Augmented reality, with its intuitiveness, is the ideal tool for advertising. People today are constantly connected to technology and by using AR, marketers can reach out to these consumers easily. By combining the physical and digital world, brands can connect their consumers with their products in a better way, before, during as well as after the purchase.  When AR is used in advertising, more interest can be generated for a product. With the right AR ad campaign, brands can successfully draw the attention of the consumers.

Gaining a Competitive Advantage with Augmented Reality

Augmented reality has grown over the past few years. According to different reports the market for AR has increased significantly from 2008 and is expected to surge ahead even more in the coming years.

When it comes to advertising, innovative thinking is a must if you want to gain an edge over your competitors. When it comes to innovation, what better way than to use augmented reality? In a competitive industry, say the travel industry, it is essential to draw the attention of the probable tourists so that they use their services instead of turning to other tour operators. When this technology is used, travel organizations can provide exclusive offers to their consumers which they can unlock using AR apps. Exclusive and interactive content along with exciting offers which are extended to the travelers using AR will definitely draw their attention to that brand and help them in gaining a competitive advantage over others.

With more consumers drawn towards your brand, you will be able to increase your revenue generation significantly.

Benefits of Using Augmented Reality

An AR campaign has distinct advantage over regular advertisements. When you add AR to the marketing mix, you bring your products and services to life and add to the interactivity of an advertisement. There are many benefits which the marketers can reap by using augmented reality in advertising. Letushave a lookatsomeofthem.

• Innovation

You can bring the innovation in your ad campaign with AR which will help your consumers to connect with your product or service in an interactive way. In a competitive market, if you are the first to use this technology, you will definitely have the upper hand.  Your content will act as your brand in the real world with extraordinary visibility which will help in adding value to your business.

• Affordability

Generally print advertising in magazines is more expensive than digital or online advertisements. For a four-color, full-page print ad, many large monthly magazines charge more than $100,000 for one time.

However, for AR ad campaigns the cost is much lesser and the brand interactivity is much more. An AR campaign can cost around $5,000 and reach up to $100,000. When compared to print, these ad campaigns are much more affordable.

• BrandConnection

The ad campaigns where augmented reality is used, tend to create a brand connection with the prospective consumers by interacting with them on a sensory level. This brings interactivity to the entire buying as well as selling process. An emotional connection between the product that is searched by the buyer and what is offered by the product, can be created with AR. This gives a personal feel to the product when consumers can imagine them in the real world. As they are able to click pictures with virtual products, surroundings and characters, they will be able to connect easily with the brand.

• Geo-Targeting

With augmented reality, you will be able to use GPS data to engage your users in an experience which they have never felt before. By knowing the location of the users, with AR, you can guide the users to your store or business organization.

For advertisers, hyper-local advertising is an important part of the marketing strategy. With this advertising it is worth spending money where you can definitely reach out to your target consumers rather than spending on a national campaign which have the chances of not hitting the mark.

• RepeatCustomers

If your brand can engage with your customers in such a way so that they come back to you for their next purchase, you will be able to get the best out of your business. This can be possible with the use of augmented reality for your ad campaigns. With the right interactivity, the brand desire will be created and your consumers will not move on to your competitors.

When consumers have the right experience they will come back again.

• IncreaseinOfflineSales

Successful AR campaigns not only engage customers but also persuade them to buy the products which bring in the required sales. AR helps in increasing online as well as offline sales and draws the required ROI on an AR ad campaign.

• GoMobile

Since majority of the consumers are now connected to their mobile devices, people can easily experience augmented reality. Brands should start taking advantage of the use of mobile devices by consumers and try to sell their services or products using this technology. They will then be able to reach the consumers of today more easily.

Top AR Campaigns

There are numerous examples of the use of AR for advertising. Here are a few of the top ad campaigns using AR.

• Net-A-Porter

Net-A-Porter, the online luxury fashion retailer, made interactive storefronts using AR. To promote their new Karl by Karl Lagerfeld collection, they created these storefronts in Sydney, London, New York, Paris and Munich.

By using the Net-A-Porter Karl app and pointing their mobile devices over the storefronts, users can reveal product information, videos of the catwalk, pricing and how they can purchase the products. They can also reveal 360 degree models of the products using this app.

• Pepsi MAX

Commuters in central London got a shock with this augmented reality stunt that was carried out by Pepsi MAX. With AR integrated to the side of a bus shelter, passers-by got the illusion that the window was transparent. People experienced different augmented situations in the real world. They saw alien abduction, a meteorite explosion on the pavement, a Bengal tiger running loose across the streets and many other scenes. Thecampaigngenerated a hugehypeamongthecommuters.

• HeinzTomatoKetchup

The ad campaign which Heinz launched to promote its Tomato Ketchup used augmented reality in it. Users were asked to download the Blippar app and use it to unlock a pop-out recipe booklet by pointing the camera of their device on the product. The booklet contained recipes featuring the Tomato Ketchup of Heinz.

Challenges to Overcome

While the use of augmented reality in advertising might increase with each passing day, there are still some challenges that AR needs to overcome for the mass adoption of this technology. Letushave a lookatthechallenges.

• Gimmick

AR is still a new thing when it comes to advertising. Like every other new thing, people are interested to try them out. But with time, the curiousness wears out and they are no longer able to draw the attention of the consumers and soon turn out to be a gimmick. Augmented reality also faces the challenge of becoming a gimmick if not used in the right way.

• Userexperience

As of now, the number of consumers who are not happy with the use of AR are huge. There are a lot of complexities which they have to undergo for having an interactive experience. First they need to install an AR app, hold their mobile device to the relevant object and then they will be able to view the interactive content. If the process can be made less complex, more people will embrace this technology.

• PrivacyIssue

Information available through AR is for all to see which can turn out to pose some serious privacy threats. Thisneedstobeworkedupon.

• InformationOverload

The number of images that the users see can overwhelm them. This can irritate the consumers rather than interest them and prove to be disadvantageous for the advertisers.

Once the issues are worked upon, augmented reality can become an indispensable part of advertising in different sectors.

What do you think?

Do you think augmented reality has a huge potential in advertising? Which sector will be the most benefitted with the use of AR? Share your insights in the comments below.

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