Augmented Reality has grown in leaps and bounds over the past decade. From a backburner technology always earmarked for ‘another project, another time,’ to a blossoming industry that’s caught the attention of tech giants and coveted household brands. AR is well-poised to dramatically transform the way audiences consume content by 2021, and giving this power to consumers is the key.
‘But, we have digital media on lock,’ you say. ‘We’ve already got a slew of effective content generation tactics that drive traffic, convert leads, and connect with their intended audiences ideally’; yeah, that’s cool - the folks who brought you instant messaging probably didn’t think mobile video chat would become the next big thing either. Blockbuster didn’t anticipate Netflix. See?
Here at KP9 Interactive, we’ve built the world’s premiere AR-for-all platform that places the power of augmented reality into the hands of digital content creators so they can reach today's digital consumer with an expansive library of incredible 3D animation displays, CASTS, images, and content - all with absolutely no coding experience needed.
In this post, we’re going to discuss how you should be aligning your creative thinking to help build effective AR campaigns and experiences that push expand your imagination and ingenuity as an engaged content creator forward.
Scope
Step one in any digital media campaign is to define the scope of your approach and define the parameters that are going to help set it apart from its competition. Try to play the role of experience architect when beginning your AR experience. To get this flow of experience just right, plot out the narrative of your ideal user from beginning to end.
Luckily, creating effective AR experiences is a relatively simple undertaking that’s all about boosting creativity and unlocking capabilities not previously imagined possible for the masses. Consider being able to take a stellar traditional print ad and augment the content with a pop-up video display of a giveaway offer; imagine catapulting your social media engagement, analytics, and targeted audience by parcelling your content with interactive buttons meant to stimulate new eyes and garner clicks.
The scope of your AR project could include any of the following geared at making the augmented reality situation a more immersive and engaging experience:
Branding - Consider how your brand will be presented in real space, and how to compliment your existing marketing efforts with AR.
Audience expectations - You have an audience base already - consider how the addition of AR will impact their perception of your brand or message, and how they’ll best interpret that message.
Physical/geographic environments - This is where things start to get creative. Remember, with augmented reality comes the addition of physical space to your content efforts. You can integrate physical landmarks, locations, and geo-targets to help make your content experience specific to a certain place, event, or season to help drive home your messaging.
Enhancements - Ask yourself how the inclusion of an augmented reality component will help enhance the content experience. Maybe it’s best to keep things simple for certain applications, and go all-out for others. Maybe sound is a major component of some campaigns, while graphics and 3D models are better served in others.
Takeaways - The purpose of most modern digital content is to delight, entertain, and educate (more on this later) but there’s also the need to deliver a compelling call-to-action (CTA). What’s your AR campaign doing to help your audience take new actionable knowledge with them, and how will it convert your audience from a simple consumer of content into a brand ambassador, a customer, or a spokesperson of your marketing efforts?
The scope of your AR experience will define everything that comes after. Try to think of this stage as laying out the ideal customer journey with content in mind. Envision yourself using the content yourself to help visualize the experience from their point of view.
Impact
They say a picture says 1000 words, so a killer AR experience must say a million. That means making a powerful first impression should rank high on your list of how to create an effective AR experience; lose your audience out of the gate with a cumbersome or confusing experience and you can kiss that lead goodbye.
Like all content campaigns, AR needs a beginning, a middle, and an end with a deliberate focus on three main pillars of content prowess:
Education
Entertainment
Engagement
How do you combine those three elements? Let’s break down Sephora’s use of augmented reality in their 2018 campaign directed at helping people experience their products from home via digital sampling.
First, online sales of makeup are epically slow - the reason why? People who buy makeup are typically uncomfortable purchasing a new colour, or shade of lipstick or foundation unless they’ve had the chance to sample it in-store. Sephora worked with Modiface to develop an AR campaign geared towards showcasing the effects of skincare on a users skin.
First, it entertains - by placing a users face on the screen to take part in the campaign directly. Second, it educates by helping users see the effects of Sephora’s products on their skin. Third, it engages them from a sales perspective to not only boost online sales, but also word-of-mouth advertising from customers-turned-brand-ambassadors.
Conversion
In the realm of augmented reality, converting an audience into a believer of AR tech, or converting them into a paying customer is all about a plot unfolding. Just like in a movie, you’re guiding a user from one end of the spectrum to the other - and in the process, your campaign will either convert them to your intended realization, or not.
Like any movie, that plot unfolds over time - could be one minute, could be an hour. The kicker is, not all of this plot has to unfold via augmented reality. AR can become the proverbial feather in the cap of a broader media experience, or the crown jewel of a digital finale. Take Adidas Originals , for example. Their attempt to “even the playing field for everyone” during the 2018 ComplexCon in California is a prime example of a masterful AR plot to engage the user and convert them into a paying customer.
Attendees downloaded an app, enabled push notifications, and were able to follow Unlock the Drop points to find AR-powered signs. These signs allowed users to select colours, sizes, and make a payment - then they were led to a locker on-site where their new kicks were waiting. These app users were directed on a journey that ended with a sales conversion without having to engage with Adidas staff whatsoever.
---
AR is coming to the masses - but it’s already shaping the experiences modern content consumers are having in the real world. They’re interacting with augmented reality campaigns to find new ways at engaging with the brands they respect.
The next big thing is coming, and consumers of content will always jump ship quickly once it’s accessible and social-friendly. Plus, AR is already a $1.09B global opportunity for marketing and advertising that has big brands chomping at the bit to get in line with immersive experiences like the viral insanity generated by Pokemon Go and Snapchat’s facial recognition AR filters.
We’re primed and ready to generate and support the next viral AR campaign here at KP9. All we need is your creativity.
Thank you for signing up for our newsletter! We hope you enjoy the content.
~ KP9 Interactive Team
Oops, there was an error sending your message.
Please try again later.