At present, the world is home to over 200 million companies worldwide, and this rise is nowhere near slowing down. However, due to the high stakes of entering the business and service industry, a lot of businesses don’t even make it through their first year. With the competitive markets, brands need to do what they can to remain relevant amid the growing business industry. These days, one of the important marketing tools that businesses integrate into their strategies is augmented reality.
What Is Augmented Reality?
Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the breakthrough technologies of the 20th century. Back then, when its full potential had not yet been realized, it was utilized for military testing purposes. Now, over 20 years later, it is fully immersed in everyday technology. Its uses are continually expanding, making it an important tool for modern-day business strategies.
Through AR, companies provide their customers with a unique experience by adding superimposed information to their everyday lives. Augmented reality should not be mistaken with virtual reality. If virtual reality creates a completely new environment for a user in a make-believe virtual realm, augmented reality takes what is present within a user’s environment and adds to it to create an “augmented” environment.
In the present day, AR features are typically easily accessible by individuals through their mobile phones. However, this growing AR accessibility is not stopping any time soon. Modern innovations are finding more ways to further integrate AR into everyday life. As such, it has become one of the most important instruments in modern-day marketing strategies.
The Benefits of Augmented Reality
The potential of augmented reality opens many opportunities for different marketing strategies mentioned in this article. The use of AR is one of the emerging trends that allow companies to introduce their products to consumers in new and more engaging ways. In many ways, augmented reality presents different benefits for businesses due to the following characteristics:
Interesting
There are different features offered by augmented reality. However, given the wide range of technological advancements, people are accustomed to in the present day, impressing an individual may be a lot more difficult. This makes augmented reality an interesting tool that would most likely pique a person’s interests.
Augmented reality creates a new platform that can catch the interest of individuals who are looking for new things. Unlike the print ad marketing strategy of the past, the futuristic approach brought by augmented reality will attract a lot of people. By giving the brand a lot of exposure, AR helps a business reach more potential customers, leading to an increase in product sales.
Additionally, being able to use augmented reality can send out a good message to the consumers. With this up-to-date technology, they will be convinced of a company’s capability to produce high-quality products. This can help the company gain an image of being futuristic and innovative. It also improves their reputation among the public market.
Flexible
At present, the possibilities augmented reality presents are endless. Unlike print ads and traditional commercial advertisements, AR in marketing is not bounded by rules, frames, time limits, or scripts. This ultra-realistic, super-imposed reality can become what a company needs it to be. With its unlimited capabilities, it can augment reality and demonstrate a product that can speak for itself.
Through an AR application, a potential customer can watch a product come to life. This can give them a better idea of a product, giving them more confidence in their choices. With its flexibility, an AR can be as simple or as complicated as businesses want. This makes it one of the most advanced and coveted marketing tools in the modern world.
Interactive
AR marketing strategies are highly beneficial as they present features that allow companies to better engage a client. By being interactive, the user experience AR technology offers to consumers is unlike any other. A potential client will feel more drawn to a marketing ad that they can interact with, control, and manipulate. Through this technology, the ad comes alive in the real world.
What Is the Role of Augmented Reality in Marketing?
Given the characteristics of augmented reality, how exactly can it be used in a marketing strategy? There are several answers to this question. This brings us back to the biggest benefit that AR provides – it can be anything anyone wants it to be.
1. Augmented Reality Helps Users Try a Product Before They Decide to Buy
At present, there is an ever-widening marketplace full of products that a customer can choose from. As such, a means of allowing them to experience a product before they decide to purchase it is a huge plus. In the retail industry, “try before you buy” through AR is making waves. Now, customers can decide to see what they would look like after they decide to buy a product. They don’t even have to be in a physical store to manually sift through racks and racks of products. They can just be lounging at home, scrolling through the different products they may like. When they find the right match, they can head to the store knowing exactly what they wish to buy. This works for clothing, cosmetics, and a whole lot more!
2. It Helps Create a Buzz Around A Brand Name
We cannot deny that people in the modern era are hungry for advancements. People are constantly looking out for new things. Everyone wishes to get into a fad and understand what’s hot and what’s not. This explains why brands are constantly trying to be on those “top trending” lists.
If “trending” is the name of the game, then AR might be the brand-new marketing strategy that everyone is looking for. Being relatively new for a lot of people, AR technology is sure to amaze many of users. It will create a new user experience that will definitely reach the airwaves. Right now, Instagram has been implementing a lot of AR strategies to create new and interactive filters. This is gaining popularity, drawing more users to go on the platform and try this new feature. A business that decides to be one of the first users of AR as a campaign strategy will have an edge over competitors.
3. It Can Help Merge Expectations and Reality
A lot of individuals are now keen when watching different advertisements. Over the years, the topic of “expectation vs. reality” has become one of the main criticisms against brands. A lot of brands are not able to deliver exactly what they advertise to customers. However, with augmented reality, brands can finally find a way to merge expectations and reality.
Augmented reality can help businesses show their products exactly how they are without compromising the “wow” factor customers are looking for. By showing clients exactly what they can give, companies show off a brand that values transparency, honesty, and reliability. By doing away with unrealistic standards of marketing, businesses will have products that can sell themselves, without being prettied up for the camera.
What Now?
Now is not the time to be left behind. The competition within the market is getting tougher and more cutthroat than ever. Without having the initiative to constantly find new ways to grow and innovate, a business will not survive. In a sea of competition, a business must do what it can to keep afloat. Unrealistic advertisements are a thing of the past; AR advertising is the thing of the future.
