Does advertising need augmented reality?
Augmented Reality, or "AR," is one of the ideas buzzing around the advertising world these days. The premise is that consumers don't want to look at static ads any longer, so there are various ways to augment them with technology that makes them move, speak, or appear in 3-D. Unlike passive advertising, AR embeds interactivity that lets people engage with marketing content.
Cool. Only that's not AR. It's just a fancy name for creating ads for the sake of creating ads. The industry would do well to avoid pursuing the sham.
AR is a real thing; fighter pilots have been experiencing it for years via something called a "heads up display" that beams relevant readings and info on their cockpit windows (or onto their visors). The information augments their experience of reality. A GPS device guiding your car around a traffic jam is AR. Similarly, you could argue that any device or medium that adds content in real-time -- like Twitter, or even a mobile phone call -- adds a dimension that wasn't otherwise there.
The more seamless the integration, of course, the more real the augmenting goes. You don't need to read sci-fi to imagine walking through an apparel store and seeing cost of production, number of returns, and other pertinent information displayed over a stack of sweaters, or some aggregated VU-like personality rating meter floating next to strangers at a party. Wear glasses, lenses on your eyes, or have a chip implanted in your brain. AR is real, it's really cool, and it's the future.
But it's a far cry from a multimedia ad.
If anything, AR represents an opportunity to incorporate marketing communications -- or, more broadly, publishing content -- into consumers' lives. The key would be to refocus away from trying to be funny or distracting, and instead contribute to experience. So Neutrogena could partner with Ray-Ban to sell sunglasses that measured UV radiation and advised on time spent in the sun. A restaurant could update a real-time list of favorite menu items, or post preparation times. An iPhone app called Bionic Eye purports do add content over a real-time view of your surroundings, though the layer is filled with nonsense advertising (it's the right thought, though).
The solutions could be simple or complicated, relying on existing technology or prompting invention. But you don't need special glasses to see that true AR-driven solutions won't look like advertising.
The Bulb Asks:
- Are you spending money trying to get your ads to be more engaging instead of your brand?
- Could you help improve your consumers' experience with something your business knows? How might you share it with them in a meaningful way?
- If you didn't feel the need to "fix" your ads, or use the ad model to communicate with your consumers, what would you come up with?
