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Augmented Reality, Digital Marketing, Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality: Bringing Graphics to Life

by Don GoldbergMay 31, 2016
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Anyone familiar with The New Yorker Magazine may have noticed an interesting cover on the May 16 edition—a two-color drawing of a women stepping onto a subway car. It seems somewhat simple—not particularly eye-catching. But download an app called Uncovr (developed for The New Yorker), hold it over the magazine’s cover, and the image comes to life in your smart phone’s screen. Buildings grow off the page in 3-D form, music plays, city blocks rise up into the air, cars move around the streets. You can bring it in closer to zoom in among the buildings and see more detail, or bring it farther away for an overhead view. As long as you keep the screen anchored to the cover, an eye-popping video experience unfolds for the viewer.
New Yorker Cover

This is Augmented Reality at its best. This older cousin of Virtual Reality has paved the way for the more immersive VR technology experiences through a Google Cardboard or a more expensive set of VR goggles like Oculus Rift or the Samsung Gear.

Augmented Reality is a live view of the physical environment that is augmented by computer-generated visuals. Virtual Reality, by contrast, replaces the real world with a digitally created one. Yet for marketers, they can go hand-in-hand. We’re huge fans of VR for digital marketing, and have produced a number of high-end experiences that bring customers into a virtual demonstration using state-of-the-art cameras and video editing. But new and better ways of leveraging Augmented Reality can play well along side of a VR campaign.

For marketers, this can mean an engaging way to preview a Virtual Reality campaign that can scale to as large of an audience as needed. Where VR videos require a set of goggles, Augmented Reality only needs a still graphic to key off of and an easy app download.
New Yorker Cover 3

In The New Yorker’s example, the distribution model was simply the cover of the weekly publication. For CMOs at our enterprise clients, it can be a mailed postcard or one-pager, or it can be conveyed through a digital graphic via social media or an email. The image essentially serves as its own bar-code or QR code, bringing the experience to life. But rather than an obscure set of black bars and white spaces, the newer versions of Augmented Reality can anchor to a graphic representation that is part of the visual display, and leverages the motion-detecting software in the phone for changing viewing angles or for zooming in and out.

Augmented and Virtual Reality together deliver an amazing immersive experience that sets a marketing campaign far apart from the other noise in the market.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What makes the New Yorker AR cover a useful marketing example?

A simple printed image became a portal to a rich, animated scene when viewed through an app. It showed how AR can scale with nothing more than a graphic and a smartphone. The experience was intuitive, surprising, and shareable. That balance of accessibility and delight is what marketers want.

How does AR differ from VR-and why might you use both?

AR layers digital elements onto the real world, while VR replaces the environment entirely. AR is friction-light for broad reach; VR is immersive for deep demos and storytelling. Together, they can tease and then transport audiences within the same campaign. Each plays a role along the awareness-to-conversion path.

What are low-barrier AR distribution tactics for enterprise brands?

Mailers, one-pagers, social graphics, or event signage can serve as AR anchors. Scanning turns static assets into dynamic product tours or previews. Because the ‘code’ is the image, the creative doubles as both art and trigger. This makes scaled distribution simple and cost-effective.

How do you keep AR from feeling like a gimmick?

Tie the experience to a clear job — education, trial, or support — so it solves a problem. Design for varied lighting and device capabilities to avoid frustration. Measure actions beyond views: dwell time, next clicks, and assisted conversions. Utility plus wonder beats spectacle alone.

What production considerations matter most for AR pilots?

Optimize 3D assets for mobile performance and ensure tracking is robust on common devices. Provide clear scan cues and fallback URLs for accessibility. QA across environments — glare, motion, distance — to maintain stability. A smooth first impression determines whether people engage again.

Where does AR fit in an integrated campaign?

Use AR early to spark curiosity and showcase value quickly, then route to deeper content or VR demos. Retarget participants with follow-ups tailored to what they viewed. The AR trigger becomes a data point in your journey mapping. Done well, it stitches physical and digital into one story.