Augmented Reality has the potential to transform the digital landscape, merging online and offline in many creative ways. It is among the most interactive digital tools available to marketers, delivering unparalleled experiential engagement.
Before you write me off as a nutcase, I’m not talking about the ‘90s-style virtual reality that required you to wear bulky head gear and look like the top half of the robot from Lost In Space. Augmented Reality, known as ‘AR’, enables consumers to physically manipulate 3D objects as displayed on their existing computer and webcam, or a mobile phone, to present interactive overlays on the real world environment. Think Princess Leia’s hologram message in Star Wars and you are pretty close.
One of the most obvious applications for retail is a location-based service that tells you how close you are to the shop you need, or ratings and reviews for nearby restaurants along with instructions on how to get there, which is kind of like a pimped up GPS, where the instructions are superimposed over a real-time camera view of what you’re looking at. There are, however, a lot of other applications for this technology that are rapidly being taken up by both retailers and product manufacturers.
Packaging
In March 2009, Lego used image recognition technology on their packaging to allow consumers to see a final model in 3D prior to purchase. Consumers simply had to hold the Lego box up to an in-store kiosk to get a 3D hologram of the finished model.
In addition to providing powerful pre-purchase imagery, image recognition technology can also display associated information like specification sheets, nutritional information, recipe suggestions or even relevant in-store specials.
Whilst this data lets the consumer make smarter choices in the store and at the register, it requires the consumer to be already in-store considering a product.
Catalogues
In an attempt to capture shopper imagination before heading in-store, US retailer Best Buy added an AR component to its August 2009 weekly newspaper inserts.
The feature cover item of a Toshiba Satellite laptop included a glyph enabling users to see a 3D representation of the laptop when they visited the Best Buy 3D web site. The same site is being re-used for all ‘Best Buy in 3D’ promotions and has already been updated with more products.
Best Buy has gone on record with the impressive results:
- Despite zero promotion of the AR insert, about 6,500 people tried it out— more than double the company’s expectations
- 78 per cent of people who went to the site to see the experience had a webcam.
- The site experienced a high click-through rate of 12 per cent to other site pages from the core AR page.
Product brochures
In August 2008 at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, Nissan took run-of-the-mill car brochures to a much more engaging level to support the launch of the third-generation Nissan Cube. Visitors at the show were provided with a Nissan Cube brochure that was embedded with AR technology. When held up to a webcam, 3D models of the vehicle offer views of the car’s exterior and interior in real-time interaction with the brochure content. Users were able to interact with the 3D image by selecting configuration options, including colour and other accessories, and saw this immediately updated on the 3D model.
To emphasise the space and capacity of the Cube, and have some fun with AR, users were able to open a “magic space” showing a disco, a ‘70s lounge room with a lava lamp, and even a refrigerator in the boot space.
Virtual changing rooms
When it comes to shopping for clothes, a key component for a shopper is the ability to try on things on, checking not only for size but to see how various combinations of apparel can work together. No matter how convenient online shopping can be, selecting clothes via computer is a frustrating experience as it lacks this basic ability.
Combining AR and Motion Capture, the “Webcam Social Shopper” application allows users to hold a glyph up to their web cam and select from a variety of clothing items and styles that are overlayed on the webcam’s video. Motion capture tracks the user’s movements, allowing them to select options and interact with the application without having to use a keyboard and mouse.
With the in-built ability to share photos from within the application, and the potential to include live video steams, shoppers can also receive comments on the selected items from family and friends before making a purchase, bringing a social feedback component into online shopping. Additional features will allow users to enter their sizes to make the displayed articles look more realistic. This technology has yet to be deployed to a live web site, but the developers are ready for the beta version to be trialled now.
The bonus is virtual
In May 2009, Paramount Pictures created “Experience The Enterprise”, a 3D interactive version of the Starship Enterprise that you can hold in the palm of your hand. Promoted on the cover of DVD releases, the virtual experience adds an extra dimension to the usual bonus features packaged with and on DVDs.
Promotion like this can be used as a teaser for upcoming movies and episodes, and can be adapted as plot lines are revealed or new characters are added.
Say goodbye to decoder rings
In-pack prizes have always inspired children’s imaginations. From decoder rings to pogs, the gifts have generated countless hours of fun.
Using AR, Topps 2009 baseballs cards have allowed American kids’ dreams to come true by bringing their favourite stars to life on their computer screens, with video games that allow them to interact with the players as each card is placed near a web cam, and the possibility of virtual players interacting with each other if multiple cards are placed in range of the camera.
Where to now?
Allowing the consumer to engage in lifelike 3D images holds an open-ended future for AR technology and we’re only at the start of this potential shift in consumer marketing and buying habits. Using future versions of the technology discussed above, it could even lead to the shrinking of retail store sizes. Imagine a clothing store that only needs one basic size of each garment on display – colours and prints could be virtual and stored in space-saving stockrooms rather than on individual hangers in the shopfront.
One thing is certain: in the next twelve months, the general public is going to be exposed to AR on a regular basis. In Australia, News Limited has signed a deal to roll out Augmented Reality content across all of its print publications. Joe Talcott, group marketing director for News Limited, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation said, “This incredible technology will allow advertising content on the page to come alive as moving pictures and sound – it will change the way advertisers think about newspapers.”
With this widespread integration of AR into trusted brands, this convergent technology promises to merge the online and offline experiences for both individual brands and retail stores.
Now is the time to ensure that your existing consumer-facing website offers a digital experience that builds trust and familiarity with your products and brands and to think about how Augmented Reality can enhance your business.
