The key to improving your brand experience is to start thinking outside of the box. In such a competitive online playing field, it’s time to start getting creative with your campaigns and offer your audience a digital adventure they’ll never forget.
As 71% of online shoppers claim that they are more likely to choose a brand that offers an AR-led experience, could immersive technology be a brand’s ticket to improving user engagement? From enhancing a user's visual journey to addressing the personalisation demands digital natives crave, it’s time to uncover the potential of branding through a lens.
Transforming user experiences
Augmented reality bends the physical world and transforms our visual experiences into something exciting. Using hyper-realistic digital layering, AR can take a garden and transport a user to a jungle or turn a billboard into an interactive event. Whether we tap into the virtual world via AR-charged glasses or through a smartphone lens, immersive technology continues to magically enhance the world around us.
Fashion giants including Hugo Boss and Farfetch are using AR to improve fitting room customisation, while interior experts at IKEA allow users to digitally visualise their new sofa from the comfort of their current one.
Investing in an AR solution has become a must-have in the battle to upgrade a brand’s user experience. Improving brand engagement by 66% and sales by 40%, the digital marketing campaigns of the future will be full of immersive elements.
Users crave innovative experiences. Transport them to a fashion-focused paradise or engage with them in a series of product-packed mini-games. If you want your brand to stand out, give your audience something to talk about.
Popular AR solutions
If you want to transform your brand experience, look no further. From personalisation-powered virtual assistants to taking your advertising campaign to the next level, the opportunities are endless when it comes to inserting AR into your strategy.
Let’s take a look at some of the hottest AR campaigns shaping the future of immersive branding.
The virtual fitting room
Having access to every item of clothing on the shop floor is a shopaholic’s dream. What if we told you that through the power of AR, users could unlock a catalogue of items to try on virtually, simply using their phone or tablet?
One brand pioneering the future of the virtual fitting room is Farfetch. Partnering up with the luxury fashion brand Off-White, Farfetch transformed their online shopping experience during their latest AR-driven campaign.
Offering shoppers the chance to try on a range of jackets and accessories from the Farfetch X Off-White collection, users could virtually try the garments in a 3D simulation. Not only could these creations be sent to friends on social platforms, but motion sensor technology enabled users to get a peek at the jacket from a number of angles and positions, mimicking a real-life fitting room experience.
Taking the virtual fitting room one step further are brands like Superdry and Nike. Introducing an AR-powered tailor service to their online shopping experience, they are just a few of the fashion giants prioritising personalisation when crafting a brand strategy.
Nike, for example, has combined tailoring with its virtual try-on experience. Allowing app visitors to measure their feet using an AR-generated scanner, the footwear brand can then find the perfect pair of customised kicks to try on.
Personalisation plays a key role in improving the brand experience. And further, 40% of people say they’d pay more for a product or service that they can customise with AR.
Interactive advertising
AR can also take your advertising strategy into a virtual realm, especially if you want to improve your brand experience on the go. Whether you invest in a QR-coded billboard or branded smart mirror, there are plenty of steps you can take to engage with your audience on their travels.
AR-driven advertisements stop potential customers in their tracks. And with the chance to try out something new and exciting, they are more likely to scan that QR code and engage.
Boohoo’s Black Friday campaign was a great example of how AR can enhance a user’s brand experience. Turning the popular shopping fest into Hack Friday, BoohooMAN’s QR-coded billboards allowed users to engage with their original character, ‘Hacker Robin’, who jumped out of the poster to give viewers secret discount codes for streamlined shopping.
“Our aim was to lift traditional billboard spaces by utilising augmented reality alongside the cyber hacking revolution,” said the Head of Ecommerce at BoohooMAN, Victoria Pearson. “This campaign is the first of a number of digital projects we are working on to provide more value to customers long term.”
Immersive interior design
On the back of the pandemic’s push for home-based experiences, why not use AR to upgrade a user’s online shopping journey?
Using augmented reality, browsers can now automatically size up a sofa, try out a paint colour and virtually lay some wood flooring. With an extra visual touch, seeing how a product will look in the house could play a key role in a purchase decision.
In fact, experts at Apple have revealed that consumers are 11 times more likely to purchase a piece of furniture if they can visualise it in their own homes. IKEA is leading an AR initiative using Apple tech, after releasing their Space10 Studio app that enables a user to generate a 3D version of their room, before customising it from head to toe in IKEA decor.
From designing door frames to selecting lamps and rugs, the IKEA studio is accessible using LiDAR sensors in iPhones and is built to pair perfectly with the awaited arrival of Apple Glass.
“We’ve made very deliberate decisions to paint the vision of Studio as one that can exist on both the smartphone or in a glasses-like setting,” says Design Lead at Space10, Tommy Campbell. “We’ve also used a new renderer reality kit from Apple that lets us achieve a level of detail on these models that hasn’t been seen before in IKEA’s AR portfolio.”
Branded games
Gaming platforms continue to create fresh and engaging experiences for digital natives. After Media Post revealed that 90% of Gen Z engage in some form of gaming experience weekly, gamification has started to dominate the branding strategies of the future.
Luxury fashion brands such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren have already made their way into the metaverse, and more high-street fashion brands are following suit.
Pull & Bear have recently launched their own version of a branded campaign in the form of their AR ‘Pacific Game’. In collaboration with Meta’s ‘Creative Shop’, users can hop into branded cities through the likes of Facebook and Instagram, using their front camera feature.
Players must work to dodge obstacles in order to collect Pull & Bear coins. Better still, combining AR filtering with popular platforms such as Instagram gives users the chance to share their scores within their own circle of followers, in turn raising brand awareness and encouraging other users to get involved.
The branding lens of the future
The key to providing the perfect brand experience is to stay ahead of the technological curve. Digital native demands are constantly evolving, especially as we add more AR/VR solutions to the mix.
As we become accustomed to new forms of interactive advertising, users will expect brands to roll out the red carpet when launching new digital campaigns.
With Apple’s AR-driven specs, Apple Glass, tipped to launch in 2023/2024, a new era of wearable computing is just around the corner. While tapping into the virtual world via our smartphone devices has begun to hit the mainstream, it’s clear that the future holds even more opportunities for immersivity.
If you want your brand to remain on top, it’s time to take your campaigning into a virtual reality.
