Augmented Reality: The New Way To Promote Brands
Virtual and Augmented Reality is a unique tool used to create content. Obviously, many companies have adopted it and are successfully using it to promote their brands, and this is already bringing tangible results in the form of increased profits. The consumer is not left without a profit, as he has received opportunities that have never been seen before.
AR Virtual try-on to Skyrocket Retail & E-commerce
Virtual try-on is the most obvious way to use augmented reality in marketing. The first attempt to let the user virtually try on clothes on the Internet was made earlier than you could think – in 2006. That’s when H&M offered such a service on its website.
However, it was not easy to use the offer: it was necessary to upload your digital photo to the site in full size according to a number of parameters, and after that you could try on the novelties of the catalog on your virtual avatar. Of course, there was no question of augmented reality – it was a kind of electronic semblance of the old game “dress up a doll”. Due to its complexity, the service was not very successful, and soon the service was removed from the site.
The real use of virtual dressing rooms began with the spread of smartphones. The pioneer here was the multi-brand company Lamoda, which organized a virtual fitting room first for iOs users, and then for owners of Android-based devices. Using a special software, anyone can see how a particular model of Nike or Adidas sneakers will look on his own feet.
The specialists of the company Tissot found an interesting solution to the virtual fitting. The potential buyer of the company’s watches can download, print and cut out a special model-marker. The only thing left is to put it on the hand and point the smartphone camera to see the watch on the screen of the gadget. In this way, you can assess the future purchase.
Beauty AR — augmented reality based on beauty
A gadget with a front-facing camera has long ago replaced the hand-held mirror for many modern fashionistas. Should we be impressed by the popularity of beauty AR and face filters? Nobody should be surprised by filters that can quickly correct skin imperfections and make facial contours close to the ideal. Now these technologies are used not only for entertainment but also for quite practical purposes – you can see how your face will look with certain cosmetics before you buy it.
For example, L’Oréal company bought an entire augmented reality software development studio, ModiFace, entrusting it with the development of a branded software. The software serves as a kind of augmented reality mirror, where it is possible to see your own face with cosmetics virtually applied to it. This virtual fitting of lipsticks, mascara and shadows with the help of augmented reality technologies is much better than any catalogs and advertising brochures.
Lancôme has gone even further by making the virtual fitting of cosmetics available directly on the desktop or mobile version of the site – the user does not need to download any software.
There is no doubt that the opportunity to “try on” cosmetics without leaving home on your own smartphone has a very positive effect on the online sales of such products. In addition to cosmetics, glasses, colored contact lenses, earrings can be evaluated using similar technology.
Prospects for AR video conferencing
Like beauty filters, AR video conferencing until recently was only a way of entertainment – everyone was amused by funny masks on interlocutors during a video call. But the coronavirus and the era of remote working and studying that followed took video conferencing to a whole new level. Augmented reality technology hasn’t been left out either.
Many people are familiar from fantasy movies with the situation when a long-distance interlocutor is present in a room in the form of a holographic copy of himself. This is already possible today, but only on the screen of a smartphone or in special augmented reality helmets.
An example of such a service is Mesh by Microsoft. A mandatory condition is the presence of a HoloLens AR-helmet. Using the service with other gadgets (for example, VR-helmets based on ordinary smartphones) is a matter of the near future.
It is noted that the briefing, the participants of which are in one room, although virtually, is much more effective than a traditional video conference in Zoom and its analogues. The use of augmented reality in education opens up great prospects.
Although AR equipment is not cheap yet, it can be more accessible than rare or inaccessible educational tools, such as human organs, unique artifacts of the past, and historical documents. All of this can not only be seen, but also “felt in the hands” with the help of augmented reality. Moreover, AR opens up incredible opportunities for collaborative work with virtual objects.
Banuba Augmented Reality Technologies
Taking into account what incredible opportunities for brand promotion augmented reality opens up, the development of the corresponding software will certainly become mainstream in the sphere of IT in the nearest future. The Banuba company has already proved itself in this field and can present quite tangible successes.SDK is a ready-to-use toolkit for developing a product with augmented reality elements, as well as for integrating these elements into other software products.
Video Editor SDK is a toolkit for working with video. Its main functions consist of:
- video trimming;
- overlay titles;
- GIF-animation;
- special effects and filters, including the well-known ones from TikTok;
- tools for working with time: slowing down, speeding up, alternating between the two modes;
- face masks and beautifiers;
- tools for working with the background;
- customizable picture-in-picture mode;
- tools for working with sound;
- a library of transition effects between episodes.
The Banuba face filters & effects SDK is focused on working with the face and includes:
- virtual makeup – it always fits perfectly, thanks to smart face tracking;
- hair coloring in augmented reality – a neural network tracks even individual hairs;
- facial morphing – it distinguishes separate parts of the face and tracks hundreds of points, allowing you to achieve unusual results;
- smart beautification – it whitens teeth, removes wrinkles, makes hair shiny and eyes expressive;
- work with backgrounds and virtual fitting – the image changes beyond recognition in real time;
- augmented reality avatars – turn anyone into a funny character.
Web AR SDK allows users to integrate augmented reality elements directly into the browser – the user can enjoy all the benefits of AR on the site, there is no need to download a separate software.
A distinctive feature of the Banuba toolkit is the extreme ease of mastering, which was achieved thanks to a simple, but convenient and effective interface.
Already now it is possible to state with confidence that technologies of augmented reality are the future of marketing. Investments into AR software today mean a confident position on the market in the nearest future.