New AR's resolutions for 2024

The past few months have flown by and it is therefore time for a new newsletter. We look ahead to the new year and combine our New Year's resolutions with the AR trends to follow in 2024. PRESS START ??

1. Let's give brands the active attention they deserve
2. Amplify the use of the ever growing and powerful social AR (ad) ecosystem
3. Create more unique and personal experiences with AI
4. Make brand engagement more accessible with interactive (AR) mirrors
5. Bringing digital culture and virtual goods into the offline world
6. Create more immersive spaces with location-based AR and headsets

1. Let's give brands the active attention they deserve

Various studies and publications shows us that most digital ads are viewed with less and less attention. Research by Karen Nelson-Field PhD (CEO Amplified Intelligence) shows that 85% of 130,000 digital ad views she researched didn't achieve the 2.5 seconds or more of active attention necessary to impact brand memories and so help build mental availability. Brands are therefore shifting from a focus on reach to active attention, which has much more effect in the longer term. From quick response marketing to brand building.

AR is a medium where long active attention/playtime is achieved and therefore an important metric. People engage with a brand with an active mindset for a long time. Research by the Dentsu group (in collaboration with Snapchat) shows that people pay 4x more attention (in seconds) to AR than traditional digital ads. And this attention yields results for brands because Meta has conducted research into campaigns where video was combined with AR and they had a 3x higher brand lift. And this even leads to higher conversion, according to a study by Niantic Rewarded AR program where a case led to 5x higher sales during the campaign period. As an AR agency we will ensure that brands receive the attention they deserve by leading brands into this necessary shift.

2. Amplify the use of the ever growing and powerful social AR (ad) ecosystem

Social AR has been the driving force behind the growth of AR use for many years. And the largest platforms Snapchat, Meta and TikTok also continue to develop with new features (such as AI integrations, about which more later) that increase this use. On TikTok, a total of 25 billion videos have been generated with all AR effects, generating a total of 10 trillion views. On Snapchat, 250 million users (70%) use AR Lenses every day.

And while we as a studio had been able to develop sponsored/promoted AR on Snapchat and Meta for years, this was not yet the case with TikTok. But they recently opened this up so that studios like us can now also develop promoted branded AR effects for every brand. The AR advertising platform on these social platforms is also continuing to expand. Meta launched AR ads for Instagram Reels and Facebook Stories last year. This is extremely interesting for brands because there are 200 billion Reels plays on Instagram every day with 2 billion reshares. In short, the organic reach on social, but also the paid engagement with new ad formats, offers brands enormous opportunities to combine video with AR for that active attention.

3. Create more unique and personal experiences with AI

AI and AR have always gone hand in hand. Because in order to have a good AR experience, the camera must understand what it has in front of it, such as a face, feet or certain body movements. Like many other developments in the field of AI, this has not stood still. For example, we train custom models via Field Day to recognize something in front of the camera so that the AR experience matches it. Meta's Ray Ban Stories has also launched an experimental feature to indicate objects in front of the camera or translate texts. This contextual computing will be extremely important in the coming year and also with all upcoming headsets.

2023 was of course the year of enormous growth in generative AI. We also use it very often to create assets for AR projects such as our Deliveroo experience. The studio software of Snapchat and TikTok have also added this as features to develop AR with the help of AI. And also by integrating it for the end user, such as TikTok effects where every user can create unique output, but also Snapchat Lenses with ChatGTP agents to provide a personal and educational experience. Let's go!

4. Make brand engagement more accessible with interactive (AR) mirrors

AR works at its best when it is seamless and accessible to use, such as social AR and webAR on the computer we always have in our pocket and on the platforms where we are already active. But then you still need a phone in your hand and the AR mirror does not have that. A physical screen with camera where someone standing in front of it has an instant immersive experience.

With an AR Mirror, someone only has to stand in front of it and be someone else for a moment, try on new clothes, be transported to another world or play games with their body. Because the AR experience recognizes the body and movements of the person standing in front of it via body tracking. This offers enormous possibilities for in-store (or in the shopping windows) experiences in retail, in stadiums or at events. There are numerous ways to develop such an interactive screen, such as via Camera Kit. Then you have Snap's AR tech but without the Snapchat app. Below you see an AR Mirror with our Snap Lens for the premiere of the new Dr Who episodes. You became the Goblin from the show and could customize it.

5. Bringing digital culture and virtual goods into the offline world

Interactive mirrors are also a good way to bring digital culture and goods into the real world. From well-known AR memes such as Snap's Cartoon Face or that virtual fashion item you are going to buy. AR is the bridge between the virtual and physical world. This ensures that the two worlds merge even more than they already do. We are buying more and more digital goods, just look at the enormous popularity of games and social game platforms such as Roblox and Fortnite. AR brings those virtual goods to life and takes them off the screen and brings them into the real world. For example, last year we brought the digital twin (NFT) of DIOR's phygital sneaker B33 to life in a Snapchat Lens.

In addition, we also saw more and more AR in live broadcasts in 2023. The so-called fan cam but next level. From fun games and funny faces during ice hockey matches to the famous Cry Face Lens from Snapchat during a Drake concert. In the coming year we will see more and more of these types of AR applications.

6. Create more immersive spaces with location-based AR and headsets

Every place has something magical, an energy that makes it unique and AR can tap into that. Whether it is the living room, a shop or landmark. More and more smartphones (will) have LIDAR, making it easy to scan spaces for immersive experiences. And the location-based AR from Snapchat, Lightship from Niantic and Google Geospatial API (from the famous AR concert by the Gorillaz) will also be increasingly used.

All new mixed reality headsets will turn our living room into an immersive space. But first very specific locations such as stores, museums or events, because it will take some time before it becomes a massively adopted consumer product. The Quest 3 has had a very good start with its video pass through AR with cool XR apps (there are 7 XR apps in the top 20 apps) and will continue to grow next year. Andrew Bosworth of Meta (Head of Reality Labs) indicated that the browser is currently the most used XR application, the XR killer app. Very interesting to see how webXR grows the coming year. And what everyone is of course eagerly awaiting is Apple's move with its Vision Pro. And we have a launch date, which is February 2nd. The recently released teaser video only makes us more excited. In any case, I can tell you that we will definitely be experimenting with it soon.

We are ready for 2024. ?? It will be a great year for XR! If you would like to know more about the developments and opportunities with XR, hit me up.