Now we’ve all played video games as kids. Today, computer graphics have become way more sophisticated and are pushing borders of virtual reality. Today, engineers and researchers are pulling graphics out of your TV screen and computers are integrating them into real-world environments. This new technology, called augmented reality, between what's real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell.
Now what makes it so special in the world of public relations. Well, to start with, we’ve all seen huge billboards in most most of the major city centers. Now imagine if you could be a part of that billboard, only for a few seconds. Wouldn’t that make you feel great as a consumer. You could try on new products, have a little bit of fun and maybe even encouraged to buy that product. In simple terms, it makes a product seem more fun. More than just what it is supposed to do. And a lot of consumers today want that extra element (which is why all the hype about limited edition!!) And this is exactly what the Adidas AR campaign has done. I’m not too sure how many will buy. But if definitely creates the hype!
Another extremely interesting example of an augmented reality campaign is the Tissot campaign that I came across, while doing the research for this blog. It has been developed by virtual reality specialist Holition and lets wearers experiment with the touch-screen features of Tissot's watches. Videos showcasing the features of each watch are displayed. Lynne Murray, brand director at Holition, said: "With the rapid growth in online retail and customer-buying habits becoming increasingly more complex, brands have to work harder to secure sales. Combining Holition's intuitive understanding of retail with augmented reality, this technology platform seamlessly integrates into a brands business strategy, enabling brands to experience a higher level of consumer engagement with their product."
Personally, I think the idea is extremely clever and novel and makes the best use of print and digital, taking social media to that next level. Also, it’s a brilliant way for a company/brand to interact with a customer or a potential customer.
There are various ways how augmented reality can make an influence in PR campaigns. With the help of augmented reality once can engage people with the PR campaign and possibly see the public pay more attention to the campaign when interacting with whatever the augmented reality is. This will help expose not only the message of the campaign but also that of a brand/product. It is also seen as to be quite fun as it takes the user into the virtual world where there is more information to grasp.
Also, adding the influence of social networking it makes it more available to share with friends. This consequently will lead to more people getting involved in the campaign and brand awareness rising to a great extent. Just to recap with augmented reality brands will be able communicate with their key publics much easier and with more creativity. I believe that it will become a great tool for many organisations in the future as a tool to use to send out key messages and help communicate with key publics.
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I totally agree with you. Augmented Reality is a great technique that makes audiences getting involved in the PR campaign and increase the brand awareness. Although augmented reality is still a very expensive technology for most medium sized and small sized companies, it is a trend for all of the companies in the near future.
ReplyDeleteUsing augmented reality is great; it engages people and helps to bring a product or campaign alive, getting people excited and increasing awareness as word of the campaign spreads.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is not a technology that is suitable for every product, and it should not be used in every campaign. Overuse of augmented reality will eventually result in the novelty being lost, and decreasing interest from publics. PR should concentrate on keeping this technology fresh rather than trying to fit it to every campaign.
Augmented reality is really impressive. I totally agree with you and I think it can help public relations. It can make people pay more attention to a campaign and therefore the messages will be exposed more easily and people can be familiarised with the brand more easily. I believe that big companies should find ways to use it because it is going to be another social media tool that we will talk about in the future.
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