Augmented Reality - will finally take things to the next level of connection.

Augmented Reality (AR) has always been exciting however, how finally it is being adopted by more and more brands everyday and it could be / would be is the next big (really big) to hit the marketing community. AR enables a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are “augmented” by virtual computer-generated sensory input such as sound or graphics.

AR brings the virtual & real world a lot closer and open up a host of opportunities which are being increasingly exploited by brand owners. Here is a simple example used by Burger King to highlight “Value for a 1 USD” – an interesting and effective way to get the point across and ensure the engagement is longer, personal and more sharable. 

AR brings the advantage & need of physical engagement to the virtual world. It changes the one way communication to a far more engaging conversation. Each experience is very personal and unique to the consumer - enjoyable enough for him / her to share with friends on the social networks. 

AR is integrating well with all other media devices be it mobile, newsprint, internet, last mile / retail etc. Look out for more examples in the next few posts. 

Brands are all about engagement!

"Gone are the days of repetitive, one-way communications urging your target market to buy your product or service. This means your trusted print campaign may not be getting the best ROI. Today's brand strategies have to include methods to engage with your consumers by capturing their hearts, minds and conversations throughout the purchase and relationship cycle, while remaining brand-centric™ at every touch point."
Read the full note on the non-traditional ways of engaging with customers by Desiree Gullan.

New approach allows advertisers to map and assign value to various touch points, gaining a more complete picture of a campaign.

Microsoft engagement mapping is similar to the "last mile touch point mapping" which is being undertaken by my agency for the last 6 months or so. http://www.pulsesuite.com/ The difference being that while the MS's Engagement Mapping is a new approach to managing and measuring the effectiveness of online campaigns - our approach has been to map the touch points at the last mile which impact the actual path to purchase. Read more about Microsoft's Engagement Mapping here.

This type of engagement mapping tool will become really powerful when it can measure not only ad views that lead to a purchase, but also any other type of online or social interaction. This is probably the end game that Facebook is aiming at with Beacon. Imagine the value advertisers could derive from a tool that looks at how your online activity leads up to a purchase. I.e., did you see a friend talk about the product on a Facebook wall post? Did you read a blogged review? Did you see the product talked about in a YouTube video? Did you look at any ads when all that was happening?

Our approach on our last mile tools has been similar where-in we and understand reasons why a shopper changes his brand in the last mile - which are the touch - points that help in the brand choice. This information is a must have when planning a last mile / retail engagement. Know more about these last mile tools at www.pulsesuite.com