Looking at the World through a Different Lens – Mobiles, AR and Brands

Augmented Reality experiences on mobiles offers immersive and interactive experiences to users and comes with the potential to completely revolutionize the way businesses connect with their customers. Brands across various different industries can use AR to connect innovatively with their audiences in a manner that will enthrall them and also drive conversions and results.

How it works is that a layer of digital content is put on a person’s view of the actual real world on either a tablet, smart phone or a mobile device. The digital content can be anything – videos, images, animation or even 3D models which the user can move or change or manipulate and interact with.

Snapchat has made this wildly popular – the Marker lenses on Snapchat, for example can dynamically program real-world experiences with contextually relevant augmented reality. This encourages repeat visits and content creation by consumers. Businesses can use it to keep their real physical spaces more exciting by adding a digital layer to it. With AR becoming more and more a big part of the user experience, everyday activities become a lot more engaging.

Pokemon Go, another AR based digital smartphone game, uses a bunch of technologies built into smartphones, including location tracking and cameras. This has people go to public landmarks, trying to find virtual loot and collectible characters. Pokemon Go has introduced millions of users to AR. Pokémon Go represents what happens when technology — in this case, augmented reality or A.R.,- fuses the digital technology with the physical world. This works when digital imagery is overlaid on a user’s actual view of the real physical world by using a smart phone or mobile device.

Businesses and brands can enable users and customers to actually experience their products – either on themselves, or in their homes and in their particular environment and physical spaces – in a way that takes them back to the kind of experiences they had when they visited a store in person.

There is no doubt that Augmented Reality can have a huge impact on the way brands connect with and engage their customers through mobile devices. It has the potential and the capability to take the whole engagement to a different level completely.

Brands will be able to create highly immersive, engaging and meaningfully memorable experience for its customers. While other traditional methods are largely passive, this makes the user participate and actively engage and interact with the material. This will go a long way in strengthening the bond between the customer and the brand.

A more relevant and a far more personalized customer experience is now possible which brands can use to engage customers better. The experience is more relevant – and when it uses user preferences and location-based data, brands can send messaging and targeted content that will appeal to each customer individually. This helps brands convert their customers, increase ROI for themselves and also goes a long way in building brand loyalty and trust.

Through AR, brands are now able to seamlessly bridge the gap between the virtual, digital and the physical worlds. Retailers will find this most useful as they can use AR inside their stores to improve customer experiences, boost conversion and drive sales. AR can bring customers more information about products, should they want to know more. It can show them how products will look in their own environments at home. Virtual and digital demonstrations will help customers understand how products work. All this will add to customers’ shopping experience to a very large extent.

When brands create immersive experiences for their customers through AR on mobiles and make it shareable, it is a great way to attract attention to themselves, and create buzz. Users who find it appealing will share. And the awareness of the brand increases. Brands can do just about anything when it comes to doing something innovative and experiential. It could be a very interactive product launch. Or maybe a treasure hunt – like Pokemon!

The important thing is that the content must be of high quality and must be something that would enhance the customers’ user experience. This calls for the right creative idea and vision, the ability to tell a story that is compelling and convincing and also a strong grasp of the technology and what it can do.

Augmented Reality on mobiles can be game-changing for businesses and brands as this is something that will truly connect with today’s customer who is a digital native and highly tech savvy. It is up to brands to make the most of it!