To increase their customer base, optimize expenses, and raise revenue, modern companies often turn to AR marketing. And, as real-life cases show, promotional apps, branded filters, and AR-powered events are effective at that. In this article, we will describe the 5 benefits of AR marketing, as well as show 7 interesting AR campaigns from major brands and SMEs.
AR Marketing in a Nutshell
AR marketing means promoting whatever your company sells through the use of augmented reality. In practice, this can mean a lot of things, from branded AR masks (like on Snapchat or TikTok) to dedicated mobile apps, experiential marketing, and web-based AR campaigns.
So far, it has shown remarkable success — some brands reported up to 200% increase in sales after running such campaigns. Scientific studies have also shown the direct correlation between AR marketing and retail sales. And the affordability of the technology makes augmented reality campaigns available to medium businesses, not just large enterprises.
How AR Marketing Helps
Using augmented reality in promotional campaigns brings several benefits.
- More sales
According to the cases in the beauty industry, people who tested products through virtual try-on were three times more likely to convert into customer. Moreover, their average order size was one-fifth larger than those of regular shoppers.
2. Recognition and engagement
The most prominent case for raising brand awareness with AR marketing would likely be Ulta. The cosmetics retailer launched a try-on app and reported that their brand engagement increased by 700%
Other types of AR promotion are also quite effective, compared to traditional ones. This is largely thanks to the interactivity and immersiveness they provide. Moreover, AR ads cause people to perceive the brand as “high-tech” and original. As a result, they are much more eye-catching than regular ads.
3. Fewer returns
Processing returns costs retailers hundreds of billions of dollars every year. Not only are they expensive, but they also take time and create vulnerabilities that fraudsters can exploit.
However, companies employing AR try-on, live shopping, online consultations, and other forms of AR marketing are able to significantly decrease returns. Adidas and Macy’s cut them by almost 40% in this manner.
4. Standing out
Augmented reality is still often perceived as a novelty or even a gimmick. But companies that do use it inevitably attract attention that their competitors don’t. And being at the top of a customer’s mind is always helpful.
7 Notable AR Campaigns
This list is by no means exhaustive. But it is enough to give an idea about how brands use AR for promotional purposes.
- Netflix — Stranger Things
The first season of Stranger Things was a blast. So before launching the next one, Netflix decided to further add to the hype. It partnered with Snapchat to launch a 3D augmented reality room as a World Lens. Inside it, people could see the lights that Mrs. Byers used to communicate with her son stuck in the Upside-Down, Demogorgon’s hand, and other memorable items.
For people whose phones can’t handle advanced AR features, Netflix also launched branded filters and backgrounds.
2. Manifest — Everyone’s an influencer
Manifest (MNFST) is an app that streamlines microinfluencer campaigns for brands and helps regular people earn some money through their Instagram accounts.
Businesses can partner up with MNFST and order custom AR masks. Then the app users could use these masks to create content and post it on their Instagram. The more engagements and views this content generates, the more the person earns. They can later withdraw their money or have it donated to various charities.
MNFST gained recognition among both investors and regular users, attracting $2.5M in investment and getting millions of downloads on Android and iOS. It has run campaigns for Nestle, Bolt, and Revolut, among others. If you want to read more about this case, see the case study.
3. IKEA Place
The Swedish home improvement company was among the first to jump on the AR bandwagon. Its flagship effort is its augmented reality iOS app IKEA Place which lets people scan a room, select a piece of furniture and see whether it fits.
4. National Geographic — Rotterdam Train Station
NatGeo brought a bit of untamed nature to the people at Rotterdam train station with the help of augmented reality. It had placed a digital screen that let people select several interactive experiences: jungle, ocean, space, etc.
The campaign made news as it was executed well and required almost no effort from regular people.
5. Sephora — Virtual Artist
Sephora has long been investing in digital transformation, including AR marketing. Its Virtual Artist is an archetypal try-on app with all the typical features (realistic AR makeup application, pricing, product line, etc.) that lets customers experiment with different looks and purchase the products they want.
6. Looke — Virtual Try-on for SMEs
AR is a technology that doesn’t require exorbitant costs to implement. Mid-sized brands, like Looke, can benefit from it as well. Being a niche producer of vegan and eco-friendly beauty products that focuses on their home country of Indonesia, Looke decided to also launch a virtual try-on app.
It contains the brand’s entire product line and is realistic enough to provide a solid try-on experience. Besides checking out the options, users can also find the addresses of the nearest stores stocking Looke merchandise. If you want to read about this app, as well as how Looke used a Beauty AR SDK to save money on the development, see our article.
7. Burger King — Burn That Ad
Burger King doesn’t shy away from aggressive advertising. In 2019 they decided to mobilize their loyal customer base and poke their competitors through an AR app. The campaign called “Burn That Ad” allowed people to virtually “burn” the ads of competing fast-food chains in exchange for a whopper.
Conclusion
By using AR marketing, brands can increase the amount of business they do, decrease expenses, and make themselves look better in the eyes of their customers. It is affordable even to mid-sized companies and has many implementation options: AR apps, outdoor ads, 3D experiences, and more.
