This is why you MUST pay attention to Pokémon GO
This is why you MUST pay attention to Pokémon GO
Why should your business pay attention to Pokémon GO?
I’m writing this post to educate you and myself; I don’t want us to get left behind as this groundbreaking technology develops. The potential is huge. Let’s flash back to the 90’s when PCs and the web were moving into the mainstream. Remember dial-up internet? How practically no one had a website? Remember irrelevant searches that didn’t give you the information you wanted and needed? How few people used any online technology?
Now flash forward to July 6th, 2016… a company called Niantic releases a location-based, interactive online game for Apple and Android devices that uses a device’s GPS and camera to allow players to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures called Pokémon.
And within three weeks 65 million people had downloaded the game.
To put that in perspective… It took Facebook a full year to hit one million users. But within five short hours after its release, Pokémon GO was the most popular app on both iTunes and Android’s Play store. Within just a few days time, it had more users than Twitter.
And people aren’t just downloading it - they’re using it more on a daily basis than Whatsapp, Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook’s Messenger app.
It’s addicting technology.
Offering an “augmented reality” mode, players can choose to have Pokémon appear on the screen as an overlay to their actual surroundings. And for a fee, players can be lured into areas: bars, museums, or your pizza shop.
It’s a live action game that has captured the attention of people from literally every demographic and beckons at every moment. Think it’s only teenagers and college kids playing the game in the evenings?
Well, watch this...
Yes, you just saw what you think you saw.
State Department spokesman John Kirby was briefing press about ongoing efforts by the anti-ISIS coalition to fight the terrorist group when he catches a reporter playing Pokémon Go right in the middle of the briefing. How can a reporter keep his eye out for a Pokémon in the State Department briefing room? you (and probably his boss) ask in alarm. The reporter was utilizing the game’s Augmented Reality technology.
What is augmented reality technology?
Augmented reality is the integration of digital information with the user's environment in real time. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which creates a totally artificial environment, AR uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top of it.
One of the first commercial applications of AR technology was the yellow "first down" line that began appearing in televised football games sometime in 1998. That’s easy enough to visualize, right?
Well, that’s augmented reality, and today’s AR apps aren’t that much different. Developers tie an animation or digital information they want a user to see into a “marker” in the real world. And when users hit that “marker”, their reality is augmented with that animation or digital information.
What can I do with AR technology?
Well, a lot actually - some very practical uses...
But there’s fun and educational uses too...
There’s Star Walk, an app that lets you hold a smartphone to the sky and determine what stars, planets and constellations you’re seeing. The Field Trip app functions like your own mobile tour guide for historical landmarks or museums. Creative apps like Mybrana and Crayola Color Alive lets users overlay graphics onto their photos, videos or (from Crayola) coloring books.
Under construction is “Blippar,” (no snazzy name yet) where you no longer have to play the search engine guessing game to identify an object. You’ll be able to scan and identify 3-D objects like plants, furniture, or even car makes and models and get content about that object without ever typing a word.
How can I use Augmented Reality for Marketing my business?
Now that’s the million dollar question!
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If you have a B2C business, you may be on Yelp. And Yelp has an augmented reality feature called Monocle that you can use to help you find nearby establishments and restaurants using your phone's camera as an AR viewfinder.
Your print ads can be embedded with AR technology with an app like Layar or Aurasma. AR will turn your 2D print into a 3D ad when a user points their device’s camera at the ad. These can be used to provide a variety of extra content (movie trailers, product discount codes, linked videos, websites or alternate versions of a page or poster - potentially in various languages, etc.).
AR technology can help help you market real estate. Apartment or house searches are easier for consumers with ARHouse - an app that displays interior photos when someone scans the outside of real estate for sale or rent.
With AR technology, you can let your customers try your product before committing. Tattoo artists can use AR to let their customers see what a specific design will look like on them… Cosmetic companies and hair salons can offer AR experiences for their customers… Flooring, furniture, cabinet companies can use AR to show their potential customers what their products will look like in their homes.
As you can see, almost every industry that can use Augmented Reality technology to market itself will. The chart below includes Virtual Reality (VR) along with AR.
Image source: http://www.opteragroup.com/ar-vr-storytelling-elevated/
So don’t think Augmented Reality technology begins and ends with Pikachu. Utilizing AR technology will keep your marketing ahead of the curve. It’s a format that’s well worth watching.
Taking you from where you are to where you want to be.
Jon
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