Augmented Reality (AR) Marketing: The Complete Guide for 2024 [+Examples]

AR marketing is the new best thing, like metaverse and VR marketing. Developing marketing campaigns with AR technologies opens a wide range of lucrative advantages.

Not to mention, customers love AR marketing too!

71% of buyers would shop more if businesses used AR. 40% of shoppers are prepared to spend more money on products they can customize in AR. 

Many businesses have picked up the scent and used AR marketing to drive loyalty in existing customers, attract new ones and gain credibility for their brands.

But how do you use AR marketing?

And is this strategy worthwhile?

We’ve outlined the top AR campaign examples and the key takeaways for each. Plus, we key AR opportunities and challenges to consider for your business.

Ready to accelerate your growth through AR?

Let’s go!

What is AR Marketing?

Augmented reality (AR) marketing is AR technology combined with marketing practices through mobile experiences. Most retail and eCommerce businesses use AR marketing to deliver personalized customer experiences. The purpose of AR marketing is to take personal customer interactions to the next level. You can use AR marketing to drive sales and raise brand awareness by engaging customers through authentic, interactive mobile experiences.

Source: Wikitude 

The Potential of AR Marketing

Practices like VR, AR, and metaverse marketing are becoming top ways to deliver personalized customer experiences. AR is expected to grow by 21% between 2022 and 2028, reaching $90 billion in 2028. 

However, many businesses are still skeptical to adopt AR marketing, and by 2022, only 5% of retail stores had AR campaigns. Regardless of how quickly brands choose to get on the AR bandwagon, customers love AR.

Around 61% of buyers say they prefer businesses with AR experiences!

Let’s explore the top AR marketing opportunities and challenges for your brand. 

AR Marketing Opportunities

These are the top opportunities for AR in marketing:

1.Leverage Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing matters because most shoppers use mobile devices. The average user checks their phone 30 times during office hours, and almost 50% of customers shop more on mobile than in-store.

AR marketing relies on mobile-optimized strategies, like brand apps and the ability to scan QR codes with smartphone cameras. This is the perfect opportunity for you to tap into mobile marketing and get to know your users on this marketing channel.

You can integrate your business to adopt mobile marketing practices, like App Store Optimization (ASO), video marketing, and push notifications. It’s also easier to engage targeted buyers in your AR campaign as it’s convenient and accessible for most users to do activities on mobile.

Whether you understand the mobile marketing space or not, it’s a better time than any to drive increased revenue through this approach.

2.Integrate Virtual Objects with The Real World

Throughout the best AR marketing examples below, you’ll notice many integrate virtual objects in the real world. Doing this allows you to deliver customer experiences like no other. You’re not limiting yourself to what can exist in the physical world but combining your branded virtual reality with the real world.

Businesses can integrate virtual objects with the physical world for AR marketing with these examples:

• Force customers to interact with the physical world to participate in your AR marketing.
• Use physical elements like location to give specific buyers access to top-tier rewards or brand exclusives.
• Have customers snap QR codes or take pictures in the physical world to unlock virtual features.
• Use the latest AR technology to immerse your buyer without them having to move or do anything to enter your virtual experience.

3.Gain a Competitive Edge Using AR

Businesses that run AR campaigns have a head start compared to those that don’t. Your AR marketing campaign will give you a competitive edge and help you cut through all the industry noise and make your mark. You can attract new buyers and engage existing ones through a marketing approach no other brand has tried or succeeded.

If there’s a lot of competition, and many other brands have adapted AR marketing, don’t stress. Often this can work in your favor. Perhaps your competitors have dropped the ball in some aspects of their campaigns, or they haven’t found the most optimized ways to deliver AR marketing.

You can pinpoint faults in your competitor’s campaigns and use these weaknesses to your benefit.

AR Marketing Challenges

Here are challenges to consider for AR campaigns:

1.High Implementation Costs

Creating, building, and implementing an AR marketing campaign is by no means cheap. Consider the volume of advanced technology that goes into these campaigns and how much it costs to maintain and scale your efforts.

AR marketing services like app development and ASO cost a lot of money. Be realistic about what you can afford to invest.

While you may want to find ways to reduce your campaign’s startup, don’t risk the quality and authenticity of your campaign. The secret to this is a sound and well-research marketing and financial blueprint. 

2.Scarcity of Skilled Talent

Developing an AR marketing campaign means inviting new responsibilities and tasks into your workflows.

Your talent must have the tech skills to understand concepts like AR and VR and ensure any digital products and strategies you produce for this campaign function as intended. 

You may have an app developer, but do they understand what it takes to develop and maintain an AR app? Solving a lack of skills or skills gap in your team will be challenging for AR marketing, but 100% possible.

To get your team up to speed on how AR marketing works, provide:

• Guides on how AR works and complementary technologies like VR.
• Video tutorials on running AR campaigns and what goes into the backend of it.
• Whitepapers and studies on AR marketing and how it works for businesses.
• On-site training for practical AR marketing skills.

The best way to go about this challenge is to outline your campaign and all its components. Then, determine what skills you need to implement your campaign vs. what you have. You can upskill specific professionals, train your entire team or outsource talent.

3.Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a concern for AR marketing because you’re handling so much customer data.

Based on your brand and AR marketing campaign, this can data may be super sensitive. Have measures in place to store and secure this data and ensure your customers know what data their handing over.

We spoke about talent skills gaps as an AR marketing challenge. This is another instance where this barrier may occur. Your app developer and AR campaign team must understand cybersecurity frameworks and processes. They must know how to secure and gather consensual data, and how to protect this data from potential hacks and cyber attacks.

9 Mind Blowing AR Marketing Examples

Here are the best 9 AR marketing examples and their key takeaways. Use these examples to create an authentic AR campaign and drive your targeted results.

1.Virtual Shoe Try-on’s by Adidas

Adidas has always been a sports brand quick to hop on marketing technology trends. They developed an AR marketing campaign, allowing their customer base to try on their favorite sneakers remotely. It’s simple for users to participate in this campaign.

Users had to download the Adidas app and point the Lens at their feet. When the camera is at that angle, the user’s selected shoes would appear on their feet, as a remote try-on. Users could also change the sneaker’s colors in real time.

What works about this AR marketing strategy is that Adidas made it super easy and quick to try on many different pairs of shoes.

Users didn’t have to battle between removing and putting on new sneakers or browsing through different colors. Adidas provided every feature they needed for an effortless experience.

The Key Takeaways:

• Make sure your AR marketing experience is convenient and available to your buyers.
• Use an approach that is integrated with and will enhance your buyer’s journey.
• Don’t overwhelm your buyers with many options or a tricky process as this may deviate them from completing your sales funnel.
• Add real-time features to elevate your AR marketing campaign.

2.Immersive Storytelling by Treasury Wine Estates

Wine lovers know what it’s like to look at a bottle of fantastic wine and wonder, “Where the heck did this bottle come from?”.

Treasury Wine States set out to develop personal customer relationships by using AR storytelling for their wine bottles.

How this works was super simple compared to the result. After buying (or receiving) a bottle of 19 Crimes, users had to capture the label through their smartphones’ cameras.

Every label showcased a different story. These virtual stories explored the history of Treasury Wine Estates and how each wine bottle became what they are today.

This sincere approach is a fantastic way to share your brand values and mission while engaging targeted buyers in your brand’s history and purpose.

The Key Takeaways:

• Take time to find a unique AR marketing angle that hasn’t been done in your niche.
• Make it seamless for customers to experience your AR marketing campaign.
• Center your AR marketing around what values and the story you want to share with your buyers.
• Always keep your brand identity in mind, and stick to establishing human relationships with customers based on emotional interactions.

3.Virtual Sneaker Fittings by Gucci

Adidas isn’t the only footwear brand to offer virtual sneaker fittings. Gucci did too! However, Gucci was one of the first luxury brands to break into AR marketing.

We all know how much a pair of Gucci shoes cost – too much for the average buyer. So, allowing customers to virtually try-on different sneakers before purchasing them was the best solution for Gucci and its audience.

Not only did this high-end designer brand notice a significant drop in returns, but they also noticed increased customer satisfaction.

This virtual try-on was added to their iOS app and worked similarly to the Adidas app. Using the Lens shoppers would point the camera at their feet to test different sneaker looks.

The Key Takeaways:

• Find a way to recycle existing AR marketing strategies but add your unique twist.
• Understand what your buyers need and what would encourage them to move further down your sales journey.
• Allow customers to test your products before purchasing as this shows confidence in your value and the willingness to give your buyers what they want.

4.Virtual Artists by Sephora

Since 2016, Sephora used AR marketing to stand out in the beauty industry and give their buyers a unique experience. AR and VR marketing wasn’t super common in 2016, so welcoming these innovative marketing strategies was perfect timing.

Sephora’s app lets shoppers remotely try on different make-up products and shades. They got this right through Modiface technology. Users have to scan their faces, eyes, and lips.

Then, Sephora’s app allows them to overlay their faces with lip colors, fake eyelashes, and various eyeshadow shades.

This AR marketing campaign by Sephora is to reduce in-store shopping. Sephora wants its customers to opt for online shopping.

They push this narrative by solving the #1 challenge online buyers would have while shopping for beauty products – wondering if it will suit their faces.

The Key Takeaways:

• Find unexplored avenues in AR marketing to stand out from your competition. This is ideal for brands in highly saturated niches,
• Stay aligned with AR technology and adapt new trends before other businesses know it exists.
• Define a purpose/goal for your AR marketing campaign, and give buyers the resources they need to achieve your goals.

5.3D Studio App by IKEA

There’s no furniture store like IKEA, and they’ve gone to lengths to prove this. Before updating their AR campaign, IKEA’s mobile app allowed buyers to virtually place furniture in different rooms. This gave shoppers a much-needed idea of what works for their desired interior aesthetic.

But IKEA decided to take this a notch up and outdo themselves. Through LiDAR sensors in iPhones, IKEA’s revamped studio app allows users to design 3D models of rooms. You can add furniture, change the windows, customize the color of your doors, add decor, and so much more.

Because IKEA already had a Studio app, getting users interested in the new and improved edition wasn’t too tricky. The only downside is this app isn’t integrated with their website, so there’s no shopping functionality.

The Key Takeaways:

• Consider ways you may have already used AR or VR marketing and expand on this.
• Use your current resources for your AR campaign. You don’t have to develop new websites, landing pages, and apps unless you don’t have any of these resources.
• Be clear about what your AR app can and can’t deliver and how this impacts your specific goals or objectives.

6.Virtual Boutique by Machine-A

Machine-A is a fashion concept store based in London. When London fashion week was canceled due to Covid-19, this brand saw the demand for a virtual boutique,

But what exactly is a virtual boutique?

This was a remote showcase of the hottest fashion trends and designers made possible through scanning QR codes displayed all around the city.

However, users couldn’t purchase items from the virtual boutique. The purpose of this AR campaign was to drive awareness and authority to Machine-A and its designers. They wanted to create a memorable experience that spoke to their buyers’ pain points and flaunted their potential. 

The Key Takeaways:

• When identifying your buyers’ pain points, consider factors bigger than your niche that may impact them on a global scale.
• You don’t have to use AR marketing to push thousands of dollars of sales. Having goals like increased brand awareness, traction, and credibility works too.
• Using QR codes around the city is a fantastic way to make your AR campaign super interactive.

7.Pokemon GO by Niantic

Pokemon GO is an AR gaming app that get’s users invested in the Pokemon universe.

Users download the Pokemon Go app and catch virtual images of Pokemons by moving around in the real world. The app uses your location to add Pokemon to your physical surroundings.

Because of the strategic GPS integration, Niantic could place rare Pokemons in specific areas of the world. This interactive app opened countless doors for the Pokemon fanbase.

Users began interacting in community forms more, which boosted community marketing for Niantic. Their users would also interact with each other more through trading Pokemon and sharing information about rare finds.

This app is one of the best AR marketing examples because it’s simple but impactful.

The Key Takeaways:

• Consider GPS integration to bring the physical world into your AR campaign.
• Provide online channels and platforms for your users and community to interact. Have your AR campaign fuel these interactions.
• Include exclusives or rewards in your campaign to motivate users to engage in your campaign for as long as possible.

8.Hunting Ghosts by Lego

Lego has done a lot of fun marketing strategies, and its AR campaign is one of them. The premise is simple. Buyers had to purchase specific Lego sets (created for this campaign).

Through the mobile app, shoppers could use their cameras to find ghosts lurking about their constructions.

For added interactivity, users could also solve puzzles and find hidden treasures. The purpose of this AR campaign was to drive brand loyalty, as you’re not just targeting new customers but giving existing ones a limited edition experience. 

The Key Takeaways:

• It’s simple and convenient to participate in this campaign. 
• Adding extra activities like problem-solving and treasuring hunting are great ways to enhance your overall experience. 
• Consider what your most loyal customers want to see in an AR campaign. 

9.Watching Dragons by the Korea Baseball Organization

Imagine seeing a fire-breathing dragon at a baseball game. The Korea Baseball team, SK Wyverns, used an AR dragon for their Opening Day in 2019.

The team’s name – Wyvern is a mythical creature that’s pretty much a dragon. So, you can see how fans would be blown away by this AR stunt.

After taking a lap through the air, the AR dragon swooped past fans and landed in the center of the stadium. Amazing fans, the dragon proceeded to span its wings and breathe fire. 

But how did baseball fans see this AR dragon?

They had to use a dedicated SK Wyverns app on their smartphones. Once holding the camera up, they could witness an almost real-life dragon. 

The Key Takeaways:

• Use your AR campaign to drive engagement and traction for monumental days, like your anniversary, birthday, or grand opening.
• Stick to your brand identity and reflect who your brand is for personalized AR marketing.
• Consider what your audience would assume is impossible and make it a reality through AR.

Conclusion

AR campaigns are fantastic ways to get in front of your audience and engage them through a personalized brand experience.

There are so many easy and quick ways to implement AR marketing campaigns, and it allows you to leverage mobile marketing.

AR campaigns also allow brands to integrate virtual objects with the real world and stand out from competitors. Learn from the best AR marketing examples to develop an AR campaign that drives traction, awareness, and increased sales.

References

WARC: How Augmented Reality is Set to Transform Retail

XRToday: Key Stats For AR Customer Engagement

GlobalNewsWire: Global Opportunities in Augmented Reality

Statista: Forecast Distribution of the Augmented and Mixed Reality Market Worldwide in 2022

Harvard Business Review: How Augmented Reality Can — and Can’t — Help Your Brand