Emily Clark
Brands have begun incorporating augmented reality into their marketing efforts, creating a more interactive and immersive experience for customers. This article will explain how augmented reality is changing how companies market their apps.
App marketing continues to innovate and grow as the competition steepens. As an emerging technology in the consumer market, augmented reality provides an opportunity for apps to increase their daily active users and number of downloads.
Augmented reality gradually has grown more prominent in daily lives as the need to innovate remains constant. Integrating augmented reality into app marketing provides a draw for users who are constantly seeking a more immersive experience.
Augmented Reality can increase dwell times on apps to over 85 seconds and improve click-through rates to purchase by 33%.
Apps need augmented reality to stay relevant as users lose interest quickly if they attention is not captured. Augmented reality provides a unique, immersive, experience that will soon grow to be the standard for apps and app marketing.
Almost all app development companies have a documented and long-term marketing strategy. AR should be a crucial part of this marketing plan. Use this article to understand how augmented reality has developed and the potential AR has in the app marketing industry.
Creating Today’s Augmented Reality
In 1968, Ivan Sutherland developed the first augmented reality device. He created a head-mounted display system where the computer created graphics using simple wireframe drawings.
The users would watch these images through the display system.
Sutherland’s innovation sparked curiosity amongst other scientist who began to experiment with augmenting people’s surroundings. Myron Krueger, in 1974, founded Videoplace, an “artificial reality” laboratory where he crafted onscreen silhouettes, using projectors and video cameras.
Source: https://blog.usejournal.com/what-is-augmented-reality-69b38c1a1c4f
Users could interactive with the silhouettes as they seemed real within the environment.
The military quickly saw the potential for creating augmented reality for training and remote operations. Louis Rosenberg developed Virtual Fixtures for the Air Force in 1992. The military used this AR system to allow officers to control virtually guided machinery from afar.
As augmented reality became a more widely known concept, the NFL implemented it into their Sportvision screen in 2003. The Skycam, a mobile camera that provides the field’s aerial view to watchers, inserted the 1st and Ten line over the field to augment viewer experience.
Today, the NFL utilizes this yellow line constantly during the game to indicate first downs and mark the field of play.
In 2018, Pokemon Go, the app where users search for computer-generated creatures in their real environment, grew to be one of the most popular apps on the app store.
Augmented reality can increase traffic and engagement with customers who are searching for a more immersive experience. As such, more brands are attempting to integrate augmented reality into their app marketing.
Implementing AR Into App Marketing Campaigns
Businesses’ apps can have difficulty standing out amongst all the competition in the industry. Recently, apps have begun integrating AR into their business strategies.
Most consumers want to fully experience a product, especially in the privacy of their own homes. Brands understand the desire to own a product before buying it. Augmented reality allows companies to offer customers a virtual product without deciding to own it physically.
Recently, Sephora integrated augmented reality into its own app. The makeup brand captures a photo of the user and then allows the user to overlay Sephora makeup on their face.
The computer-generated makeup permits user to try on makeup from their homes and experience as many types of makeup as they want without purchasing it.
Traditionally, Sephora used billboards and large print ads to demonstrate the quality of their products. Augmented reality, however, brings the experience to the user. Instead, of simply seeing the makeup on other people, the app makes the user their own personal model.
Sephora’s app has over 27,000 reviews in the App Store, with an average rating of 4.7. Users are satisfied with their experience and make sure to tell social media and friends about their experience. As of now, Sephora continues to be one of the most popular beauty retailers in the world as the company focuses on innovating with new technology.
Still, augmented reality needs to be executed in an effective and valuable manner. Augmented reality should not only seem “cool,” but also offer another dynamic to the user experience.
AMC attempted to build AR features into its app. The movie company launched a campaign for its movie posters and content where app users could access a moving image when they put their phone lens over a certain sign.
Although impressed with the visual ingenuity, most users soon lost interest in this campaign and forgot about this feature. As augmented reality becomes more commonplace, shock value decreases for companies hoping to simply rely on the “coolness” factor.
While AR definitely possesses visual value, AR needs to add another component to a shopping experience that will convert app users to product consumers. Sephora transformed the way users interacted with their product, making their customer experience more personal and fun.
Anticipating the Future of Apps and AR
Companies continue to compete for user attention as the expectation of app quality continues to rise.
Augmented reality, however, costs a lot to integrate effectively. The need to hire a great augmented reality developer can be crucial to create an effective and successful AR app.
Still, compared to virtual reality, AR requires less hardware and money. The potential for AR to become an industry standard seems likely as the benefits tend to outweigh the costs.
Businesses should implement augmented reality into their app as the competition for downloads and active users increases. Augmented reality will transform how users interact with an app. Incorporated successfully, augmented reality has the potential to convert free users to paying customers.
