Experiential With AR/VR - Phygital Times : Reinventing The New Normal

AR space is buzzing !!

Augmented Reality (AR), a trendsetting technology has immersed audiences globally, The Technology that refers to displays, adding virtual information to a user’s sensory perceptions through devices like Computers, Smart Phones, etc. AR research is driven by see-through devices when worn on the head catapults overlaying graphics as well as texts on the imagery’s view of their surroundings and beyond.

Augmented reality has the potential to disrupt as well as enhance the world of marketing, entertainment, experiential forever – right from feature films, television shows, travel and tourism, sports, toys, healthcare, marketing and a whole lot of possibilities

The experiential Industry can be the catalyst to drive engagements as close as real through these blended formats (physical + digital = phygital) Global Behemoths like Facebook, had announced updating its Spark AR Platform during its developer's conference in 2019. Partnerships between to focus on incremental adoption (AR/VR) amongst various businesses. Google is activating its AR/VR/MR offerings and so are other players curating this as a strategic direction for the future.

Marketing can change forever, The Change has begun, Adopting contextual augmented reality solutions that offer unique, immersive digital experiences mesmerizing consumers, specially resonating with them. The Adoption was subdued till the World was disrupted with the pandemic, COVID 19 – That Changed The World Order Completely.

COVID 19, has forced organizations to accelerate its digital transformation at a much faster speed than ever before, With offline businesses under a Lockdown, the pressure is to look at alternatives that serve the purpose of individual consumption digitally, that’s when Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR ) or Mixed Reality (MR ) came in handy, as these interactive technologies could be used as a viable alternative to create experiential, exponential, meaningful experiences.

If current forecasts are to be believed, that Global AR Market could touch an estimated USD 70.01 Billion by 2023, With the rapid development of these technologies gaining momentum, developmental costs could go down while new enhanced features get introduced to curate most immersive experiences.

In a cluttered marketing space, where consumers are overwhelmed by organizations fighting an uphill & fierce battle to garner their attention – The key “DIFFERENTIATOR” would be the ability to carve out “Exclusive Immersive Experiences”. Here are a few possible AR Powered ideas/products which have been aligned with various brands and can be deployed across multiple industries.

1. Virtual Catwalk – An Experiential AR feature integrated with a Mobile App that helps users visualize various products, the feature works when a user points their smartphone camera at a surface and clicks the “AR” button on the product page of the featured app (needs a download from the Play Store / Apple Store) Models then virtually appear, giving the customer a new and intimate way of viewing products.

The experiential feature is in the advanced stages of development as well its mass deployment, however, is a costly proposition and the impediment being that there is no way to determine, on how the product will actually fit or look on an actual customer just yet but it does bring the “product” to life in a way that is far more effective than a 2 D product image to life, by bringing the model ( and product ) into space of the user, the online shopping experience becomes engaging and immersive in-nature.

2. AR Driven Stadium Tour – A Prestigious Football Club on the occasion of its 125th anniversary integrated AR into its stadium visitor experience, by introducing an immersive tour, visitors of the tour will be able to use to sit next to a “Coach” on a press conference table, Alongside this, 3D holographic content, as well as a Cinema Screen, are all part of this immersive stadium experience.

3. Google AR - Google has been the frontrunner in making the technology accessible for anyone with a smartphone. Google created virtual animals and allowed viewers to capture/click themselves alongside the virtual avatars. The Jumanji type of effect generated tremendous interest amongst audiences, toddlers/ children, especially those stuck during the lockdown.

4. Virtual Place: The app allows users to place virtual furniture into their own home, to see how would it appear once assembled and placed as per the actual render, A 3D function in its catalog for years, but its implementation, promotion at scale was never given importance, along with the app – it also required a paperback catalog to work, The improvised version of this application is accurate in scale, rendering images, responding to lights & shades – portraying a render, as close to reality

Conventional buyers will question, “will it inspire consumers to buy”? In my opinion, Virtual Place shall be more effective in pre-purchase to purchase zone, where the consumer is uncertain on several shopping options and at times, it leads to shopper abandonment. Not only the AR Tool assists the shoppers with choosing from a plethora of products albeit, assists in sales closures through well-informed decisions.

5. Virtual Artist: Cosmetic Companies have been ‘AR Virtual Artist’ tool for a while, Many Cosmetic brands have embedded and adopted those, This adoption remains to be a classic as well one of the slickest examples of AR within the beauty space.

Like the furniture in homes, The AR Technology lets consumers see what certain beauty products ( such as lipstick, eye shadow, hairdo might look on their face, earlier it cosmetic companies used to use Modi-face Technology to scan the face, before overlaying different types of lip-colors, eye-shadows, false lashes, etc. to name a few

Other than MODI-Face, which was later acquired by Loreal late last year, other cosmetic brands have curated different Augmented Reality Applications suited for their product stable and work across devices.

Google & YouTube launched the AR Beauty Try-On, This allows views to virtually try on makeup while following reviews on products and more from Content Creators/ Influencers on YouTube. Using the App – creators can build immersive experiences for their products, virtual product samples that work on the whole bouquet/ stable range of skin tones. The AR app is currently available on its branded content platform, FameBit

Immersive Display Platforms are being aggressively tested across the spectrum, across Display & Video 360.

Not only it’s a powerful tool for brands and creators to tell richer, more engaging stories about their products to consumers, but AR in products like Search, and futuristic interactive 3D digital assets to display ads to help creators build more engaging and immersive experiences. Applications such as Swirl By Google will assist in bringing three-dimensional digital assets to display advertising on the mobile web – A three-dimensional product display could assist and educate consumers before they opt for making a purchase, It has various iterations, directly zoom in / out, rotate the product or simply play an animation with features displayed. This offering shall be available exclusively through Display & Video 360.

To Recapitulate, The Experiential Industry is at a cusp of technological breakthrough, These new tools will be available to brands and advertisers very soon. More and More technologies and their user applications are coming to light at a much faster rate than imagined before, We think they’ll help brands and advertisers make content more engaging, educational, and ultimately effective in driving purchase decisions across all touchpoints! Exciting Times Ahead, Possibilities Gallore!!