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Does the success of 'PokémonGo' mark a turning point in augmented reality experiences?
Over the last week, the entire world has been gripped with Pokémon fever. "Pokémon Go," the interactive, augmented reality-enabled gaming app has captured the attention and imagination of millions of people around the globe.
July 18, 2016 by Libby Davies — Content Writer, SignStix
Over the last week, the entire world has been gripped with Pokémon fever. "Pokémon Go," the interactive, augmented reality-enabled gaming app has captured the attention and imagination of millions of people around the globe. Niantic Labs — the Nintendo-owned company that launched the app — had to pause its global rollout due to overwhelming and unprecedented levels of demand, and only two days after the official launch in the U.S., 5.16 percent of all Android devices in the country had the app installed.
In the Google PlayStore rankings, "Pokémon Go" has beaten the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat, and average users are currently spending twice the amount of time engaged with the game than they are on social media. Furthermore, over 60 percent of those that have downloaded the app are using it daily, meaning that around 3 percent of the entire U.S. population are catching Pokémon in their homes, offices and towns. This global phenomenon has rescued Nintendo's previously struggling stock value, after a dramatic stock rise of more than 20 percent secured them their best trading day since 1983.
The runaway success of the app has largely been due to the augmented reality element of the game. Augmented reality is different from virtual reality; virtual reality fully immerses the player in the "world" of the game (usually through the use of a headset), whereas augmented reality blends the physical world with contextual digital elements. Essentially, this means that the world of the game is brought to life in the real world — meaning Pokémon can be found anywhere, say a kitchen cupboard or underneath a desk at work.
Tapping into the concept of "what if Pokémon were real?" and taking into account the huge furor surrounding Pokémon in the 1990s, "Pokémon Go" has provided fans from a wide range of demographics (but particularly Generation Y who grew up with the brand) with the ability to relive their childhood dreams. While the mammoth success of the game is undeniable, the question now remains: Are people ready to embrace augmented reality in their everyday lives? The answer could quite possibly be yes.
Is augmented reality the future?
"Sooner or later, augmented reality will worm its way into most areas of our lives, due to the fact that we now demand interactivity in our immediate surroundings." — The Digital Marketing Bureau
In 2016, interactivity is everywhere. Whether we are using interactive kiosks to purchase goods or interactive tablets for accessing information, we live in a digitally fueled society. As the technology grows, and the demand for interactivity increases, augmented reality is predicted to become mainstream in the very near future.
- The augmented reality industry is estimated to be worth $117.4 billion by 2020.
- By 2017, 2.5 billion augmented reality apps will be downloaded onto our smartphones and tablets.
- The compound annual growth rate of the global augmented reality market from 2013 to 2018 is 132 percent.
- By 2020, 103 million automobiles will contain augmented reality technology.
While there are positive predictions for the future, there have already been augmented reality movements in recent years. From 2013 to 2014, there was a real increase in the use of the technology as a marketing tool, with Ikea, Asda and BMW being just a few of many big name brands to implement the technology. Big brands are realizing that augmented reality can be used to enhance consumer experiences in ways that are innovative and exciting, and that the technology can help put the "wow" factor back into a customer's experience. As said by marketing firm Creative Guerrilla:
"Customers are becoming desensitised to traditional marketing methods. That's where augmented reality comes in. As shoppers turn to a blend of online, mobile and brick-and-mortar shopping for their convenience, brands and retailers are having to think of new and innovative ways in which they can capture their customers' attention."
By using AR-enabled apps to place digital strategies into a real-world environment, augmented reality paves the way for retailers to create a memorable and evocative shopping experience for their customers.
One of the most successful examples comes from Scandinavian furniture store Ikea, with the launch of their AR catalog app in 2013. After taking photographs of the various rooms in their house, customers in-store could visualize what specific items of furniture would look like in their chosen room by placing it there virtually, fully assembled. This meant that customers could consider how items would compliment their existing furniture and, most importantly, if it would physically fit.
The eradication of these common questions when purchasing new furniture meant that Ikea was able to raise excitement rather than concern around these issues, and the use of the technology demonstrated how Ikea has remained successful by constantly seeking ways to provide innovative solutions for their customers.
The beauty industry is also focusing on augmented reality as a way to provide customers with a fully personalized and interactive experience. In 2015, Sephora established a "flash store" in Paris, where digital look-books and interactive terminals were fitted throughout the store, encouraging customers to engage with the brand. Combined with an AR-enabled app — the "Pocket Contour" — customers were able to access personalized "How-to" guides using Sephora's products that had been specifically tailored for them as an individual. This was achieved by allowing augmented reality-powered technology to provide a real-time digital visualization back to the customer.
Through the combination of digital solutions, Sephora successfully proved that a digitally enhanced strategy is the fastest way for a brand to establish themselves as a pioneer within their industry. Many other health and beauty brands have since followed in Sephora's footsteps, integrating digital into their physical spaces.
For the more mundane shopping tasks such as food shopping, keeping children entertained is an issue that many parents are familiar with — and one that is particularly tricky. Pioneering augmented reality as a way to engage and entertain their youngest customers, the supermarket retailer Asda has run AR-enabled campaigns around certain times of the year, such as Halloween. The campaigns center on an app that projects characters into the supermarket and encourages children to engage with them in a virtual treasure hunt around the store.
The campaign proved to be a real success, and Asda subsequently announced they would do a similar campaign the following Easter.
As more and more retailers begin to integrate augmented reality into their digital strategy, it is possible for it to be combined with existing digital signage systems in order to create a truly memorable campaign.
HSBC credit card recently demonstrated exactly how this works in their promotion of the Red Hot Festival in Hong Kong. Using bus stations equipped with a camera to capture the street view in real time, the footage was played across a digital signage system with the addition of augmented zebras. The idea behind the campaign was to inspire people to travel, and it generated a lot of excitement and interaction from passersby.
Augmented reality could change the world
As well as having the potential to make a huge impact on the world of retail, augmented reality can also make real changes to everyday life. Premium car brands such as BMW, Mercedes and Audi have suggested that they plan to offer built-in augmented reality features across their range of cars in aim to help minimize the time a driver needs to take their eyes off the road. The technology is currently being developed, with the goal of being in production by 2017.
The idea behind the technology is to have virtual information "float" approximately 2.5 meters in front of the driver's eye line. Directions will project directly onto the road ahead, rather than the driver having to look at a Sat-Nav screen, hazards such as a turning vehicle or a cyclist will be highlighted and the car's speed will be displayed. By subtly placing this useful information directly in a driver's field of vision, they can spend less time looking down at their dashboard and will have to break their concentration less. All three brands have pioneered this technology, stating that once a person has driven an AR-enabled car, they will appreciate how inconvenient and distracting a traditional dashboard can be.
As a further example of how augmented reality can make real changes to everyday life, the technology is being used to encourage young children to learn to read. The popular children's book "Where the Wild Things Are" has been adapted into an AR-enabled app, with MagicBook, the company behind the concept, drawing upon the idea that young children today are far more accustomed to using screens and digital devices than they are paper. The app lets characters and illustrations 'jump' off the page as the child reads, encouraging fun and interactivity as part of the learning experience.
Although gamers have been able to use augmented reality on their smartphones since 2008, it is possible that the release of "Pokémon Go" could trigger a wide spread adoption of the technology. As people begin to embrace the futuristic element of digital technology as part of their everyday lives, the opportunity for businesses across multiple sectors to engage consumers in new and inspiring ways openly presents itself. While it could still be considered in its early days, this technology is most certainly one to watch.
Sources:
http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/augmented-reality-virtual-reality.asp
http://www.thedigitalmarketingbureau.com/category/augmented-reality/
http://www.thedigitalmarketingbureau.com/2014/07/24/better-driver-ar/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2016/07/10/pokemon-go-about-to-surpass-twitter-in-daily-active-users/#4f4fce7b5174
https://www.similarweb.com/blog/pokemon-go
http://www.augment.com/blog/3-consumer-giants-who-used-augmented-reality-for-retail/
http://www.essentialretail.com/essential-ecommerce/article/5756967f2f963-tech-start-ups-disrupting-the-face-of-health-and-beauty
