Online/Offline Campaigns and Augmented Reality

With the enormous amount of time spent by consumers online, whether via laptop, tablet or Smartphone, it seems crucial for brands to utilize the digital world in their marketing campaigns to succeed. Research company Forrester highlight the importance of digital, predicting ‘digital marketing will lose it’s prefix in 2013’. (O’Reilly 2013)

Online campaigns have advantages in the shape of: wide geographical spread, speed of information, perhaps lower cost, can be updated in real time and can be interactive.

Although these advantages exist, offline campaigning has not been discarded. Online and offline campaigns can be complimentary to one another and increase a brand’s impact, maximizing the consumer’s involvement in the non-digital and digital world.

This consumer interaction should enhance engagement and relationships.

Regarding television, consumers are able to interact through the use of ‘second screens’ (other digital devices; laptop, tablet, Smartphone) with other viewers through social media, for example the Twitter ‘hashtag’. A report from Millward Brown (2013) predicts, however, that in the coming year 'It will not be enough to simply broadcast a hashtag'. 

Augmented reality (AR) campaigns allow the consumer to interact even more so with the brand rather than observe traditional marketing. Brands such as TicTac, Stella Artois and Airwalk have created AR campaigns combining the real world with the digital via consumers devices  – revealing games, directions to products and ‘invisible’ pop-up stores.

Examples are shown in the accompanying videos.

(Business Insider 2013)

However even these examples are slightly dated as the below quote reveals whats next for augmented reality:

                "There is ongoing research to show data on your contact lenses, perhaps eliminating the exclusive need of handheld devices and screens entirely. Imagine having reminders of your meetings for the day display on your windshield, glasses or contact lenses when you walk into your office. This is the promise of augmented reality."                                             (Lancaster 2013)

Example below:

References

Business Insider., 2013. 15 Clever Augmented Reality Campaigns. Business Insider. Available from: http://www.businessinsider.com/augmented-reality-campaigns-2013-2 [Accessed 18 February 2013].

Lancaster, L., 2013. Point, Click, Tap, Swipe, Wave and Speak. 2013 Digital Trends. Available from: http://trends.clickhere.com/point-click-tap-swipe-wave-and-speak/

Millward Brown., 2013. Digital & Media Predictions 2013. Millward Brown. Available from: http://www.millwardbrown.com/ChangingChannels/2012/Predictions/#dp2013-01-header [Accessed 14 February 2013].

O'Reilly. L., 2013. 'Digital Marketing' to become just 'Marketing' in 2013. Marketing Week. Available from: http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/news/digital-marketing-to-become-just-marketing-in-2013/4005302.article [Accessed 14 February 2013].