Integrate Augmented Reality in your Digital Marketing Strategy…
“Are you ready to step up your digital marketing efforts?
Take a look at Augmented Reality (AR). With the advancement of AR technology, businesses can now provide immersive and interactive experiences that engage and delight their customers.
In this blog, we’ll look at the power of augmented reality in digital marketing and offer practical advice on how to incorporate this cutting-edge technology into your strategy. Prepare to captivate your audience and boost your brand with the help of augmented reality!”
Ways to use augmented reality in digital marketing
Augmented reality is a powerful technology that can revolutionize how businesses approach marketing. With its ability to blend digital elements with the physical world, AR offers numerous opportunities to enhance customer experiences, drive engagement, and boost sales.
Here are five ways businesses can leverage AR in their marketing strategies:
- Let Customers Try Before They Buy One
- Augment Touring and Assistance
- Augment Branding Materials
- Create a buzz around the brand
- Leverage augmented reality for B2B
Let Customers Try Before They Buy One
One of the most compelling use cases for AR in marketing is to provide customers with a virtual try-on experience. This sales strategy has been effective in various industries, including cosmetics, clothing, and home-related products.
By using AR, customers can model and try on products such as makeup, clothing, and accessories without physically interacting with them. This saves time and effort and eliminates the need for a large inventory to allow customers to try on multiple items. This approach has eliminated the hassle of lugging around stacks of clothing items to the dressing room and restored discarded items, making shopping more convenient for customers.
Facebook has pioneered AR applications, allowing users to digitally sample makeup and accessories to help them visualize their appearance before purchasing. The cosmetics industry has also embraced AR to help customers see how the makeup would look on them digitally. Brands like Sephora, L’Oreal, and Perfect Corp have created partnerships to offer this experience to their customers, making it more convenient for online sales strategies.
AR also can create virtual fitting rooms, which brands like Topshop and Timberland have developed. This innovation offers customers a virtual experience in helping them select clothing items without needing to try them on. AR has made it possible to model and try on dozens or even hundreds of items in search of the best meets the customer’s needs.
Augment Touring and Assistance
AR can also give customers a digital component on top of their physical locations and products. Customers can access an AR experience with additional information or a brand-related experience by scanning an object or product.
For instance, Starbucks has created an AR app that offers a virtual tour of its coffee shops. Customers can scan objects within the shop to access information that supplements the physical site. Likewise, Hyundai and Mercedes have adopted AR applications to enhance the driving experience. Hyundai created an augmented manual for drivers.
Mercedes offers a feature called ‘Ask Mercedes’ that pairs an AI assistant with an AR interface to answer various potential questions.
By using AR to augment touring and assistance, businesses can offer customers a more integrative and engaging experience, increasing brand loyalty and sales.
Augment Branding Materials
By adding a virtual component, AR can take branding materials like business cards and brochures to the next level. By scanning printed materials with their mobile devices, customers can access various features that provide more information and ways to get in touch with the brand.
For example, a business card can use AR to present various contact options that allow the user to get in touch with a single click. Alternatively, a brochure can bring up a video highlighting some aspect of the conveyed information, adding a dynamic element to the static text on the page.
By incorporating AR into their branding materials, businesses can create more engaging and interactive customer experiences, increasing brand awareness and sales.
Create a buzz around the brand
Another effective way to use augmented reality in marketing is to create a buzz around the brand. By developing a unique and fun AR experience, businesses can generate conversation and excitement about their brand. Since AR is still a relatively new technology for many people, a well-executed AR campaign can leave a lasting impression on consumers and create positive associations with the brand.
For example, Pepsi launched an AR campaign at a bus station that allowed users to access a virtual window and see various fun and unexpected things, such as a tiger or robots, while they waited for their bus.
This campaign generated discussion and helped strengthen the Pepsi brand. Uber has also successfully used AR in a similar campaign in Zurich, generating over one million views on YouTube.
By incorporating AR into their marketing strategy, businesses can easily differentiate themselves from competitors and create a sustained discussion and recognition for their brand. A successful AR campaign can earn millions of dollars in earned media and positive customer goodwill.
Leverage augmented reality for B2B
Augmented reality has great potential to revolutionize the B2B sales process. In the traditional B2B sales process, vendors provide limited material, such as brochures and PowerPoint presentations, to their sales team.
However, with the implementation of AR tools, sales teams can access customized AR applications presenting a virtual 360-degree look at their product lines, giving them an edge over competitors.
AR tools can also enable customers to interact with products in a detailed way, allowing them to see and examine individual components of the product. By bringing the product into the meeting room, AR allows customers greater access to the information they need to decide.
Moreover, customization is an essential aspect of the B2B sales process. AR tools can facilitate customers to take an active part in the design of their products.
The customer input can then be digitally conveyed in real-time to the vendor, leading to a smoother chain of feedback and customers getting exactly what they want and vendors being able to provide it. AR can create a bridge between customer expectations and vendor fulfillment.
Furthermore, post-sales support is crucial in the B2B sales process. Customers often rely on user manuals or online knowledge repositories for support, which can be frustrating and time-consuming.
AR can provide better post-sales support by offering a more interactive experience. For instance, AR can enable customers to use their smartphones to visualize how to use the product or troubleshoot issues.
Examples of Augmented Reality in Marketing
IKEA Place App
IKEA Place App is a famous example of augmented reality (AR) in marketing. The app lets customers preview furniture in their home before purchasing, helping them visualize how the table will look in the space.
The app uses the smartphone camera to create a 3D model of the room and then places the selected furniture item within the space, allowing the customer to move it around and see how it will look from different angles.
Sephora Virtual Artist
Sephora Virtual Artist is an AR app that allows customers to try on makeup virtually. Customers can select from a range of products and shades, and the app will apply the makeup to their faces using AR technology. The app also allows customers to see how different products look together, making experimenting with different makeup looks easier.
Pepsi MAX’s Unbelievable Bus Shelter
Pepsi MAX’s Unbelievable Bus Shelter is an innovative marketing campaign that uses AR technology to surprise and delight customers waiting for the bus. The bus shelter appeared to be an average shelter. Still, when customers looked through the glass, they were treated to interactive and entertaining AR experiences, including a tiger on the loose and a meteor crashing into the street.
Adidas GamePlan A
Adidas GamePlan A is an AR app that allows customers to preview and customize Adidas products. Customers can use the app to see how different products look in real-life settings and customize the products with different colors and designs. The app also provides information about the products and allows customers to make purchases directly within the app.
L’Oreal’s Makeup Genius
L’Oreal’s Makeup Genius app is an AR app that allows customers to try on makeup virtually. The app uses advanced facial mapping technology to create a 3D model of the customer’s face and then applies makeup to the model in real time. Customers can try different products and shades and see how the makeup will look in other lighting conditions.
H&M’s Virtual Changing Room
H&M’s Virtual Changing Room is an AR experience that allows customers to try on clothes virtually. The experience uses a combination of AR and motion-capture technology to create a 3D model of the customer’s body and then superimposes virtual clothes onto the model. Customers can move around and see how the clothes will look from different angles.
Conclusion
Finally, augmented reality (AR) offers businesses a unique opportunity to engage with their customers in a more interactive and immersive manner. Companies can create informative and entertaining experiences by incorporating AR into their digital marketing strategies, increasing customer engagement and ultimately driving sales.
To effectively use augmented reality in digital marketing, you must first understand your target audience, craft a clear and concise message, and provide an intuitive and user-friendly experience. Businesses can stay ahead of the curve and deliver innovative and memorable marketing campaigns that stand out in today’s crowded digital landscape by following these guidelines and staying current with the latest AR technology.
This blog just gave you an overview of why you should integrate Augmented reality in digital marketing if you have similar products like the example I have shown above.
In future blogs, I’ll provide you with step-by-step guides on integrating AR elements into your marketing strategy. So, make sure to give follow!
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