The rapid development of new technologies and the improvement of existing ones almost every day brings changes in all areas of people’s lives, both private and business.
In accordance with these changes, marketing strategies and approach to customers are also changing. Many of the new technologies have already become popular in marketing, and their full potential is not even close to being exploited.
Some of the new technologies that are changing our habits and everyday life are: AR – augmented reality, VR – virtual reality, AI – artificial intelligence and IoT – Internet of Things.
In today’s blog post, we will focus mainly on augmented reality (AR) technology and its application in one segment of marketing, because the potentials of new technologies are limitless.
What is Augmented Reality (AR) Technology?
Augmented Reality is a technology that allows us to see virtual content in a real environment, in real-time, by an application through the screen of a device, most often a mobile phone. These elements extend the environment and are only visible if we look at them through a screen.
The primary purpose of Augmented Reality is to improve the user experience and increase engagement in an easy and fun way.
Augmented Reality technology, from its beginning to the present day, has found its implementation in various fields – from the entertainment industry, tourism, education, marketing, design, medicine, architecture, to various industries and the military.
The number of users of this type of technology is increasing year by year. In 2015, 200 million AR users have been recorded worldwide. We have currently exceeded 1 billion users, and by 2023 there will be an estimated 2.4 billion Augmented Reality(AR) users worldwide. This is why many companies implement AR in their business. It is also important to note that the AR market is growing four times faster than VR is doing.
Taking into account all the available statistics, it is easy to conclude in which direction the future of marketing is going.
Augmented Reality Marketing
Augmented Reality Marketing is a new term that we are increasingly encountering in marketing because AR technology has become a powerful marketing tool that creates a unique user experience and is one of the most fun ways to present products to customers.
The implementation of Augmented Reality technology has enabled the visualization of various types of digital content through which users are provided with additional information about the product such as shape, size, ingredients, prices and other features. AR technology additionally enables users to interact with the product, the ability to view the product from different angles, compare with other products, etc.
Since the implementation of AR technology is still relatively new, the application of these features and their combinations creates a unique experience and a sense of delight for users (so called “wow!effect”) , thus making it easier for users to remember the product and manufacturer.
Augmented Reality Marketing sets a new trend in communication between brands and their users.
Depending on the type of target audience, today brands create different AR applications – from simpler ones such as simple entertainment games to attract the attention of potential customers to more complex AR catalogs and the implementation of AR in e-commerce applications.
Some of the well known brands that have already used or using augmented reality are: Starbucks, Converse, Pepsi, Sephora, Timberland, Taco Bell, L’Oréal Paris, BMW and Visualizer, Coca-Cola, NikeiD Augmented, AR furniture app by IKEA, LEGO AR Studio, etc.
AR brochures
One of the quite common examples of AR marketing are AR brochures.
AR brochure is a promotional material where with the implementation of the AR application, each page of the printed brochure “comes to life” and it’s content expanded with additional virtual elements – images, text, videos, animations. On the user side, it does not require any investment, it is enough to download the AR application from the Apple App Store or Google Play. It becomes available to everyone very quickly and easily, which can be especially interesting for brands that operate around the world, because the use of AR brochures reduces the cost of printing and distribution of promotional materials.
BrodBotAR brochure
With the desire to explore the potentials of Augmented Reality, and at the same time to present our work and services in the best way to potential clients, we recently made our printed promotional brochure interactive using our own AR application.
AR adds a new dimension to printed brochures and anyone with access to the BrodBot AR app and the brochure can experience the unique AR interactivities.
You can view and download the Brodbot promotional brochure in pdf format from our website.
And how it looks you can see in the promotional video:
If you want us to create a brochure and AR application to promote your business, or you have another idea where you would apply augmented reality to improve business, feel free to contact us by e-mail:
info@brodbot.hr