Whilst it might not be your favourite John Lewis Christmas ad of all time (mine is #Montythepenguin 2014) this year alongside Excitable Edgar soft toys, pyjamas and even mugs, you can also hang out with the little dragon using a snap lens.
AR is firmly on the creative agenda for one of the UK’s biggest retailers and we are seeing this not just within stores but also as part of their ongoing brand and marketing activations.
Many brands are already reaping the benefits of adding AR activations into their marketing mix and with increased engagement and greater shareability on offer why wouldn’t you?
Latest figures show that more than 70% of Snapchat’s 210m daily active users play with or view Lenses everyday, many users interacting with AR up to 30 times a day. And, AR advertising is expected to generate over $13bn in global revenue by 2022, equating to 12% of all mobile ad revenue. It’s worth investigating how your brand can get started with AR.
Web AR is allowing audiences to interact with AR outside of Instagram and Snap. Without the need to download an app, its even easier for brands to get started.
However, AR isn’t just face filters and Lenses, it can also be used to augment traditional marketing such as this interactive poster for the launch of ‘His Dark Materials’ on HBO
https://blend-blog.cdn.prismic.io/blend-blog/be2cdcd1-5e5e-4b67-9783-bb7b7bff005e_HDM+FINAL.mov
And this Frozen 2 poster , take this one step further and you could include a link to drive sales
https://blend-blog.cdn.prismic.io/blend-blog/e563167a-25fd-409c-8cb4-506bca28d786_FROzen+final.mov
Or you can also use AR to offer rewards to your customers. Burger King for example, allowed customers with the Burger King app to point at a McDonald’s ad and ‘burn’ it rewarding them with a free whopper voucher. (and also winning them a Cannes Lion along the way!)
Now, I’m not sure that Burger King are quite in the spirit of the festive season but whatever brand story you want to tell, AR certainly has the power to augment it. Plus its not as expensive as you think, estimated costs for a simple AR filter start at around £4K.
So how do you get started?
In order to facilitate the demand for trusted AR content creators, Blend Market has launched an immersive content marketplace. This means brands can have easy access to a network for professional AR influencers and creators. Just post your brief at Blend Market to get started. If you’d like to find out more or need some help with your first brief, contact Laura@Blend.Media
