As you can see, there are many forms that augmented reality can take—in print, out-of-home, in-store… The possibilities are truly endless. However, the possibilities are also endless for traps—with AR, it’s easy to want to be cool but even easier to end up looking cheesy. The examples below highlight best practices and what not to do.
FEATURED EXAMPLES
Coraline Movie OOH Display
For the stop-motion animated movie Coraline, Focus Features introduced the first outdoor displays to use video, audio, holograms, and augmented reality. Without any prompting, passers-by could see themselves reflected in the store window with Coraline-like button eyes.
Hallensteins Virtual Changing Room
Hallensteins, a menswear retailer in New Zealand, decided to tackle the dislike men have for trying on clothes by bringing virtual changing rooms to their stores. Shoppers need only stand in front of the plasma TV, which acts as a “mirror”, and use hand gestures to shuffle through clothing options to “try on” right on screen.
Ray-Ban Virtual Mirror
Unlike Hallensteins, Ray-Ban doesn’t have their own dedicated brick and mortar stores to hold virtual changing rooms (and how hard is it to try on sunglasses, anyway?) Instead, Ray-Ban has a Virtual Mirror on their e-commerce-enabled site, where users can try on their sunglasses from the comfort of their home.
USPS Virtual Box Simulator
Tired of showing up to the post office only to discover that the boxes available won’t fit the package you want to send? The US Postal Service website now offers a Virtual Box Simulator that allows users to see what size package and shipping rates fit their shipment.
Lego Digital Box
An in-store display at the Downtown Disney store in Orlando features the Lego Digital Box technology. Consumers hold up certain Lego boxes to the camera and are able to preview an animated 3D model of the toy they’re holding. No assembly required.
WHAT NOT TO DO—EXAMPLES TO AVOID
Always
What does feminine hygiene have to do with making a white rabbit appear out of an augmented reality top hat? …Good question.
GE
One of the first to use augmented reality, this exemplifies what happens when marketers rush to produce an AR piece without really considering the ultimate payoff for the consumer.
Papa John’s
Another instance of little payoff and little relevance.
FEATURED SONG
