We wanted to share our thoughts on the top AR advertising and marketing trends that we’ve seen brands use to better engage with their customers.
AR has taken the world by storm, especially in the last year, and we’ve seen brands creatively deploy AR in two main settings: on mobile and through location-based engagement. We expect even more creative examples of AR marketing when AR glasses become mainstream.
ON MOBILE
1. BRAND FILTERS FOR AR SELFIES
Brands design creative filters that customers can use by deploying their front-facing cameras. Customers access these via Snapchat (Snapchat Lenses) or through distributed ads on the mobile web (to eliminate the need to be on just Snapchat).
Full Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Ok8vhxMSM
2. AUGMENT THE PRODUCT
Customers use the back-facing camera on a product, triggering a digital animated information display or other branded experience on top of the physical product. Products literally come to life! Starbucks used AR to bring a little magic to its ubiquitous red holiday cups.
3. TEST A PRODUCT OUT DIGITALLY IN A REAL ENVIRONMENT
Customers can place digital 3D renderings of products into their homes using their cameras. Both IKEA and Amazon have used this to help customers test out furniture placements in homes.
Lacoste also created an app to help users “try on” different shoes.
LOCATION-BASED ENGAGEMENT
4. INTERACT WITH A BRAND AMBASSADOR OR CHARACTER
Disney Parks created an AR billboard where people stood in a marked circle opposite the billboard, to find DIsney characters magically appearing in the billboard. By using a physical space to embed a digital interactive overlay allowed people to authentically experience a brand (vs. just seeing and forgetting a flat display ad).
5. GO ON A MISSION
Brands design challenges for customers to go outside into the real world and unlock secrets or access items related to the brand in certain tagged locations. Pokemon Go is the best example of this–by geotagging locations with different Pokemon, users interacted with the brand and real world in a way that was focused on winning a mission, and making connections with the environment and other players in the meantime.
6. DAZZLE WITH CONTENT THAT ISN’T IMMEDIATELY LINKED TO THE BRAND
Pepsi MAX revamped a bus shelter’s glass wall with a screen that had a live feed of the street behind with 3D animations digitally overlayed. Viewers saw reality augmented with alien invasions, monsters coming out of sidewalks, etc. all to be shocked when they left the bus shelter to see what was reality without augmentation. The campaign received buzz that linked back to Pepsi MAX’s brand.
