Your Guide to Adding AR to Your Marketing Strategies

If you’ve been in the marketing game long enough, you know that differentiation is everything.

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So, if you’re looking for a unique way to amplify awareness of your brand and give your marketing efforts the boost they need, why not try something new?

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Augmented reality (AR) may sound like far-off and advanced technology right out of a sci-fi movie but in reality, it’s closer and more accessible than you might think.

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No, really. Augmented reality can potentially open up a world of possibilities for marketers who are ready to start tapping its potential and start turning ordinary customer experiences into extraordinary ones!

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So, if you’re ready to embrace augmented reality to differentiate your brand and deliver an exceptional customer experience, we’re ready to help get you there. Today’s blog is going to show you the ways an interactive AR campaign can spice up your marketing efforts, delight your audience, and boost your brand!

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What is Augmented Reality (AR)?

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Augmented reality is a type of software that seemingly overlays digital information like images, text, or sounds, into the real world.

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You can experience augmented reality technology through a number of devices, including AR glasses, smartphones, tablets, or headsets. Simply look through your device’s camera and the AR technology adds additional computer-generated info into your line of sight that makes it seem as if those elements are a part of your world too.

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If you shop on eCommerce sites, you may have already seen this tech in use before, perhaps by looking through your phone’s camera to see how a couch would fit in your living or how big of a TV can fit in your space.

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They are quite common in museums as well, enhancing exhibits to provide visitors with info and images as they point their phones at certain objects.

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How is it Different from Virtual Reality (VR)?

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Good question. 

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While both are sophisticated bits of technology, virtual reality is all about creating a completely computer-generated environment and placing you inside it.

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VR technology usually requires a headset to block out the real world too, in order to let you have a totally immersive experience in a virtual setting or a fictional world. Augmented reality has some of those elements, but the main difference is that it adds images or other computer-generated info to enhance your existing environment without taking you out of it.

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Augmented Reality Marketing Strategies for Your Brand to Try in 2024

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So, if you’re ready to ride the wave of the future and try out some AR advertising strategies for yourself, then that’s great!

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Here are some winning augmented reality marketing strategies to get your brand ahead in 2024 and beyond! Take a look and see which strategies align best with your brand, your products, and your goals.

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Interactive Product Demos

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We briefly went over interactive product demos earlier in this article.

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By allowing you to perform actions like placing a couch against your wall to test how it fits and looks in your space, the brand you just engaged with provided you with an interactive product demo and a bona fide augmented reality shopping experience.

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Why not do the same for your customers?

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Augmented reality demos are the perfect way to allow your customers to digitally interact with your products and get a more tangible feel for how they look.

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Here are some more ideas for interactive product demos:

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• Try Before You Buy — AR experiences can allow customers to see products in their own space or how they’d look worn, like furniture in a room, a bold eyeshadow, or a pair of glasses on their faces. Particularly useful for eCommerce brands that sell exclusively online, where customers cannot hold or try on products.
• Easy Customization — AR can allow customers to customize the products they buy, easily changing colors or features and seeing the results in real-time.
• Product Education — Use AR to break down complex products into understandable parts, interactively highlighting features and benefits. An engaging way to explain your products with the added bonus that your consumers are more likely to remember!

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Immersive Storytelling

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For a twist on storytelling techniques, consider creating some AR experiences that help bring your unique brand stories to life.

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Here are some creative ways to do that:

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• Brand Origin Stories — Use AR to allow users to interact with events of your brand's origin story, like interactive timelines, iterations of your logo, or the evolution of your visual identities.
• Meet the Team Experience — Use AR as part of a “meet the team” feature, where viewers can tap to view an AR video of a team member sharing fun facts about themselves or explaining their role in the company.
• Product Journey — Use AR to bring to life a product's journey from conception to the shelves, offering your users an interactive tour of your development process, manufacturing stages, shipping, and distribution.

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Location-Based Promotions

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Combine AR with hyperlocal marketing and reap the benefits of both worlds!

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This AR/hyperlocal combo will result in a hyperlocal local campaign that uses AR elements to offer promotions when customers are near your store or even in a specific location that’s meaningful to your brand.

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Here are some ideas to get you started!

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• Virtual Pop-Ups — Instantly transform any location into a promotional venue with virtual pop-up shops. With virtual pop-ups, customers can walk past a seemingly ordinary spot, only to discover through their device that they've stumbled upon an exclusive sale or a sneak peek of a new product! These virtual pop-ups can be set up just about anywhere public, making your promotions both surprising and accessible.
• Event or Conference Enhancers — Liven up events or conferences by treating guests to an AR brand experience! For example, at a product launch event, you can use AR to showcase the evolution of your product line or to create an interactive timeline of your company's milestones. At conferences, AR can be used to turn traditional booths into interactive experiences, where your attendees can learn about products or services in a more dynamic and engaging way that will have them talking about you for months!
• Interactive Maps — Treat your audience to an augmented reality shopping experience inside or around your store by implementing interactive AR maps. These maps can guide your customers to specific products, reveal hidden discounts as they navigate through different departments, or even tell the story of selected products! Outside the store, AR maps can guide potential customers to your location by highlighting the quickest routes or showcasing nearby points of interest related to your brand.
• Location-Based Triggers for Promotions — Using geolocation technology to trigger AR experiences when customers are near your store, or a specific location is a great way to reel them in. When customers enter a designated area, they could receive a notification inviting them to open your app for an AR experience, like a virtual treasure hunt, leading them to exclusive offers or promotions.
• Interactive Storytelling at Brand Landmarks — If there are locations important to your brand's history or identity, why turn them into storytelling hotspots? Visitors can use their AR app to unlock stories, fun facts, or interactive experiences tied to the location. This not only improves the visitor's experience but also deepens their connection to your brand.

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User-Generated Content Campaigns

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Light up your socials with a fun and interactive user-generated content campaign!

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Create some AR branded elements like frames, banners, or interactive characters/backgrounds for your audience to add to their photos and selfies, and then invite them to share on your social media platforms using a branded hashtag!

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This will get your followers engaged, provide you with free content for marketing purposes, and possibly expand your reach by going viral!

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Be sure that any user submissions are accessible, easy to find, and easy to share or repost for a fun and interactive engagement booster for your brand.

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How to Get Started with Augmented Reality Marketing

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If you’re considering getting started with an augmented reality marketing campaign, then you probably have some questions.

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To help you get them answered, here is a list of steps you should take to make sure your AR marketing campaign is aligned with your brand objectives and as effective and successful as it can be.

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Step 1: Identify Your Goals

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Before you dive into AR, think about what you want it to achieve first.

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Is it increased brand awareness? More customer engagement? A unique and interesting way to differentiate your brand and win over more new customers?

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Whatever it is, clearly identifying your goals will help you make your decisions and measure your success.

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Step 2: Choose the Right Platform

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Once you’ve got your goals, think about where your key audience is reaching you.

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Are they primarily an iOS crowd? If so, then ARKit is what you need.

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Android? You might be better off with ARCore.

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A mix of both? Unity might be the choice for you.

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Do your research because choosing the right platform and framework will affect the success of your campaign. 

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*If you have more questions about choosing augmented reality frameworks, check out our recent blog on how to choose the best augmented reality framework for you!

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Step 3: Create AR Content

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With your goals, audience, and framework narrowed down, all that’s left is the content.

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We’ve given you some winning strategies above, so choose the ones that would work best to engage your audience, meet your goals, and boost your brand!

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One More Way to Boost Your Brand

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If you’re pumped and ready to hire a developer and start bringing your first (or second or third) augmented reality marketing campaign to life, then we’re here for it.

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And if you’d like some assistance with that, a Creative Director who can take over your campaign, source talented AR developers, and put the pieces of the puzzle in place to help you create a cohesive campaign and get the most ROI from your efforts, then you’re in the right place.

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Why not book a demo call today, connect with a Creative Director, and see how augmented reality can fit into your marketing efforts and product development?

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Are you ready to boost your brand?

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