What Happened Virtual and augmented reality technologies were the star of the show at Intel’s annual developer conference on Tuesday. Intel announced a series of new VR and AR initiatives that mark the company’s full-speed charge into the VR and AR fields.
• To begin with, the company unveiled an all-in-one VR headset named Project Alloy, which packs everything – from cameras to battery, sensors to input controls – into the wireless headset without the need for a PC or smartphone to power it. Alloy will also be integrated with Microsoft’s Windows Holographic platform, allowing it to run holographic apps much like a HoloLens.
• Intel is launching a VR studio in Hollywood dedicated to producing 360-degree sports and entertainment experiences. The studio will utilize Intel’s 360 Replay technology, which was employed in the NBA Finals this year to showcase the action from all angles.
• Intel announced it is working with Microsoft to bring the augmented reality experience generated by HoloLens to Windows 10 PCs, which are expected to work with a head-mounted display and run all Windows Holographic applications starting next year.
Why Brands Should Care Intel is diving deeper into the VR and AR fields because it plays to its strength, namely making chips with high processing power needed to run VR and AR devices. These initiatives inject some momentum into the development of VR and AR technologies and push them one step closer to mainstream consumer adoption. As more and more consumers become familiar with these types of immersive and interactive content, now is the time for brands to start working with content creators to develop branded VR and AR content.
The Lab currently has three VR headsets and a HoloLens ready for demo. Come by the Lab and request a demo to see how engaging and magical VR and AR experiences can be, and understand why consumers would be excited by them.
What Happened Legendary Entertainment is teaming up with Microsoft’s HoloLens team to create mixed reality content. The production studio is beginning with holograms of the characters from its Warcraft and Pacific Rim movies. At the Hollywood premiere of the Warcraft movie, Legendary showcased a HoloLens experience where users could see people interacting with a hologram of Orgrim Doomhammer, a main character from the Warcraft franchise.
What Brands Need To Do This partnership sets a precedent for brands looking to explore augmented and mixed reality and create next-gen branded content. Recently, the viral success of Pokémon Go has been familiarizing millions of mainstream consumers worldwide with augmented reality technologies, and brands that wish to jump on this hot trend should consider partnering with content creators to develop branded AR content.
The Lab has extensive experience with AR technologies and how they apply to marketing. For anyone that has yet to experience augmented reality, the Lab has a HoloLens that is ready for demo. Please get in touch with our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to request a HoloLens demo or have a client opportunity.
What Happened If you have been waiting to experience the magical augmented reality generated by HoloLens, Microsoft has good news for you. The company announced on Tuesday that it is starting to sell its HoloLens AR glasses to all business customers in the U.S. and Canada on a limited basis. Previously, only developers and select business customers developing showcase apps were able to get their hands on the $3,000 HoloLens Development edition. Now, companies can purchase up to five HoloLens devices for internal use and development. And since all Microsoft requires is an address in the U.S. or Canada and a Microsoft account, technically anyone can now buy a HoloLens if they have three grand to spare.
What Brands Need To Do As we pointed out in our recent Fast Forward on the Pokémon Go phenomenon, AR technology holds great potential for brands to explore, especially in its capability to bridge the physical and digital world. Thanks to Pokémon Go, a mass audience is falling in love with augmented reality, opening the door for brands to leverage AR to reach consumers. Therefore, brands that wish to stay ahead of the curve should consider investing in some HoloLens devices, which is arguably the most mature AR headset in the market right now.
The Lab has extensive experience with AR technologies and how they apply to marketing. For anyone that has yet to experience augmented reality, the Lab has a HoloLens that is ready for demo. Please get in touch with our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to request a HoloLens demo or have a client opportunity.
Your guide to tech-driven changes in the media landscape by IPG Media Lab. A fast read for you and a forward for your clients and team.
The highlights:
• Pokémon Go has quickly become a global phenomenon in less than a week
• The game encourages players to explore their cities, driving real-world traffic for local businesses
• A mass audience is falling in love with augmented reality (AR), opening the door for brands to leverage AR technologies to reach consumers
What Is Pokémon Go IPG Media Lab and Ansible have been watching the augmented reality space closely for the last few years and we have seen significant change in consumer understanding but more modest brand adoption. Snapchat’s popular selfie lenses provide a good example of how augmented reality has already infiltrated our digital life. Now with the hype surrounding the launch, suddenly many clients are asking, “What is Pokémon Go and why should I care?”
Pokémon Go is a mobile game released last Wednesday that has become a viral sensation. Based on the popular Japanese video game franchise Pokémon, which is part-owned by Nintendo and previously extended to feature films, playing cards, cartoons, and more, the new mobile game leverages GPS and cameras on smartphones to simulate the Pokémon-catching experience from the older games in the real world. Niantic Inc., a mobile game maker spun out from Alphabet, created Pokémon Go based on one of its previous games called Ingress, which similarly relies on AR and location.
In the game, players must leave their homes and explore their neighborhoods and cities, following a digital map that leads them to various characters and locations. There are now a few ways to capitalize on this new foot traffic and Niantic just announced that they are willing to create in-game sponsorship opportunities soon. Nintendo’s involvement and the fact that the game is marketed to kids means this will take time. For now, the game is monetized by in-app purchases by users instead of advertising, the same way the other large mobile games generate revenue. Because the game gets users out into the world, there are marketing opportunities surrounding the game even without in-game ads or sponsorship.
While the camera-enabled AR experience is not necessary for gameplay as the game is built around location services, it creates the game’s most share-worthy moments as social feeds on Facebook and Twitter include almost non-stop screenshots from the game in the last week. Om Malik wrote about the importance of the AR component for The New Yorker:
This weekend I went to the recently opened San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and wanted to know everything about the art and various installations, beyond what was posted on the walls. I felt as if I should be able to lift my phone and get more details on the process of the creation of the art work, rather than having to type a search term into my browser. Pokémon Go had changed my expectations on how to access information. That shift in expectation, perhaps, is the game’s true importance.
Vox has a detailed explainer of the game that you can read to gain a deeper understanding of how it works. As of now, the app is only available in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Germany, but it is reported to be launching wider in Europe and Asia “within a few days.” Since launch, it has overtaken popular dating app Tinder in Android app installs, and its daily active users in the U.S. has surpassed those of popular apps such as Twitter and Pandora, according to SimilarWeb’s estimation. On the iOS side, the app has topped both Top Download and Top Grossing charts the App Stores in all three markets it has become available. The only other game that managed this feat in the last three years was Clash Royale by SuperCell, who have just been acquired by China’s Tencent for $8.6 billion.
Source: SimilarWeb
What Brands Need To Do Brands without physical locations will have a tougher time capitalizing directly on the latest Pokémon craze. While we are hoping for more opportunities to get in front of Pokémon Go players through in-game ads or sponsorships, this is a good time to think about ways for augmented reality to drive new opportunities for your brand. AR can be a great way for customers to envision your products in their lives and to launch digital experiences from signage or product packaging. What we can do now through a smartphone is just the beginning. As Microsoft’s HoloLens, Magic Leap, and the rumored Snapchat glasses roll out over the next few years, lots more will be possible. For now, we’re concentrating on what we can do with the phone that everyone already has.
What Retailers Need To Do The nature of Pokémon Go demands players go outside and walk around. Already, there are stores and cafes seeing a spike in foot traffic because their locations are hotspots in the game. The New York Times reported that one bar in Harrisburg, Va., has started offering discounts to Pokémon Go players on a specific team, while a tea shop in San Francisco offered a “buy one get one” deal to Pokémon Go players.
If one of your locations is lucky enough to be at or near an in-game hotspot known as a PokéStop and you’re willing do a little work and make a few in-app purchases, you can drive even more traffic and sales. Users and businesses alike may set “lure modules,” acquired via in-app purchase, to draw Pokémon – and therefore players – to a PokéStop. (Update 7/14: Niantic’s official Pokemon Go support page has put out a request form for suggesting new PokéStop and Gym locations.) The Huge Cafe in Atlanta is located between two PokéStops, and it has been doing just that to draw in customers. When bought in the largest pack possible, the lures work out to just over $1.17 per hour of drawing in customers. It’s hard to find a better deal than that. L’inizio Pizza Bar in Queens used that strategy and boosted sales by an incredible 30%, spending only $10 in the game.
What Other Brands Can Do Brands without physical locations will have a tougher time capitalizing directly on the latest Pokémon craze. While we are hoping for more opportunities to get in front of Pokémon Go players through in-game ads or sponsorships, this is a good time to think about ways for augmented reality to drive new opportunities for your brand. AR can be a great way for customers to envision your products in their lives and to launch digital experiences from signage or product packaging. What we can do now through a smartphone is just the beginning. As Microsoft’s HoloLens, Magic Leap, and the rumored Snapchat glasses roll out over the next few years, lots more will be possible. For now, we’re concentrating on what we can do with the phone that everyone already has.
Fashion and beauty brands, for example, can leverage AR technology to allow customers to try on the latest accessories and makeup without visiting a physical store. A number of beauty brands have created AR apps to enable virtual sampling and try-on, including Covergirl’s BeautyU, Sally Hansen’s ManiMatch, and L’Oreal’s popular Makeup Genius app. Fashion brands such as Rebecca Minkoff and Neiman Marcus have started testing AR-powered interactive mirrors to digitalize their fitting room experiences.
Home improvement brands could also use AR technology to provide a powerful preview tool for customization, showing customers what their rooms would look like with a different wall color or with a different set of cabins or carpets. IKEA has already developed an AR preview app to see if the furniture you want would fit in your room.
Q. Can I use guerilla marketing techniques to get my brand into the game?
A. Not really but see below for a way to use guerilla marketing to get foot traffic in the real world.
Q. What are lures and what is crowd-luring?
A. “Lure modules” are an item in the game that attract Pokémon to a PokéStop location for 30 minutes (see screenshots below). Anyone in the area can take advantage of the lure and they usually attract crowds of players. The lures last for 30 minutes and, if bought in increments of $100, cost $1.17 per hour.
One thing we would caution brands and businesses against is relying solely on the benefit of lures at this stage. Since there are so many players using lures organically right now, a lure alone might not move the needle much. We suggest businesses pair it with special promotions for Pokemon players, along with a social strategy to highlight the rare(r) Pokémons which are appearing at the location — ideally with screenshots showing them on location in the game’s AR view — in order to truly maximize the impact.
Q. How do I turn my retail location into a PokéStop or Gym?
A. Gyms are destinations players to battle with other players’ Pokémons, whereas a PokéStop is a checkpoint that players pass by for a few seconds to get free loot. So far, Niantic has full control over the creation of PokéStops and Gyms.
Q. How does incense work?
A. Incense works similarly to lures, in that it attracts Pokémon, but these should not be used by brands as they only create extra Pokémon for the user deploying them, not for other users in the game. They are not tied to a location the way lures can only be used at PokéStops.
Q. Can I buy lures to add them to my store?
A. Lures are purchased in the in-game store with Pokecoins, which are purchased with real money.
How We Can Help The Media Lab and Ansible have considerable experience with AR technologies and location-based experiences and how they apply to marketing. We’ve developed an AR experience where Lego toys come to life and assemble themselves in front of your eyes, and created a HoloLens interactive auto experience. Please get in touch with the Lab’s Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) or Ansible’s Account Director Merrell Middleton ([email protected]) if you’d like more information or have a client opportunity.
For previous editions of Fast Forward, please visit ipglab.com. Please reply with any constructive criticism or feedback. We want these to be as useful as possible for you and your clients, and your feedback will help us immensely.
Header image is a promotional image courtesy of Niantic
What Happened Rimmel is the latest cosmetics brand to leverage the smartphones in consumers’ pockets to create a new touchpoint to engage them. The London-based makeup brand launched a “Get The Look” app that works like a “Shazam for makeup.” The iOS app, created in partnership with agency Holition, captures the shape and color of the makeup on a scanned face, be it a real person or a photo of a celebrity, and recommends the closest match in Rimmel’s product catalog. Users can then proceed to try on the matched Rimmel products virtually and purchase them via Google Shopping. The company says integration with its online shop and other ecommerce assets are in the works.
What Brands Need To Do A number of makeup brands have created useful apps to enable virtual sampling and try-on, including Covergirl’s BeautyU, Sally Hansen’s ManiMatch, and L’Oreal’s popular Makeup Genius app. Unlike those apps, Rimmel’s new app primarily focuses on aiding product discovery. It provides shoppers with a handy tool for identifying similar makeup and copying looks, thus creating true value for customers while pushing its products. More beauty brands could benefit from a mobile touchpoint to engage with their customers and build long-term relationships.
The Lab has extensive experience working with CPG and beauty brands to reach shoppers on digital channels. Our recent work with NYX Cosmetics includes an innovative take on in-store sampling with a digital beauty bar where shoppers can follow interactive makeup tutorials and try on different looks digitally or in person. If you’d like to learn more about developing a mobile strategy to reach connected shoppers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.
What Happened To help drugstore shoppers pick out the right shade of lipstick or eyeshadow, makeup brand Covergirl has launched a new app to help them try on products virtually before buying. Similar to L’Oreal’s Makeup Genius app, Covergirl’s BeautyU app uses facial scanning and tracking to identify users’ skin tones and overlay makeup looks in real time. The Maryland-based company aims to provide their customers with a complementary tool that may help break the try-on barrier that hinders purchases in drugstore browsing.
What Brands Need To Do With this new app, Covergirl provides a great example of how brands can leverage the proliferation and advanced capabilities of smartphones to provide extra utility throughout the consumer journey. Given that smartphone users are spending over 85% of their time in apps rather than web browsers, it makes sense for brands to develop branded apps to engage with consumers, enhance their shopping experiences, and move them down the sales funnel.
What Happened As virtual reality and augmented reality technology quickly advance, a number of established media companies are jumping on the bandwagon and trying their hands at creating immersive content and integrating it into their media and ad products.
On Tuesday, HBO and Discovery Communications announced that they have taken equity stakes in OTOY, an L.A.-based startup that specializes in 3D graphics. The two companies plan to work with OTOY to develop and distribute original holographic content across their media properties, including TV, mobile, and even virtual reality devices. In fact, OTOY has already started working with Jon Stewart to create short-form content for HBO Now, the standalone OTT subscription service HBO launched last year.
Similarly, AOL announced earlier today it is acquiring virtual reality and 360-degree video startup RYOT for an undisclosed amount. RYOT will form a new VR content unit under AOL’s The Huffington Post and will also work with other AOL-owned publications such as TechCrunch, Engadget, and Autoblog to create branded content for AOL’s ad clients.
What Brands Need To Do With more and more media owners starting to invest in VR and AR and honing their skills in producing immersive content, they offer brands more opportunities to create new types of branded content to engage their audiences with. Although virtual reality may still be a few years away from mass adoption (as we predicted in the 2020 section in our Outlook 2016), brands looking to stay ahead of the innovation curve would be smart to start developing their own branded VR content today.
With Oculus Rift set for its late March ship date, it seems like Virtual Reality is making its first step towards the consumer market. Besides Oculus, the show floor at CES 2016 is abuzz with a number of lesser-known players in the VR and AR spaces showcasing their newest products. Here are some of the Lab’s favorites.
Avegant Glyph Elegantly designed as a one-piece VR audio-visual headset, Avegant Glyph (pictured) offers users a personal theater experience that integrates the screen into the band of headphones.
Orcam Designed for those with sight disability, Orcam is a pair of smart AR glasses that read out the name of what you point to.
Solos Solos showcases their cycling AR glasses that put performance and fitness data right in cyclists’ field of vision.
NASA VR Using both Google Cardboard and the Oculus DK 2, NASA let attendees experience a few of their VR apps to inspire and educate about space.
Krush Moveo/ooVoo The Krush products offer a 4D experience with a free-rotating VR simulation pod that allow users to experience virtual reality content in 360-degree.
LeTV’s LeVR Headset LeTV, a Chinese streaming service is also showcasing a relatively new and lower-end VR headset that uses its smartphone as a display. The company made headlines earlier with its partnership with Qualcomm on its newest phablet LeTV Max Pro.
Immersit Immersit makes a 4D motion platform that moves furniture in sync with the VR experiences users are watching.
Vuzix Vuzix is showcasing its newest VR headset named iWear Wireless Video Headphones, which allows users to stream 3D, and 360-degree VR movies directly from the internet, as well as two more industrial-facing AR glasses.
What Happened Japanese game-maker Nintendo teamed up with Niantic Labs, the studio behind Google’s AR game Ingress, to bring popular game Pokemon to mobile devices – with a twist of Augmented Reality (AR). Aptly named Pokemon Go, the new app requires players to travel to real-world locations to catch, train, and battle their Pokemon. The game also has a Bluetooth-enabled wearable accessory that lights up and vibrates when players approach virtual Pokémon in the real world,.
What Brands Should Do Augmented Reality is a promising marketing technique, and while Nintendo mentioned no brand integration, it’s not hard to see how local discovery could fit into this gameplay. For example, a brick-and-mortar retail brand could sponsor a specific kind of Pokemon to entice gamers to visit their store locations, or could host virtual battles or training grounds. As AR technologies matures, brands that are willing to experiment now to see how they fit into the AR space would be in a much better position.
What Happened L’Oréal hit a homerun with the launch of a branded mobile app called Makeup Genius, which uses augmented reality (or, more precisely, mixed reality) and facial tracking technology to let users virtually try on L’Oréal cosmetics and, if happy with the simulated results, order the products right in the app. It utilizes dynamic tracking so that even as users move their heads around, the virtual layer of makeup stays in the right places. The app has been especially successful in China, which brought in 4.7 million of its 14 million total downloads.
What Brands Should Do In order to reach today’s mobile-first consumers, who are reportedly spending over 85% of their time on smartphones in apps rather than web browsers, it is important for brands to develop apps that offer true value to the consumers and function as new digital touchpoints to engage with the target audience.
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