Augmented reality in marketing strategies: how does it impact?
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 9:47 am
Imagine if your customers had the opportunity to experience your product or service before physically having it as part of their purchasing process. This interaction would allow them to experience first-hand the benefits offered by the brand and see its true value, which would then lead list of belgium consumer email them to make their purchasing decision. Thanks to technological advances, Augmented Reality ( AR ) makes this possible today.
Mobile devices are becoming more and more accessible to the majority of the population and, although they are mainly used for communication and entertainment, brands have realized that they can take advantage of this to integrate Augmented Reality into their strategies. But, before explaining how it works in marketing strategies, it is important to know what it is.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality is described as the ability to integrate virtual elements into an existing experience or reality , as opposed to Virtual Reality , which is characterized by creating a virtual world to develop fictional experiences, as is the case with video games.
How does it impact marketing strategies?
Companies that have already used it have realized its great potential, since they consider that it is not only a new marketing channel, but also a brand differentiator , mainly because it allows greater convenience, speed and an interactive experience with the company through mobile applications.
According to a study conducted by The Drum, including Augmented Reality in a marketing strategy captures people's attention for more than 85 seconds, increases the interaction rate by 20%, and improves the click-through rate to purchases by 33% .
However, it is important to note that a company should not use Augmented Reality just for the sake of it, but because it will actually add value to its strategies. In other words, including Augmented Reality should:
Deliver valuable, on-brand interaction.
Be an important channel in the company's communication with the client.
Used to increase and improve brand engagement.
Strategic management-measurement-digital marketing-tools
How have other companies done it?
If you're still unsure whether it's a good idea to include AR in your strategy, or you're not sure how to do it, here are some examples of how other companies from different industries have done it:
IKEA
Although you've probably heard it before, this is a clear example of a successful strategy to leverage Augmented Reality. In 2017, IKEA launched a mobile app that allows users to preview furniture in their homes before purchasing it .
IKEA Place, in addition to making home decoration easier, is a tool to encourage online shopping, especially for those people who do not want to or cannot visit a physical store.
Home Depot
Two years before IKEA, Home Depot launched its Project Color app , which showed customers how different paint colors would look on the walls of their home, taking into account lighting and furniture, making it even more real.
Although consumers couldn't buy directly from the app, choosing a color sent them to the Home Depot website to make their purchase.
Pepsi
In 2014, Pepsi used Augmented Reality in its campaign for Pepsi Max “Unbelievable”, an “unbelievable” soft drink low in calories and sugar. Their goal with this campaign was to promote their product by making the incredible possible.
To achieve this, it installed AR technology at a London bus stop, where images of meteorites, UFOs, lions and other “threats” that would attack the city were displayed.
He didn't even need to promote his product itself for consumers to appreciate the experience the brand provided them and start talking about it and sharing it with their friends, reaching around 6 million views on YouTube .
Timberland
According to research, customers who go into a fitting room to try on clothes are 7 times more likely to buy something than those who just walk around looking at the clothes . However, many consumers consider this process to be a waste of time when buying clothes.
Timberland, a clothing and footwear brand, took this problem into account and used Augmented Reality to offer its customers the opportunity to try on its latest collection without having to go to a fitting room, by installing a screen with this technology in its window at a shopping centre in Poland.
Augmented Reality allows companies to improve their consumers' experience. Are you ready to include it in your marketing strategies.
Mobile devices are becoming more and more accessible to the majority of the population and, although they are mainly used for communication and entertainment, brands have realized that they can take advantage of this to integrate Augmented Reality into their strategies. But, before explaining how it works in marketing strategies, it is important to know what it is.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality is described as the ability to integrate virtual elements into an existing experience or reality , as opposed to Virtual Reality , which is characterized by creating a virtual world to develop fictional experiences, as is the case with video games.
How does it impact marketing strategies?
Companies that have already used it have realized its great potential, since they consider that it is not only a new marketing channel, but also a brand differentiator , mainly because it allows greater convenience, speed and an interactive experience with the company through mobile applications.
According to a study conducted by The Drum, including Augmented Reality in a marketing strategy captures people's attention for more than 85 seconds, increases the interaction rate by 20%, and improves the click-through rate to purchases by 33% .
However, it is important to note that a company should not use Augmented Reality just for the sake of it, but because it will actually add value to its strategies. In other words, including Augmented Reality should:
Deliver valuable, on-brand interaction.
Be an important channel in the company's communication with the client.
Used to increase and improve brand engagement.
Strategic management-measurement-digital marketing-tools
How have other companies done it?
If you're still unsure whether it's a good idea to include AR in your strategy, or you're not sure how to do it, here are some examples of how other companies from different industries have done it:
IKEA
Although you've probably heard it before, this is a clear example of a successful strategy to leverage Augmented Reality. In 2017, IKEA launched a mobile app that allows users to preview furniture in their homes before purchasing it .
IKEA Place, in addition to making home decoration easier, is a tool to encourage online shopping, especially for those people who do not want to or cannot visit a physical store.
Home Depot
Two years before IKEA, Home Depot launched its Project Color app , which showed customers how different paint colors would look on the walls of their home, taking into account lighting and furniture, making it even more real.
Although consumers couldn't buy directly from the app, choosing a color sent them to the Home Depot website to make their purchase.
Pepsi
In 2014, Pepsi used Augmented Reality in its campaign for Pepsi Max “Unbelievable”, an “unbelievable” soft drink low in calories and sugar. Their goal with this campaign was to promote their product by making the incredible possible.
To achieve this, it installed AR technology at a London bus stop, where images of meteorites, UFOs, lions and other “threats” that would attack the city were displayed.
He didn't even need to promote his product itself for consumers to appreciate the experience the brand provided them and start talking about it and sharing it with their friends, reaching around 6 million views on YouTube .
Timberland
According to research, customers who go into a fitting room to try on clothes are 7 times more likely to buy something than those who just walk around looking at the clothes . However, many consumers consider this process to be a waste of time when buying clothes.
Timberland, a clothing and footwear brand, took this problem into account and used Augmented Reality to offer its customers the opportunity to try on its latest collection without having to go to a fitting room, by installing a screen with this technology in its window at a shopping centre in Poland.
Augmented Reality allows companies to improve their consumers' experience. Are you ready to include it in your marketing strategies.