Marketing in Augmented Reality

Firstly, my apologies for the lack of post last week. I’ve been away for the last two weeks and internet has been in short supply.

Sniffle.

But no fear, ‘Infected’ is back with a BANG this week.

Week 7

What are we discussing? Well how about, Augmented Reality and it’s use in marketing.

What is Augmented Reality?

It’s the blending of real-time footage, with 3-d graphics. And the results are simply incredible. We at Infected have already discussed ARGs or Alternate Reality Gaming where Marketers design ‘Games’ for their followers including the use of social media, mobile technology and real life events.

Well, Augmented Reality (AR) takes the concept of interactive marketing to the extreme. Can you tell I’m a little bit excited about this? Still not sure what I’m on about? Think about Tom Cruise in Minority Report. AR features heavily in his job (remember the cool screen thing) and also in the shopping malls. Now it’s a reality.

How can it be used?

Construction - Using markers, an AR system could draw graphics on top of an object that somebody is working on. This should be one of the first real uses of the system and would be in it’s simplest form.

Military - Providing troops with vital information on their surroundings could change the way military work for good. Can you imagine being able to give soldiers the ability to move where the enemy can’t see them and to find hidden entrances in buildings in real-time? Scary…

Instant Information - Tourists and students could use these systems to learn more about a certain historical event or even to help them find a location in real-time using their phone.

Gaming - Imagine being one of the characters inside a video game? An Australian designer has done it with classic FPS Quake already. Imagine being a character in GTA or Fallout 3. The Wii’s full potential could be realised with AR too.

This one could cause some serious injuries on the streets don’t you think?

But what about AR in Marketing?

This is a huge opportunity for marketers to bring interactivity with their customers to the next level. Already, large companies like Nissan, Volvo and Lego have taken strides towards using it in their campaigns.

My favourite so far is the BMW Z4 campaign:

AR seems to have so much potential, too much to be ignored.

What do people think that this can bring to marketing in the future?

What are your favourite AR campaigns?