Augmented Reality Is The Future Of Advertising. It’s Time For Agencies To Start Evolving Now
Advertising agencies know how to evolve and survive. Through the years, Madison Ave. has seen generations that focus heavily on print, radio, television, and “the web” rise and fall. Each time, old strategies mesh with new mechanisms, antiquated ways of doing business are pushed to the side, and a more polished version of the “traditional ad agency” model emerges.
Heading into 2018, some think it may be the cord-cutters who have finally broken the “ad agency model” for good. However, a look through their phone’s app store should show them that all agencies have to do is follow the geotag. Augmented reality (AR) has arrived as the next big mechanism tol shape the industry, and it’s time for agencies to start their evolution or move to the side.
Throughout 2017, campaigns with AR production elements have garnered increasing amounts of attention. Brands want to separate themselves from the noise of overpriced (and potentially underused) channels and let consumers enjoy and connect with them emotionally, on their own terms. What better way to do this than by utilizing the technology in everyone’s pocket?
The WB Blade Runner 2049 Experience expanded beyond a traditional partnership with Johnnie Walker to incorporate AR elements into an “interactive adventure” at this year’s Comic-Con. The undertaking included a tech-heavy 12,000-square-foot bar styled to look and feel like it was right out of the movie. The campaign made the film a talking point months ahead of its late-summer release.
This type of campaign is pure evolution in the industry. Instead of treating entertainment value as something to be avoided, it dives in headfirst. As Andrew Essex puts it, it’s better “to be the thing, not the thing that sells the thing.”
It should be no coincidence that the agency responsible for the Blade Runner pop-up is one that seems to pride itself on being ahead of the curve. Fifteen years ago, an undertaking like this would probably have been hosted by a party planner, but nowadays it’s executed by Giant Spoon. Specializing in content for traditional channels as well as experiential productions, it describes itself as “designed for the future of communication, built from the ground up.”
Advertising shops like this seem more nimble and ready to handle everything that goes into executing such a multifaceted undertaking. While most ad agencies can likely launch an idea across radio, print, television, and web, and most will have a proven method to lean on as they execute it, agencies like this are also able to handle a multifaceted campaign with tech and event-planning elements?
The ability to understand the more delicate points of modern digital communication is also crucial. After years of hearing how useful AR and VR might be, the newest generation of smartphones finally let consumers access those technologies easily. Mars’ “augmented-reality takeover” of Times Square this spring was developed with tech assistance from Blippar, an agency that “provides business solutions that harness powerful augmented reality, facial recognition, artificial intelligence and visual search technologies.”
As AR is incorporated more and more into advertising concepts, agencies will need to be well-versed in how to utilize it. Having an AR designer who can create and nurture an entire campaign in-house is likely a nice-to-have right now, but it will soon be essential.
Utilizing AR makes it easier than ever to extend an ad campaign beyond the screen or page seamlessly, and that trend will only grow. In other words, the next generation of advertising is here; it’s time for agencies to prepare accordingly.
