Augmented Reality (AR) is a buzz word you’ll likely hear more and more in regards to mobile marketing these days, and for good reason. The concept holds the all-to-important “wow factor” needed to engage consumers in an entirely new way, and keep them coming back over and over again.
While still in its infancy, marketing campaigns that integrate augmented reality are becoming more common everyday, and are increasingly mystifying consumers by letting them interact with various brands in a way never before available. Marketers are quickly taking note and putting the concept to good use. Accordingly, I wanted to showcase some examples of marketers and brands utilizing augmented reality in really cool ways.
Esquire magazine recently debuted an interactive AR issue of its magazine chocked full of engaging elements made possible by downloading a small piece of software and holding the magazine up to your webcam- see a video of the issue in action here. Similarly, GE implemented AR into an awareness campaign a while back to show its potential and to improve awareness of its “green planet” agenda. You simply print out a page with a special image printed on it, hold it up to your webcam and watch the AR magic happen. See the video here.
Circ.us, a digital marketing agency making heavy use of AR, also created an impressive branding tool for Criss Angel and A&E that involved using AR to allow users to play 3D games using a print-out and their webcam- see a video here, or try it out for yourself. Of course, it’s hard to mention augmented reality without thinking of Layar and it’s mobile AR browser that takes augmented reality mobile, and provides unprecedented potential for marketers.
These are just a few of many applications for AR that are already in use. The future is undoubtedly bright for the concept, and as hardware, software and the implementation on mobile devices matures, the wow-factor will only grow larger.
