With Augmented Reality taking over marketing strategies worldwide, it seems that this digital integration with the physical world is going to change how we understand or accept digitalization. The marketing sector has been increasingly focusing on creating unique and immersive customer experiences for their brands. With the help of AR and augmented experiences, the difference between real-time and the digital world is blurring.

Tech-savvy brands who have invested in AR technology have provided their customers the ability to try products virtually, allow make-up testing, and many other interesting experiences even before they actually buy any product. The statistics suggest that the mobile AR market size is expected to increase about 8.9bn USD in 2021. The global AR market size is likely to grow considerably as experts track about 810m active users in 2021.

Some of the best AR inspired marketing campaigns to learn a thing or two from:

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1. BON V! V –

One of the most striking Web AR retail experiences of the decade, the BON V! V. Spiked Seltzer. The brand worked closely with Air cards, a web AR agency, and provided a unique out-of-home AR advertising campaign to the people of California.

They launched the Spiked Seltzer and presented the consumers with a full 3D experience of a vending machine. Activated by the QR scan along the roads of Los Angeles and San Diego, the campaign created a real immersive experience with the help of 3D murals, call-to-action integrations, and geo-location politics.

The animation graphics lured in the consumers by advertising their favorite flavors, just like a real vending machine would do. Additional users also had the opportunity to buy the Seltzer from their nearby stores or receive delivery within a few hours. The marketing campaign needed no mobile downloads; it just completely worked on an AR web-based campaign! Some of the fascinating features of this campaign were,

• Instant Online Purchase
• Custom branded map with pins
• Activation with a social media link

2. Kinder –

One of the most popular chocolate brands, Kinder’s in-store AR marketing campaign with a 3D jump in safari took the social media with a bang! It took the retail experience to a completely different level by installing the kinder eggs in the middle of the supermarket alleys of the US and lured in its consumers as they scanned the QR code.

 The 3D augmented reality provided a real-time safari experience with excellent quality graphics and acted as a portal that blurred the lines between dreams and reality. The videos of Tesco supermarkets went viral and took the netizens with a surprise! An immersive safari experience in the middle of a supermarket alley, now this is what you call targeted marketing.

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3. Sephora –

A brand with a global presence, with some of the best quality make-up products to offer, Sephora took its brand’s presence to another level by launching the online make-up artist tools! It was the right move at the right time because the coronavirus pandemic forced its potential customers to stay at their homes in lockdown. Make-up as a retail product needs trying and the experience of trying the new creams and lipsticks and the smell? Nothing beats that.

With the help of their virtual make-up try-on apps that fully detected the facial features of the user, complexion, and facial recognition, the users were able to put on their favorite eye shadows and try on lipsticks as if in a real Sephora store. Its recent try-on functionality mirror for the Anastasia Beverly Hills brows also got a lot of appreciation from the market experts. The versatility of AR technologies surprises us every time!

4. Timberland –

Virtual fitting rooms? Yes, please. With the help of kinetic sensing technology and AR, Timberland caught its users with a surprise back in 2014. This AR trend will be a real game-changer for the online retail experience in 2021 as the world gets hit with the coronavirus pandemic. Timberland allowed its shoppers to eliminate the hassle of physically trying the clothes that must have been worn on so many times before; it allowed the shoppers to try on the latest collection with the help of virtual fitting rooms.

The brand partnered with Lemon& Orange and allowed the shoppers to freely look at their gestures on an 80-inch screen. For example, they could swipe back to the previous outfit and move forward with just a touch of the hand. The tablet users could also put up their faces on virtual models to see how they looked. The famous costume designer Dorota Williams appreciated the effort and spoke about it at the Mokotow Gallery back in 2014.

5. Home Depot –

Decorating a house is such a personal experience for many consumers and a little daunting as they struggle to choose the right furniture, hangings, vanities that would fit perfectly! Home Depot came up with an AR assistance that allowed its users to virtually place the items in the house and provided features that could rotate and resize them according to your room space. As a result, shopping for bulky furniture and home décor furnishings just got easier!

Augmented reality might look like an emerging trend, but it is here to stay. The AR Glasses unit sales are expected to increase by 410k in 2021, and rightly so! With high quality graphic murals, live location access, call-to-action technologies, and an immersive real-time shopping experience, the AR marketing trend will change the way we see and participate in the world.

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