We hear more and more about augmented reality, which is now being applied to every field of application: from DL (distance learning), gaming, design and refurbishment in industry to medicine. Indeed, the world of marketing can also benefit from it as well.
Unlike virtual reality, which allows the user to be immersed in the digital world, augmented reality uses new technologies to modify the world around us and offers the user interactive virtual objects.
Augmented reality is, therefore, a technology that uses a display, such as the glass of a smartphone or a pair of glasses, to add multimedia information to the reality around us.
AUGMENTED REALITY AS A MARKETING STRATEGY
Augmented reality and virtual reality are being incorporated into the marketing strategies of more and more companies with the aim of improving the user experience and creating engagement through a gamification experience. Applying augmented reality to one’s business strategy brings value to those who want to invest in technological innovation as a key to success. However, this is not usually the case for startups, SMEs and freelancers who, despite being aware of the benefits of adopting AR in marketing, tend not to use augmented reality due to budget constraints.
We list some of the reasons for testing this technology in marketing campaigns:
- Competitive advantage: integrating augmented reality into your marketing strategy allows you to stand out from the competition by showing the added value of this technology to your audience, increasing your lead conversion rate.
- Brand awareness: the use of augmented and virtual reality technologies increases brand awareness.
- Retargeting: augmented reality allows targeted retargeting operations, not only based on their online habits, but also offline (closing the circle between the virtual and real worlds).
- Increased sales: adopting AR in advertising campaigns has the potential to improve the customer experience and is a great solution especially in the e-commerce world.
- Interactivity: AR marketing campaigns are an innovative way of lead generation and increase conversions and retention.
- Insights and analytics: AR campaigns make it easy to understand user behaviour by capturing data through data mining and analysis.
Augmented reality is applied in e-commerce, which through mobile devices offers consumers the possibility to make a virtual product trial:
- Provides visual representation of information that is part of the real world.
- Integrates images and videos giving additional information.
- Inserts virtual objects.
AUGMENTED REALITY: CASE STUDIES
As consumers have become more and more demanding in their choice of products, many companies are trying to create an innovative shopping experience. Here are some examples of augmented reality applied in the world of marketing and e-commerce:
- NIKE: This brand lets you try on its shoes in advance. The user has to stand next to a wall with a smartphone, use the app to wait for his foot to be scanned and immediately get a clear idea of the right shoe size for him.
- IKEA: The Swedish multinational knows that when buying furniture, customers try to understand how the furniture would fit into their home from both an aesthetic and a geometric point of view. The brand has launched its IKEA place application, which uses augmented reality to give a 3D view of the desired piece of furniture. Simply scan an empty floor and the product appears in front of you. You can also choose to move it, rotate it and share it with your friends.
- SEPHORA: the well-known make-up brand exploits augmented reality through the use of an application which, thanks to a photo of one's face, suggests both the products that would look best on one's body and allows one to try them on directly before buying. Once selected, the customer can decide whether to pick them up in the shop or receive them directly at home.
- MAGNOLIA BAKERY: this New York bakery is world-famous for its cakes and colourful cupcakes and has decided to integrate its digital marketing with augmented reality, which allows the consumer to see the cake on a table and compose it according to their own tastes.
CONCLUSION
Marketers are constantly looking for innovative ways to capture the attention of new customers by providing them with a personalised shopping experience. Augmented reality, already used in many fields of application, will surely become a trend in the marketing world in the coming years and companies will end up using it even in more niche markets. Already today, technologies and connectivity are available for its adoption in e-commerce, giving consumers an interactive shopping experience. It is just a matter of understanding in each individual case how to exploit it to improve your business.
