Where are the Pokemon?
Where are they all?
Well, thanks to Pokemon Go
2016 was the year
the world started paying attention
to augmented reality.
So what is augmented reality?
Augmented reality or AR
enhances the physical world around you
by overlaying virtual elements such as
text, image, or video
and seen through displays such as
the HoloLens,
through Google Glass,
and more commonly
through the camera view on your smartphone.
AR fits into three categories:
information overlay,
virtual objects,
and digital packaging.
Let's speak about each of those just quickly.
The best way to explain information overlay
is to provide the example of the British Museum
that partnered up with Samsung
to create an AR app
to provide its visitors with additional information
about the objects around them.
A good example of virtual objects
is IKEA's AR app,
which allowed its users
to see how specific furniture looked inside of their home
and also allowed them
to resize that furniture
to see exactly how it would look in real life.
For digital packaging,
Starbucks had a campaign a few years ago
where their customers could download
the Starbucks AR app,
point it at a coffee cup,
and see a cool animation.
So how is AR going to affect the marketing world?
Well, the biggest impact
is going to be seen in eCommerce
because people are going to be able to
try things out
in the comfort of their own home
and that's going to
remove a lot of the barriers and
friction to purchasing online.
That's powerful.
On top of that,
eCommerce retailers are going to be able to get
a lot more insight into their customer's shopping habits.
For example,
an online fashion store
is going to be able to see
what products are being tried on,
how long they've been tried on for,
and whether they're being shared
across social media or not.
That information can then be used
to improve the performance of the entire online store.
So where is it all going in the future?
AR is going to be the future of eCommerce
and if you're not using it, you'll be left behind.
Plus, combining AR
with AI based advertising optimisation
is going to take eCommerce advertising
to the next level.
So what can you do now?
Well, be curious about AR.
Download and test new apps
so you can really start to
understand how companies are engaging
with their audience through AR.
If your business supports it,
leverage and bounce off the back of
already successful AR apps
such as Pokemon Go.
And if you're really feeling up for it,
invest in your own AR app
because that will really set you apart
from the competition.
Where are those Pokemon?
I can't see them anywhere.
Hmmmm.
