When
Digital
Meets
Physical
–
Augmented
Reality
Set
For
Massive
Growth
Author:
James
Towers,
Founding
Partner,
16K
Agency
–
Stockholm,
Sweden.
Marketers
need
to
understand
the
frontier
that
is
Augmented
Reality,
as
its
growth
in
the
next
1-­‐3
years
will
make
or
break
brands.
Augmented
Reality
has
been
associated
with
the
likes
of
Bond
and
Sci-­‐Fi
films
for
decades.
Its
first
notable
application
in
the
public
eye
was
in
1975
where
graphic
overlays
were
used
with
the
nightly
weather
reports.
In
its
true
form,
Augmented
Reality
is
digital
technology
that
enhances
or
‘augments’
the
physical
world.
Only
now
are
brands
starting
to
see
the
path
to
heightened
consumer
engagement
and
monetisation,
which
is
about
to
fuel
enormous
growth
as
the
technology
becomes
mainstream.
Predicted
Growth
and
Market
Size
Driven
by
the
rapid
rise
of
smartphone,
mobile
tablet
device
penetration
and
advancements
in
mobile
Internet,
the
Augmented
Reality
(AR)
market
has
a
projected
global
growth
figure
of
$5.2B
US,
which
will
be
realised
by
the
end
of
2016.
By
2018
there
will
be
200
million
individual
AR
smartphone
application
users.
And
by
2020,
100
million
automobiles
will
have
active
AR
displays
on
board.
That’s
a
swell
that
some
brands
are
already
starting
to
paddle
into
and
the
spoils
will
go
those
that
get
their
hair
wet
early.
Some
of
the
brands
that
are
leading
the
charge
into
AR
are
Lego,
GE,
Kraft,
L’Oreal,
Volkswagen,
Emirates
and
The
Body
Shop
to
name
a
few.
German
print
and
communications
giant,
Bauer
Media
Group,
have
invested
significantly
in
the
adoption
and
development
of
the
AR
application,
Viewa.
The
Viewa
application
has
now
eclipsed
over
1
million
downloads
and
gloats
an
average
CTR
of
7%
per
execution,
far
outreaching
the
average
Facebook
campaign
of
4.5%
or
the
underwhelming
standard
of
digital
banner
ads
being
just
0.07%.
The
Dawn
of
the
AR
Specialist
Media
Agency
Traditional
media
agencies
have
been
slow
to
navigate
advancements
in
AR
technology.
In
many
cases
the
innovation
seen
from
companies
is
driven
via
the
actual
brands
themselves
looking
to
gain
the
edge
over
their
competitors.
The
freshly
launched
16K
Agency
is
a
media
agency
specialising
in
AR
within
the
media
and
retail
industries
of
the
Nordic
region.
Established
in
Stockholm
in
early
2015,
16K
Agency
have
adopted
AR
technology
and
are
now
introducing
it
to
brands
and
media
owners
in
Sweden,
Denmark,
Norway,
Finland
and
Iceland.

What
It
Means
For
Brands
Marketers
know
that
brand
experience
and
high
engagement
is
the
key
to
modern
day
marketing
success.
Richer
web
and
fluent
mobile
experience
are
essential
tools
needed
to
fight
for
consumer’s
fickle
attention.
AR
delivers
a
platform
where
consumers
can
now
have
rich
digital
engagement
with
any
physical
brand
touch
points
like,
products,
print
media,
outdoor,
POS,
transit
or
experiential
displays.
This
is
making
the
path
to
purchase
far
shorter
and
far
more
personalised
for
the
consumer.
Media
owners
with
print
or
physical
assets
are
seeing
a
three-­‐fold
benefit.
Firstly,
their
advertisers
can
now
integrate
digital
retail
opportunities
directly
from
their
print
executions.
This
is
giving
publishers
a
hand
in
the
pocket
of
ever-­‐expanding
digital
budgets.
Secondly,
the
editorial
content
can
be
enriched
with
greater
digital
experiences
like
video,
links
to
related
content,
online
destinations,
competitions,
extended
photo
galleries
and
more.
Thirdly,
brands
can
now
have
highly
accurate
and
real-­‐time
engagement
data
over
media
channels
that
were,
historically,
extremely
expensive
and
difficult
to
gauge.
Outdoor
Media
owners
are
essentially
now
the
landlords
of
1,000’s
of
mobile
‘pop
up’
retail
sites
as
AR
technology
enables
any
outdoor
media
execution
to
come
to
life.
Now,
any
brand
can
have
a
virtual
‘bricks
and
mortar’
store
in
all
the
train
stations,
bus
shelters
or
streetscapes.
Retailers
now
have
the
opportunity
to
bring
their
packaging
or
products
to
life.
FMCG
brands
can
make
their
products
appear
‘alive’
by
suggesting
recipes,
complimentary
products,
and
in
store
and
location
specific
vouchers.
Fashion
retailers
can
offer
off-­‐the-­‐tag
executions
that
help
buyers
style
and
match
their
purchases
with
help
from
style-­‐tip
videos.
Brands
Can
Speak
In
Real-­‐Time
With
AR
technology
having
the
ability
to
‘augment’
the
real
world,
brands
can
serve
different
content
or
creative
in
real-­‐time
to
consumers.
The
effect
on
personalisation
of
the
media
experience
is
huge.
Brands
are
able
to
serve
different
content
each
minute
of
the
day,
if
needed,
and
also
change
this
via
location
or
through
user
preferences
or
demographics.
The
Road
Ahead
Brands
that
want
the
next
step
in
consumer
engagement
need
to
make
the
decision
now
to
lead
their
competitors
with
AR
and
forge
ahead
with
what
is
an
industry
on
the
edge
of
outstanding
growth.
About the Author:
James Towers is the Founding Partner of 16K Agency, a Stockholm based
agency focusing on Augmented Reality for the media and retail industries in
the Nordic region.
Sources:
Juniper Research August 2013
http://brandongaille.com/augmented-reality-market-size/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234407
http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/kraft-fuels-mobile-sell-more-summer-
cheeseburgers-158350