Augmented reality (AR) is an exciting new way for companies to market themselves and in terms of using other forms of advertisements, at the same time be cost-effective. Smartphones are pretty much available to a wide range of consumers now, so a huge amount of people can have access to the app.

A bit of background on what augmented reality is: it’s technology that’s able to integrate the virtual and physical world together to enhance the users experience (Berryman,2012). Many companies have successfully implemented augmented reality into their marketing and it has proved to be fun and distinctive to their customers.

Here are a few examples of how AR is being used:

From the video we can see how estate agents can use AR to give customers more information about the desired property they are interested in, they can even be directed to a work email if they have anymore queries, which is quick and easy for the customer.

Stella Artois ‘Le Bar’ app uses your location to pinpoint where you can find bars selling their beer. It gives you directions and information to the place and another great feature is: once you’re in the bar, you are able to rate it, ask your friends if they would like to meet you there and even book a taxi home! (Hannaford, 2009).

Even retail brands have been able to incorporate the technology into their stores. A virtual shopping advantage can be gained by incentives and deals exclusively revealed by the app itself. This could save retailers money by using AR as an alternative to TV advertisements or prints. It’s a great way to engage customers on a completely new level, where brands can bring their stores, advertisements and even windows to life. Click on the link to see more examples of how retailers are using virtual reality in their stores.

The ease of use of mobile internet devices has been especially important in the upcoming of AR (Spaid & Flint, 2014), According to Carmigniani et al (2010), certain issues arise with Augmented reality. It needs to be socially acceptable so the systems implemented does not interrupt with everyday life. For example, when augmented reality is used while driving to see when upcoming traffic is coming along – no one wants an accident and safety has been questioned! The devices used for AR should be wearable and fashionably acceptable with robust, private technology, and also natural when interacting with the device, otherwise using it in public places can be awkward. But now, with Apple’s iPads and the development of the iPhone, AR technology can overcome some of these issues, hence why there is a growing popularity for marketers to use AR.

Benefits for companies using AR is the acquisition of data that comes with using the technology. It is a new way for marketers to sell more products and deliver better measurements of who sees their ad’s and whether consumers engage with it. The technology itself is enjoyable for the consumer in terms of engaging with the brand or product, but the fact that marketers are able to collect the data needed to understand the consumer using the app, such as location or activity is even better.

As we know from the use of big data, using the knowledge we get from this type of analytic, can give us valuable new insights from the consumer’s behaviour, and marketers can interpret this to make better decisions (Nickerson & Zenger, 2004).

For example, Ikea have developed an app where you can take augmented furniture and place it around the room, they found that activity increased by 35% on Sundays (Liao, 2015); from this information, deals and promotions could show/pop-up more frequently on this day, as there are more users engaged in the app who may be more likely to buy.

But, Augmented Reality comes at a price for businesses who want to implement the application, as it can prove quite costly. There are different types or qualities of the application used, and the better the application, the more expensive.

For an app to have the most successful and most interactive features, more money must be invested because of the complexity involved (Brenzo, 2014). Therefore, firms should bare this in mind if they were to choose this type of marketing.

Here is a link to a mobile app development website, that gives you an idea of the costs of making different types of apps, which gives a useful insight.

References:

Brenzo, J. (2014). [online] Marxentlabs.com. Available at: http://www.marxentlabs.com/how-much-does-an-ar-app-cost-augmented-reality-bites/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2016].

Hannaford, K., (2009). Stella Artois Uses Augmented Reality In Cool iPhone App. [online] Gizmodo.com. Available at: http://gizmodo.com/5431120/stella-artois-uses-augmented-reality-in-cool-iphone-app [Accessed 30 Jan. 2016].

Liao, T., (2015) Augmented or admented reality? The influence of marketing on augmented reality technologies, Information, Communication & Society, 18:3, 310-326

Nickerson, J. A., & Zenger, T. R. (2004). A knowledge-based theory of the firm—The problem-solving perspective. Organization Science, 15(6), 617–632.

Berryman, R. D., (2012) Augmented Reality: A Review, Medical Reference Services Quarterly, 31:2, 212-218

Guttentag, D.A. 2010, “Virtual reality: Applications and implications for tourism”, Tourism Management, vol. 31, no. 5, pp. 637-651.

Spaid, I. B., & Flint, J. D., (2014) The Meaning of Shopping Experiences

Augmented By Mobile Internet Devices, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 22:1, 73-90