Augmented Reality Strategy: Why Brands Need to Embrace It
- Antonio Lizano
- September 2019
Augmented reality seems to be the current buzzword of immersive computing generation following the mobile waves that have existed for about two decades now. No doubt AR has got more sway today because of the many benefits and impact it has on brands thanks to three main reasons.
- • Infrastructure development - A developer ecosystem is rapidly growing with the entry of Google’s ARCore, Apple’s ARKit and Zapworks. These make part of the developer infrastructure that will serve to accelerate how innovators and creators unlock the ease of use and accessibility to create more valuable augmented reality experiences for the people.
- • Device scale - AR is currently available on over 700 million devices thanks to the infrastructural development for ARKit and ARCore.
- • Consumer readiness It is reported that about 27% of smartphone owners have already used some form of augmented reality. Talk of the craze with Pokémon Go and Snap Lenses, both have primed users for augmented reality and the concept of overlaying digital content over the real-life world.
What augmented reality means to brands
There have already been reports of soaring demand and developer access to AR content creation tools that keep improving on a daily basis. The expectations are high and no doubt AR is likely to become part of our daily lives a few years from now.
AR can no longer be said to be the new kid on the block, but surprisingly more and more brands have now begun to use it in their marketing creating unique experiences for their target customers. This is a perfect way to help the target audience make sound shopping decisions.
Online shopping, for instance, has become the option of choice for many people who purchase products from various brands. With AR coming in, consumer brands are now able to visualize the products in a physical space. This will offer customers a better chance to see and have a real feeling of the products before purchasing, just as is the case with store-shopping. Those people who are concerned about not having a physical feel of the products online don’t have to worry anymore since augmented reality is changing that. New tools have already been launched at Messenger to help brands integrate customized interactive AR effects while messaging. This is one of the most powerful mediums at which brands should seriously take a closer look.
Those who have had first-hand experience with AR can confirm that it can enable brands to drive tangible business results at scale and create memorable experiences for their target market that will keep them coming back.
Besides positioning a brand as cutting-edge and timely, AR also provides the kind of content that customers want to share with others instantly. This is critical regarding customer growth and increasing brand awareness. In short, it is pitched to offer customers the most powerful way of shopping online and help them make decisions that they would otherwise never have in the first place.
On the other hand, AR allows customers get up close and personal with a brand and its products. Take, for instance, a motors company using AR to let customers virtually park one of their favorite cars in the driveway or a cosmetics company allowing its customers to virtually try on and share a selection of makeup looks. Any of the companies that have already embraced AR indeed approve of the unique value and opportunity it gives them to connect with their customers. Several surveys conducted from time to time indicate that customers are more likely to buy something if they can visualize how it will look in their real world.
AR is slated to become the future of SEO as the technology captures the three most crucial aspects of search engine optimization:
- 1. Visualization - Brands are currently engaging AR to create some breathtaking possibilities. Just imagine designers and clients having the ability to preview their designs right before anything goes to product, all in real time, in 3D and with the context of scale, depth, and size all in mind! It is just the beginning and with more technological refinements for AR expected soon, brands can ignore it at their peril. The future of SEO is also expected to drastically change in light of such advancements and more likely to affect how brands advance their online presence which is key to harnessing the potential of digital marketing.
- 2. Content - More and more consumers are showing keen interest in AR to create avenues for consumption of 360-degree content within timeline feeds for users. The infrastructure is here; it is just a matter of creating the content to fill it and get our pages ranking better on search engine results.
- 3. Engagement - Research already indicates AR to be one of the most powerful emotional engagement tools, more than TV! For this reason, technology is believed to have the potential of increasing empathy, which may result in a more in-depth and authentic connection with the target audience. Some brands have gone as far as using the technology to let people experience life through another person’s eyes.
So, what does it take to have brands benefiting from this new wave of technology? Implementing AR by any brand demands that some things are kept in mind. Before using AR to power your business, you must have the augmented reality strategy in place.
- • To start with, consider real-world behaviors like trying on looks for a makeup brand.
- • Secondly, ask yourself if it is something your target audience will readily share with their friends and loved ones. Unless there is a clear-cut strategy on this, customers may not be willing to share their experiences, products or styles they tried on. Remember, when customers do share such with their loved ones, they do it to get valuable input from them, but end up exposing your brand in the process.
- • No complex instructions or unnecessary clutter. AR experiences should be intuitive as you replicate behaviors your customers are familiar with. Customers want to have ease of sharing whatever content you want them to share; whether it is a picture or video. Customers will be willing to take action if you start by making it easy for them to do so.
- • Always think of the ultimate desired business outcome before using AR to power up your brand.
Become one of the early birds to tap into this technology with an incredible potential to elevate the power of your brand in various ways. But first, get the augmented reality strategy in place to serve as your roadmap to greatness with AR experience.