Reading Response Week
of 11/5-11/7
Craig, Understanding
Augmented Reality (Chapter 9 – The Future of Augmented Reality)
I thought I’d look into some advertising campaigns that
utilize augmented reality as a key component to their campaign. A simple Google
search revealed the following links:
The
Auggie Award Competition for the Best AR Marketing Campaigns
The Auggie Category includes AR marketing campaigns for
major brands that launched before May 16, 2013 on any major platform including
mobile, PC and projection. Some nominated entries include the 2013 IKEA
catalog, Apache Solutions Ltd.’s “Become Iron Man” experience, and Ad-Dispatch’s
“Leverage the Avengers Brand.”
15
Clever Augmented Reality Campaigns
This BusinessInsider article by Christina Thompson lists 15 AR campaigns that got people talking. Some of
those featured are Maybelline’s application that allows customers to see what
nail polish colors would look like on their hands without testing it on their
nails; Volvo S60’s application that allows users to drive the car, via their
smartphone, through whatever room their currently in; and, Tic Tac’s “Shake it
Up” campaign that turns ads into interactive campaigns. The article also
features the National Geographic’s AR application that Craig mentions several
times throughout his text. My personal favorite featured here is campaign with
Heinz ketchup; if a consumer scans over the bottle, a virtual cookbook appears
that provides him with recipes that use the product as a secret ingredient.
Simply
Zesty
The full service digital agency also published an article featuring the best AR campaigns of 2012. The article includes Starbucks’
Valentine’s Day campaign, which turned themed cups into an animation where
customers could send messages and eGifts to friends and family. Here’s a video
illustrating the animation:
Simply Zesty also features BBC’s “Frozen Planet”
installation. Similar to National Geographic’s experience, BBC’s exhibit placed
people in the polar region where they could interact with penguins, polar bears
and whales.
Econsultancy
Digital Marketing Excellence’s Seven Awesome Augmented Reality Campaigns
In a 2012 article,
David Moth records some top AR campaigns. Among those on the list are: Kia’s
campaign during the Australian Open, which prompted a record search volume for
their Optima vehicle; ASOS’s (one of the UK's largest online-only
fashion and beauty stores) partnership with Blippar that provided customers
with click-to-buy icons in the magazine; and, Greek chocolate brand Lacta’s
campaign encouraging consumers to write love messages on the bar wrappers and
forward them to a loved one via the AR app.
Creative
Guerrilla Marketing
This source
acts as a library for articles written about AR applications. One of my
favorites on this page is “McDonald’s Augmented Reality App Shows What’s Inside
Your Meal.” Ryan Lum writes the piece on the “TrackMyMacca” application
launched in Australia. A brief video accompanies the article, and it
illustrates how the app works alongside GPS tracking technology.
These examples confirm Craig’s (2013) comments that “AR
is quickly being adopted in a variety of application areas that are bringing it
to the attention of the public” (p. 256). Craig believes that our biggest
limitation is our “imagination for the possibilities, combined with a lack of
widely available, easy-to-use development tools” (p. 265). With time and the
emergence of technological advancements, this limitation will diminish and
we’ll see a great deal more with AR in our future.
Sources:
Auggies: Best AR
marketing campaign. Augmented world expo
awe2014. Retrived from http://augmentedworldexpo.com/auggie-category/auggies-best-ar-marketing-campaign/
Austin, C.
(2013, February 18). 15 clever augmented reality campaigns. Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/augmented-reality-campaigns-2013-2#]
Craig, A. B.
(2013). The future of augmented reality. Understanding
augmented reality: Concepts and applications (255-265). New York: Elsevier.
Lum, R. (2013,
January 17). McDonald’s augmented reality app shows what’s inside your meal. Creative Guerrilla Marketing. Retrieved
from http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/augmented-reality/mcdonalds-augmented-reality-app-shows-whats-inside-your-meal/
Moth, D. (2013,
May 11). Seven awesome augmented reality campaigns. Econsultancy digital marketing excellence. Retrieved from http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/9842-seven-awesome-augmented-reality-campaigns
“Starbucks Cup Magic for Valentine’s Day.” 6 February
2012. YouTube. Accessed on 1 November 2013. Web.
The best augmented
reality campaigns of 2012. Simply zesty. Retrieved
from http://www.simplyzesty.com/Blog/Article/November-2012/The-Best-Augmented-Reality-Campaigns-Of-2012
