Augmented reality (AR) is emerging in the concept of branding, and it’s getting more popular each year. But before going into the deeper study of what digital marketing can offer in today's market, first let’s discuss why augmented reality should be part of your marketing plan.
AR is actually the blending of virtual reality with real life. The best example of this is the marketing power of Pokemon Go. VR, on the other hand, is the creation of a virtual world that people can interact with, such a virtual reality theater. Unlike AR, VR does not contain a lot of elements that you see in the world every day. When it comes to driving business and brand behavior, VR is a bit farther off compared to AR.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is considered the final component which refers to machines that were trained through repetition and experience. You see them today as chatbots, but many believe that in the future, Artificial Intelligence will expand your business brainpower.
After the successful release of Pokemon Go, brands in the digital space are taking advantage of the huge success of AR and realizing it’s the logical steps towards the continued digital evolution.
How can businesses work with augmented reality today?
iPhone Camera
Apple is working on something with regards to the usage of iPhone. This would allow users to view city streets with overlaying directions, to determine prices on nearby stores, coupons, and even some animated characters that will make you giggle.
Games and Online Matches
When it comes to sports, what if augmented reality makes its way to stadiums and shows, the fans, the field with real-time stats, images and characters? It's possible because soon, it'll be at the Gillette Stadium. This was made possible through the Wi-Fi upgrade they recently had.
While sports is a good way to use AR, there are also other specific ways that AR can be useful in, like Trade Shows. Also, B2B sales personnel could more effectively walk their prospects through a demo. In a recent research, it was found out that customers today place more value on the overall customer experience than on branding. The use of AR can deliver a better CX – that’s for sure!
Office
This idea is somewhat focused on the company employees, targeting the internal part of the business, yet is still very valuable. Microsoft applied this to train their 24,000 technicians to avoid problems pertaining to misguided less experienced techs. Who knows what promise this holds for digital marketers in the future? Let’s see in 5 to 10 years.
All these things mentioned above will make a big impact in the future. If you’re into innovation and keeping up to date, it is necessary to stay in tuned with these technologies and begin considering augmented reality to be part of your marketing plan.
