

Another good example of AR in retail can be seen with Lenskart with their Virtual Tryons. Here, the user has to align their face in the marked area of the site or app. It then recommends glasses that suit their face. The user has the option to try out different glasses; they can even move their face around to see how the specs would look on them from different angles.

Tourism and Museums

Tourism is an industry that can greatly benefit from Augmented Reality. For example, marker-based AR can be used at various locations to show the tourists what the site currently looks like, after which the tour guide can show them how the site used to look with the help of AR. The best part is they won't require any additional tools, and the tourists could use their own smartphones to enjoy the experience. 

Similarly, Museums have the potential to use AR to add 3D models, textual information and explanations, sounds, and animations to physical exhibits. Thus, the user could scan the exhibit and present them with the relevant information about the exhibit through AR.

How Our Client Used AR for Marketing

Amazon Smbhav is an event that Amazon holds annually, and for its fifth edition, they wanted their audience to find out the potential of Amazon Freight and Amazon Shipping network. They wanted businesses of all sizes to know about the extensive reach of its fleet. Amazon has coverage of over 14,000 pin codes all over India and spans trucks ranging from 5 to 40 feet.

The solution we provided was an interactive AR experience where the audience could scan 3 interactive walls that revealed 19 individual touchpoints, where each touchpoint would play a voiceover that explained a step in Amazon’s logistics process. Thus, when the users scanned all 19 points, they got a full understanding of Amazon's Freight and Shipping network. The project was a success and resulted in 3500+ users successfully accessing all 19 touchpoints.

In conclusion, AR in marketing allows brands to move away from traditional solutions like advertisements and instead make experiences that the audience can actively interact with, explore, and enjoy. And unlike the past few years, its scope has also grown beyond social media filters or games, and several different industries are starting to adopt it.

Ready to Elevate your Next Campaign?

Ink In Caps is a MarTech agency that has been helping brands with their experiential marketing campaigns for almost a decade now. As seen with the above project, we don't just have expertise with Augmented Reality, but also deliver the results. Our philosophy when approaching a project is to understand your audience and goals to provide you the right solution that doesn't just meet but exceed your expectations. Contact us now and let's create your next AR campaign that is a guaranteed success!