Brands Go Crazy For AR This Holiday Season

s our lives become increasingly ubiquitous with digital technology, words such as Augmented and Virtual Reality begin to get tossed around more and more within our feeds and conversations.

The application of such technologies like AR, specifically in the field of marketing, presents new challenges for creating memorability and driving engagement towards a brand. For many AR experiences, hurdles such as app downloads and compatibility can place blockages between the consumer and campaign. So that these unnecessary stages within the consumer journey, such as app download, are mitigated, an increasing shift from app-based experiences towards web is becoming more prominent within the realm of AR. 

WebAR not only streamlines the consumer journey for AR experiences but offers increased compatibility for up to 3.5bn devices through platforms such as 8th Wall. With the advantages of a streamlined compatible experience, brands can fully explore the creative scope on offer through AR, and this Christmas season has been no exception with big brands such as Lush, Oakville and the Broadway League all offering memorable festive WebAR experiences.‍

LUSH Snow Fairy Portal

High street brand LUSH is a familiar name among UK shoppers as one of the biggest cosmetic brands in the UK.  With Christmas approaching, LUSH wanted something truly innovative to carve out their brand as a must-see in the Christmas shopping season for their new line of Snow Fairy products.

LUSH's Snow Fairy portal was a transportive experience taking consumers to the magical world of the Snow Fairy. Using a combination of high definition 3D modelling and lighting, the WebAR team at Aircards delivered the perfect collaboration with LUSH for the Christmas season. The experience, made accessible both in-store and across a range of digital channels, offered a variety of engaging features via selfie integration and gifting incentives. 

The combination of these features delivered an experience that was both memorable and magical, but more importantly, an organic source for sharing, traffic, and brand engagement for LUSH. Take a look below to see for yourselves the immersive world of festive forests and magical chambers in the LUSH Snow Fairy portal experience.

‍Broadway Snow Globe Portal Experience

The theatre industry took a significant hit from the pandemic. Broadway was faced with a new challenge to drive consumers back to the theatre as a staple for family fun in the Christmas season. 

Their solution was an immersive campaign transporting consumers to times square through a custom snow globe portal placeable within the user's homes. The experience recaptured the feeling of being surrounded by one of the best cities with the best live show performances in the world. 

The use of 360 video allowed consumers to explore Times Square and all the shows it has on offer via interactive billboards complete with festive messages from the cast and a special holiday greeting inviting consumers personally to see the show. This experience more than delivered on Broadways desired goals via the brevity of Ericsson's Emodo Network and the fantastic WebAR development team at Aircards. 

Oakville Festive Scavenger Hunt

To many, Oakville rings a bell but not all know where it is. Just between Toronto and Hamilton, Oakville is Ontario's largest town bridging the gap between the two. But as we know, the access we all have to digital platforms taking the shopping experience online has hindered many local businesses with this now fully established alternative. Oakville wanted to drive custom back to the town, increasing footfall for the Christmas season helping local businesses in this festive but critical period. 

In partnership with Aircards, Oakville developed a solid solution utilising the creative brevity of WebAR. For anyone in Downtown Oakville, a festive scavenger hunt activatable by QR codes dotted around the town takes Christmas shopping to some of Oakville's most popular sites. Through 3D modelling and customised map integration, consumers are tasked to find their Christmas pals located throughout Oakville town. 

Not only was the scavenger hunt fun and engaging for families, but it drove support to some of Oakville's most in need local businesses more than delivering on their desired goals. 

The Wrap Up

These campaigns are just three examples of why WebAR is becoming the go-to solution for many industries biggest challenges. WebAR experiences are not stumbled on or avoided they are experiences consumers actively want to engage with, the likes of which has never been seen in marketing before. We are seeing more and more AR experiences from Warner Bros, Pepsi, Asda and Samsung alike. I think this Christmas season is just more evidence that this truly is just the beginning for WebAR, becoming increasingly advanced and accessible with each new exciting campaign. Have a merry christmas and a happy new year, and I’m truly looking forward to seeing what WebAR has in store next for 2022.