Augmented Reality: The New Voice of Brands

Augmented Reality filters are changing the marketing strategies in place, making it easier for brands to interact with the customers.

FREMONT, CA : When Facebook and Instagram launched Spark AR in 2019, Augmented Reality (AR) was first introduced in marketing. This enabled the brands to make their filters, making them available to billions of social media users seconds after their creation. The organisation’s identity assets are the user’s photos, imposing the logo or characteristics of the label. Every time the photo is seen or shared, the awareness of the products and services increases, making AR a supreme tool for marketing.

The virtual studio Spark AR has templates and asset libraries, including customisation and controls for creating the required filters. These filters are low investment marketing and any profit, however small, can be counted as a win. With the pandemic the trend to shop out of boredom has increased to around 26 per cent, making the filters a better marketing strategy as they take a bored user to the brand pages.

When someone uses an AR filter and posts a photo on their feed it is seen by their followers and they might also use the filter. The cycle continues till the filter reaches a considerable number of users, promoting the brand all along. If the cycle prolongs, the filter becomes a trend. It is important to note that these filters should be on par with the brand identity to instil curiosity in the users to visit the brand pages. The goal here is to create interactive content to engage with social media users.

In 2021, Snapchat created a platform named Creator Hub for users to learn strategies on how to improve their content creation. This platform gives them ideas to utilise the filters, lenses, sounds and tips on making the most out of the Spotlight platform.

Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action are the four funnel sales step to follow to drive organic sales. If it works at the awareness level, then the customers expect a marketing time to engage with them. At the stage of interest, they weigh and compare the options available in the market for them, that is when the brand needs to pitch in with more creative content.

AR filters have an engagement rate of 75 seconds which is way more than the traditional advertisement, Instagram videos and stories. The filters capture the user’s attention more than any other mode of advertisement. This has taken AR from the sidelines to the driving force of modern marketing and sales. The fast-growing brands can now offer a better experience to their existing and potential customers, increasing business opportunities, through interactive content.