In the Age of Vanity — The Dawn of AR

In today’s age of vanity, shopping for a phone is a markedly different experience from a decade ago. Today, smartphones revolve around memory capacity, battery life, and most importantly — camera quality. 

What does camera quality have to do with growing a business? With cameras, it’s never been just about the gear, it’s about what you do with it. Augmented reality (AR) is one of the ways businesses are venturing into the realm of digital technology, and here’s how. 

Enter the new age of virtual reality 

While camera brands like Canon and Nikon might be eyeing the growth of phone camera quality, other businesses are learning to make the best of it. Today, customers are engaging with brands via social media, or at the very least, through their phones.  

Many businesses have started exploring interactive engagement opportunities with customers via social media. Many utilise facets like Facebook’s 360-degree view and variations of virtual tours to create immersive experiences of their brand for their audiences. Some even take it to the next level with:- 

AR — a versatile augmentation 

Augmented Reality (AR) is the lastest method for businesses looking to engage their customers in the social media realm. Virtual reality often requires specialised headsets like the Oculus Rift to truly immerse the audience in the experience, while AR can be easily implemented across most smartphones today. Think AR games like Pokemon GO or AR use in browsers, 3D viewers, and GPS functions. 

Social media platforms like Instagram and SnapChat capitalise greatly on the vanity of the masses. Best known for their interactive and AR filters, they cycle through new and interesting variations of image and video filters at a regular interval to boost engagement and app use.  

From a more technical standpoint, Augment, for example, is an iOS- and Android-friendly app that allows users to view products in real-time environments. Most used by those in the retail, e-commerce, and architecture industries, this app amplifies the customer journey experience of businesses and encourages active engagement among its customers. 

A digital world in the palm of their hands 

Technology continues to climb ever closer to flying cars and holographic communication screens. The digital world is inevitable, and businesses are wise to invest in learning how to best integrate these technologies into their marketing campaigns. 

Some brand giants have already made headway with utilising AR in their campaigns. Timberland erected interactive screens at their physical stores that utilised motion sensor technology to capture their customers’ faces and figures so they could ‘test out’ clothing virtually. 

Meanwhile, Sephora introduced an app that allowed customers to ‘test out’ makeup selections on their faces. By overcoming the challenge faced by customers of not being able to try out products when shopping online, this app helped Sephora boost its online engagement and lead qualifications. 

One small step for mankind, one giant leap for marketing 

Technology has – and continues to – expand the pathways and opportunities for businesses to execute their marketing campaigns. With smartphone specs becoming increasingly sophisticated every day, digital campaigns can incorporate 3D, VR and even AR.  

The only thing left to do is for businesses to embrace it.