How Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Will Change the Future of Marketing

In today’s business arena, the cutthroat competition has forced many players to adopt different paths to gain the public attention and persuade the prospective buyers of the product. Businesses and corporates are tapping on all the mediums through which they can reach their targeted audience in an economical yet effective way. From banners and posters to social media marketing and online advertisements, the evolution of the marketing techniques has always maintained its pace. The marketers of today have put on their creative hats and have started making the most of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technologies to lure the market towards their product.

Initially, the use of this technology was limited to only certain industries like entertainment and fashion. From helping the shoppers to adding a new dimension of user experience, the users of AR and VR technologies have just started exploring the different ways of creating a more engaging and persuasive platform.

The Present Use

Augmented Reality has precisely made the digital world collide with the real world. The Emergence of games like Pokémon Go and other special effect applications has proved to the world that use of such an interface is unlimited. The Japanese cartoon not only made a successful game out of the technology but also increased its viewership in that period. Gaming and entertainment were the first industries to develop the advanced forms of this technology as we see it today, all from a simple concept. But this hasn’t stopped the marketing geeks to take advantage of a whole new platform. Let us explore how different industries plan to use this technology.

Experience by observing

Brands in industries like cosmetics, furniture, and clothing have started developing applications which gives you an interactive experience and attractive display of their products. For a couple of years, cosmetic industries have used such applications to show the results of their products like creams and moisturizers. Now, you do not have to worry before trying a new hairstyle, as AR technology can show you quite precisely how you would look.

Fashion brands like Uniqlo have come up with the new generation of magic mirrors. You don’t have to worry about removing and wearing garments again and again as these virtual dressing rooms help you to imagine yourselves in the selected range of clothes. All of this has led to a hassle-free experience which customers have never experienced before. The success rate of such application is also tempting as it has increased the sales of such companies manifold.

Many multinational furniture brand stores have come up with applications pre-installed in the tablets which lets you select and place their products on the surface, so you can exactly know whether the furniture or fixture is according to your liking. Remodeling your home could pose a big challenge as communicating the design by a professional to their clients sometimes become a big challenge. Using VR technology to make models of buildings and creating an immersive experience of it could be a simple answer to this question.

All such activities have made headlines in the past year and attracted multiple consumers just to try the magic of AR and VR, thus making them much more effective than the conventional sources of marketing. With the development of the technologies in these sectors, these marketing techniques promise to be much more cost-efficient in the coming years and also complement the use of other advertisement forms in the arena.

The social media catapult

The giants of social media like Snapchat and Facebook have realized how they can use AR technologies to provide a new source of entertainment to their users. In many ways, AR has a wider scope than VR technologies in the field of marketing. A simple device like a smartphone or a tablet with a camera can become a tool for AR, on the other hand, VR technology requires a specific VR headset which consumers might not be willing to invest in today.

Snapchat recently has spread its feathers and envisions itself growing from an image sharing application to a full-fledged camera app. It has developed many filters in the past for the companies like Time-Warner to advertise their upcoming services and movies. These filters have given access to the huge user base of the application to the marketing company and have given positive results. Similarly, Facebook is opening new possibilities for the AR developers by providing them access to the device camera (within the application) for image recognition which would help it in collecting demographic data and giving more precise ads which would be relevant to the user.

The lead generation and conversion rates also has seen an upward movement as and when the use of such technologies was included in the marketing campaigns.

The VR trend

The Virtual Reality technology has a lot of untapped potential, and many multinational corporations are spending a lot to achieve the first movers advantage. However, the cost of the VR headsets still acts as a deterrent in choosing it for marketing purposes. Corporates and other brands in automobile sector are exploring avenues through which they can use this technology to give a 360-degree view and a 3D view of the interiors of a particular automobile which would let the customers explore the vehicle while sitting in the comforts of their home.

Businesses have started using the VR technology to introduce their companies to the prospective clients and customers and boasting their values and USPs in a storytelling mode. However, the VR enthusiasts have pointed out how different industries relating to travel and tourism can make the most out of this technology. The hotels can use it to give a brief about the facilities they offer and the tourist agencies can give a taste of the exotic destinations to their customers luring them to buy the packages they offer.

Thus, the new forms of interactive advertisements will not only add a new dimension for the users to experience but will also in the near future change the whole meaning of advertising by enhancing the conversion rates of the businesses which use the AR and VR technologies.