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In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital marketing, two technologies have emerged as game-changers: Augmented Reality (AR) and Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). Both possess the power to transform how brands connect with their audiences, yet they do so in vastly different ways. AR stands out for its ability to create immersive, interactive experiences that not only engage users but also encourage the creation of user-generated content (UGC). In contrast, CGI, while visually stunning, offers a more passive viewing experience. This distinction is crucial in understanding why AR is leading the way in fostering higher user engagement and why CGI, despite its merits, falls short in this regard.

Understanding AR and CGI

Augmented Reality (AR) integrates digital information with the user’s environment in real time. AR uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top of it. This technology has found its niche in marketing, offering unique, immersive experiences directly on consumers’ smartphones and devices.

Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI), on the other hand, refers to the creation of digitally enhanced visuals to create realistic images and animations. Used extensively in movies, television, and video games, CGI in marketing often involves creating animated advertisements showing impossible scenes like crushing buildings, etc. Since this scenes never happened, CGI is often called Fake OOH, due to the depiction of the fake scenes to the users.

While both technologies can captivate audiences, AR’s interactive component invites an active participation that CGI cannot replicate. Moreover, AR experience can be recorded and shared generating “viral” in the same way, as CGI does.

The Immersive Experience of AR in Marketing

AR’s defining feature in marketing is its ability to create immersive experiences. For instance, beauty brands use AR filters to allow customers to “try on” makeup or hairstyles in real-time, directly from their devices. Furniture brands enable customers to visualize how products would look in their own homes. These applications not only engage users but also significantly aid in their purchase decisions.

The immersive nature of AR results in higher user engagement. By interacting with products in their environment, consumers form a deeper connection with the brand, leading to increased interest and, ultimately, higher conversion rates.

The Passive Nature of CGI in Marketing

CGI, while effective in creating visually appealing content, does not engage users in the same interactive manner. Product visualizations and animated commercials can highlight features and benefits beautifully but lack a direct call to action for viewer participation. As a result, CGI often serves as a one-way communication tool, with limited potential for fostering deep, interactive user engagement.

AR’s Edge: Engaging Users and Generating UGC

The interactive capabilities of AR not only engage users but also empower them to become content creators. AR filters on social platforms have led to viral trends, with users eagerly sharing their augmented experiences. This UGC acts as a powerful endorsement for brands, expanding their reach and influence far beyond traditional marketing efforts.

Successful AR campaigns exemplify how AR can generate buzz and virality. The key is AR’s ability to blend brand messaging with personal user experiences, making the promotional content feel more authentic and relatable.

CGI’s Role: Visual Storytelling Without Immersion

Despite its limitations in user engagement, CGI holds a significant place in marketing for its ability to craft compelling visual narratives. High-quality CGI can convey a product’s aesthetics and functionality in ways that real-life photography sometimes cannot. However, the lack of interactivity means that while CGI can inform and entertain, it doesn’t typically inspire the same level of user action or content creation as AR.

Conclusion

The contrast between AR and CGI in marketing boils down to the difference in immersion and engagement. AR invites users into an interactive experience, transforming passive viewers into active participants and content creators. This engagement not only enhances the user experience but also amplifies brand reach through UGC. CGI, while a powerful tool for visual storytelling, lacks this interactive dimension. As digital marketing continues to evolve, the integration of AR into marketing strategies represents a forward-thinking approach to consumer engagement, one that values and leverages the active participation of its audience. In a world where content is king, AR’s ability to generate authentic, user-driven content sets it apart as the crown jewel of digital marketing technologies.

A significant cornerstone in the advertising field, Out-Of-Home (OOH) advertising is the powerful method of reaching consumers while they’re outside of their homes. This includes billboards, bus stops, murals, transit hubs and even digital displays in high footfall public spaces. There’s no denying the importance of OOH in the traditional advertising mix. However, the evolution of technology has birthed compelling methods that elevate the impact of these tried and true advertising strategies.

With Augmented Reality, the OOH advertising landscape transcends into a whole new level of immersive and interactive experiences. Offering so much more than just static images or text, it brings the potential of offline and digital interactions together, offering a highly engaging platform for advertisers to interact with their audience.

Benefits of using AR in OOH advertising

The beauty of Augmented Reality in OOH advertising lies in bridging the divide between offline and digital experiences. By overlaying digital information on real-world elements, AR helps make OOH formats interactive, engaging, and most importantly, personalised.

Take the Augmented Reality Mural we made for Żywiec, we used WebAR allowing the user to create a personalised invitation to a shared beer. The user takes a selfie, which is later displayed in AR on the mural, enters a friend’s name and creates an invitation, whose photo can be saved to a gallery or shared on social media. The opportunity to see one’s own selfie on a huge wall in the centre of Warsaw and to share the photo with a friend with his or her name inscribed has turned the mural into an interesting activity that can be used several times with different selfies and names.

Augmented reality is changing the way brands approach out-of-home advertising.

By utilizing AR, OOH advertising goes from being a mere spectator sport to an active player game. This enhances customer engagement levels and fosters deeper connections for effective brand recall. In fact, AR campaigns have been known to increase engagement levels by up to 20%, with consumers spending an average of 75 seconds with an AR ad.

Moreover, the amalgamation of AR and OOH advertising bolsters brand awareness in an unparalleled manner, offering memorable experiences that get audiences talking, sharing, and engaging with the brand organically.

But that’s not all! Studies suggest that AR campaigns generate a 70% higher recall rate compared to traditional campaigns, thereby serving as an effective vehicle for enduring brand impressions.

Endless possibilities

To sum it up, the integration of AR in OOH advertising spells numerous benefits – increased customer engagement, memorable brand experiences, and enhanced brand recall to name a few. The combination of spatial creativity and personalised engagement that AR offers can catapult OOH advertising to previously untouched heights.

Today’s digital-savvy audiences seek experiences that resonate with them on a personal level. By incorporating AR into your advertising strategies, you can offer just that – a blend of entertainment, surprise, and customized interactions, all packaged within your brand’s narrative.

Advertising campaigns using immersive technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) or Mixed Reality (MR) allow the introduction of completely new forms of user engagement that were previously unknown. The results of XR campaign may vary with the technology and use case.

Marketers have gained valuable tools to create new advertising formats that are able to hold the audience’s attention longer than traditional advertising. Not all existing factors for analysing advertising campaigns will be accurate in XR campaigns, as they do not include a number of new variables that are crucial to immersive technologies.

What we can track in the results of XR campaign?

The parameters for measuring the effectiveness of XR activities will vary slightly between the platforms and technologies used (social media, web campaigns, mobile apps, VR goggles, etc.). Some will give us broader opportunities to monitor user behaviour, and a few platforms will exclude some of the parameters.

What exactly can we monitor?

• Impressions Number of total impressions of the XR experience. The indicator is particularly noteworthy during a campaign using AR filters on social media, where users sharing AR filters will generate displays among other users. Displays will not be applicable in campaigns on other platforms that aim to focus the behaviour of a single user inside the XR experience, such as mobile or web apps.
  
  
• Opens/Scans Total number of uses of the XR experience by users.
  
  
• Captures Number of photo/video saves using the XR experience. This indicator will be particularly relevant for social media campaigns, where the user will be able to save a video or photo they have created to the gallery.
  
  
• Shares Number of photo/video shares using the XR experience.
  
  
• XR Engagement Rate This indicator compares the percentage of full user engagement (number of impressions, likes, shares, etc.) in an XR campaign compared to non-XR activities.
  
  
• Dwell Time Total time the user spent actively engaged in the XR experience.
  
  
• Unique Users/Return Users The number of unique users who have used the XR experience and the number of those who have done so more than once.
  
  
• Conversions The number of users who used the AR experience compared to the number of users who performed the action assumed in the campaign (e.g. purchase, newsletter sign-up, etc.).
  

How do you set the KPIs of an XR campaign?

When determining the KPI of a given campaign, we should first of all match our expectations with the platform on which we are implementing it. We should also realistically assess our technological capabilities, analyse potential barriers for users and then define the key objectives we want to achieve.

Sample KPIs:
– 10% increase in brand awareness as measured by number of impressions greater than X

– 2% increase in sales measured by conversions

– X mentions on social media

In addition to a suitable campaign concept tailored to our target group, it is also very important to optimise the User Experience of our XR experience – the easier and more intuitive it is to use, the better the results of XR campaign will be. After implementation, great importance should also be placed on proper communication. Even the best solutions with poor communication will not encourage users to use them, especially with immersive technologies, which for many are often the first they come into contact with.

When can we consider the results of XR campaign as a success?

Criteria for the positive results of XR campaign will vary depending on the objectives we set before launching the campaign and the platform and technology we choose. Important factors that should be considered when assessing the success of an XR campaign include:

• Campaign reach: the number of people who came into contact with the campaign (e.g. by attending an XR event, watching a live broadcast or by using the XR app).
• Campaign impact: the extent to which the campaign changed the attitudes or behaviours of the audience. This can be measured through surveys or post-campaign surveys.
• Campaign influence: what impact the campaign had on the public or on a specific target group. This can be measured by analysing the increase in awareness.
• Campaign effectiveness: the ratio of costs to results achieved. Analysis of whether the campaign delivered the expected results in relation to its budget.
• Participant satisfaction: the extent to which participants in the XR event were satisfied with the experience. This can be measured by post-event surveys.

In conclusion, running an effective XR campaign involves a careful blend of strategical planning, setting precise KPIs and accurate tracking of pivotal performance metrics. With advancements in technology introducing new forms of user engagement and demonstrating exciting possibilities in the realm of advertising, XR campaigns represent an outstanding combination of creativity and technology.