Virtual & Augmented Reality in Marketing
On my first day of my digital marketing class, my professor told us in order to have a serious career in digital marketing you must be a constant learner, because technology is always evolving and changing. Boy was he right, a new trend in digital marketing is virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR).
You probably thought virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality was only for "gamers," but this new trend has a future with the marketing field. First of all, Forbes has a great article describing the differences between VR, AR, and MR...
Virtual Reality is when the technology completely immerses the individual in a virtual made environment. In order to use virtual reality, a special VR headset is needed for the experience that is connected to a computer, gaming console, or a specific smartphone.
Augmented Reality allows users to see and communicate with the actual world while experiencing digital content added to it as well. This is usually done with a smartphone. A common example of augmented reality is the famous Pokemon Go game, in which Pokemon characters were digital placed in real world locations, and users could go out and find them.
Mixed Reality has two sections to it, it can start with the real world or it can start with the virtual world. Starting the real world, the virtual objects that are digital placed can be interacted with, so the users can be in the real world environment, but continue to interact with the mixed reality. Also, it can start in the virtual world, meaning the real world is replaced with a#ww digital environment, and the user is completed immersed in the virtual aspect.
Virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality are still in a growth phase, but many businesses are investing it in now because of its potential advantages. As for augmented reality, it will be changing the advertising industry for the better. Hubspot points out some interesting examples of how different retail business are using augmented reality in their marketing strategy.
Home Depot began using augmented reality with their customers in 2015 when they launched the Project Color App. The app made it so their customers could see what a paint color would look like in their home, the technology took into account the natural lighting. Then 2017, the home improvement store started to use augmented reality to allow customers to see what specific furniture looked like in their home. Ikea does a similar strategy.
One of my favorite examples of augmented reality, and one of I have used before, is Sephora’s product try-on feature on their app. Sephora solved one of their major problems for online shoppers, it is very difficult to know if a certain shade of foundation or lipstick color will match, as a result Sephora created an augmented reality experience to allow their customers to see what shades would work best for them.
Hubspot also points in their article “5 Ways Augmented Reality (AR) is Transforming Retail,” that 75% consumers are expecting retailers to offer some sort of augmented reality experience associated with their brand, and that brands who do take advantage of this new technology trend will satisfy their customers in the long-term. Currently, augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality are at the beginning stages, and will continue to growth. Brands that hop on this exciting trend will more likely build more brand awareness with their target audience, because it an augmented experience is new and exciting to consumers, it sets brands apart.