By David Jenkin

How should marketers be thinking of augmented reality as a marketing tool?

AR fits into the marketing mix primarily as an "engagement" platform, but with some great cases of usage in the lower funnel, yielding lead generation and even hard conversions, such as e-commerce.

More than this, AR should be seen as a valuable part of the entire customer experience and has uses through every level. Drawing people in through marketing initiatives has great value, but making use of AR as part of ongoing customer service and experience is also particularly useful.

Can you give us an example or two of how C2C Labs has used AR?

We've applied AR across multiple industry verticals, ranging from automotive, where the interactive print ad came to life with a virtual test drive and the reader could request a test drive directly from the magazine ad – to publishing, where the magazine publisher entertained readers with interactive covers and access to exclusive content and promotions – to events and exhibitions, where AR provided an experiential aspect for delegates and guests to engage with the brand.

Could you explain Mixed Realities?

Mixed Reality is the emerging platform where augmented and virtual reality experiences are being combined to provide an even further immersive experience to the consumer.

How is C2C Labs currently using VR?

We are currently working on a few solutions where we transition our clients from AR to VR and combined mixed reality experiences. For companies who are wary, the transition can be rolled out internally first, and then can be confidently launched to external audiences. A possible example could be VR for internal training purposes for tech sales staff and then later have the VR equipment at stores to assist customers to experience the full functionality and set-up of their latest acquisition.

This not only encourages customers to actually use all the functionality of their tech purchase, but lowers the amount of after-sales support required and, of course, the costs of the staff providing it. The forward-thinking tech retail chain is not only providing a value-added service, but is supporting its brand values as a tech-forward outlet.

What do you believe the future holds for VR and AR in the marketing/retail space?

AR and VR will become integral to the brand's marketing arsenal and it will find its permanent place in the marketing mix as opposed to stand alone executions in isolation to the rest of the brand's marketing activities. From our point of view, applying digital marketing best practices to these new channels will allow brands to see the impact AR/VR has on the customer journey.

Also, with the continued development of wearables for the mass market, the possibilities of AR/VR/mixed realities will be endless. As it currently stands, AR platforms such as Blippar are already Google Glass compatible and continue to invest in the technology.

To give context to this, an AR non-profit group projects that the shipments of smart glasses will hit one billion around 2020, which will surpass the shipments of mobile phones by 2025. (Source: Paul Lamkin, Wareable, 2015.) While this is a bold prediction, there is no doubt that as consumers become more aware and keen to experience tech, the production costs lower in relation to this demand. And, as noted, a decade is a long time in the technology space.

Customers care less and less about what technology they are using and far more about their experience. AR and VR (and even AI) will become a natural part of our lives sooner than we expect. The difficult part is to have an executive team who is prepared to think hard about what problem they need solved and then be bold enough to invest in the technology sooner rather than later. As Douglas Adams famously said: “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”

For more information, visit www.c2clabs.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Twitter or Instagram.

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