Why Forward-Thinking Brands Are Investing in Augmented Reality Development

Remember the first time you used a filter on Snapchat and the way it shocked you how amazing it was what technology is capable of these days, like "Wow, I have dog ears that's so cool” Fast forward to today; with filters that can age us, de-age us, and even still, give us dog ears, some things never change.

But is that all AR can be used for? Of course not; AR should be an integral part of any company that wants to stay ahead of the curve with its campaigns and stand out amongst its competitors.

AR has gone from a sci-fi concept in the early 90s to now where it is an irreplaceable tool for many brands and their marketing strategies/campaigns, like Lucasfilm with their Mandalorian AR app and Oral B with their unboxing experience filter on Instagram that was developed by Ink In Caps. AR development companies such as IIC are highly sought-after to develop such campaigns.

Augmented reality development has had a big boom in recent years with apps like Snapchat and Pokemon Go, but AR software is capable of so much more than that. Using AR, brands can create immersive and interactive marketing experiences that everyone with a smartphone can experience, which in this day and age is more than half of the world's population.

Customer Engagement

The most important part of any campaign is whether or not people engage with it. If a campaign does not grab the intended audience's attention, it cannot be considered successful.

AR is a great way to get potential customers to engage with your brand. Due to the novelty of AR experiences, most people are fairly attracted to it. They interact with the elements and see them in the real world, and it easily resonates with them way more than any normal 2D poster AD would. According to a report from Deloitte, 40% of consumers are more likely to recall brands using AR 

Boost Brand Awareness

Using the services of AR development companies to create AR campaigns can lead to the name of a brand, product, or company reaching the ears of people who haven’t even experienced the AR campaign through word of mouth alone.

People love talking about unique experiences they’ve had, so leveraging that, brands can develop augmented reality experiences that leave an impression on people or give them the urge to share what they experienced on their social media or through other means.

Easy to Understand

Brands can also use AR to inform and educate customers on their services and products; customers often aren't too keen on learning about brands by just listening to someone talk about it or a pamphlet that they have to read.

But with AR, you can create a fun interactive and informative experience to educate customers about your brand; for example, the AR 3D model that IIC developed for IndusInd Bank to use in their partner meet and app launch event. Attendees could scan a QR code to experience a story about small shops and their financing journey. There was also the addition of gram panchayats and other elements to give the environment more life.

Gamifying the experience of learning about a brand can make customers more eager to learn about it and retain that information.

Future Proofing

Brands that don’t evolve with the times get left in the past; take Blockbuster as an example, an absolute goliath in the video rental scene; it was a brand many thought was too big to fail. But with digital media becoming more and more popular and their refusal to change with the times, they slowly fell under and were replaced by other brands that did evolve.

With the emergence of the metaverse, AR is a way to future-proof your brand against being seen as not ready to evolve with the times; it moves away from the extremely common print ads or digital ads we see everywhere and is something more unique that people actively want to interact with.

Standing Out

With how many brands are vying for the attention of customers, it can be hard to stand out amongst the crowd, but with the help of an AR development company, you can create impressive campaigns that help you easily stand out and grab the attention of anyone who views your campaign.

By investing in AR software development to create your campaigns, you give off the impression to the customer that your brand is tech-savvy and forward-thinking. 

Social Media

Filters on social media are a great example of AR development that has become increasingly popular with everyone using them; they’re often an untapped source for advertising. 

Utilising filters on Instagram and Snapchat brands can create sneaky AR ads that people not only use but also actively share with others; for example, Amazon’s The Boys filter on Snapchat or the Oral B unboxing filter on Instagram.