How to Use AR/VR in Marketing

This article explores the benefits of virtual and augmented reality in business contexts and their marketing applications.

 

Organizations as disparate as construction companies and cosmetics retailers leverage immersive experiences to promote themselves, sell goods and services, and build relationships with customers in fresh and creative ways. 

 

You may find many inspiring augmented and virtual reality marketing examples here, including some projects by Onix. Our AR/VR dev team has been creating 3D art, mobile, and VR apps for years. 

 

Below, you can see a fresh example of our work – a virtual car showroom. By blending AR and VR for Apple Vision Pro, we created an experience that allows customers to interact with cars that aren’t physically there, customize cars’ features, and even take virtual test drives. 

 

 

If you have an AR or VR project on your mind, please feel free to contact us! Onix’s experts are always at your service.

 

The Potential of Augmented and Virtual Reality for Marketing

The potential of VR and AR as marketing tools stems from the media’s nature. VR technology can translate a person’s movements in the real world, e.g., in a retail store or trade show booth, into activity in the virtual environment that can incorporate realistic sights, sounds, movements, and haptics, or take people to places they couldn’t even imagine.

 

For example, Onix developed the VR tour for a museum at Banská Štiavnica, which largely focused on the local medieval mining industry. The experience transports visitors to the town and mines as they looked centuries ago. 

 

 

Learn more: AR and VR Business Opportunities in Travel Applications

 

AR technology doesn’t require wearing headsets, hand-held controllers, or fixed locations, which makes mobile AR experiences accessible to over 4 billion smartphone owners worldwide.

 

Learn more: 3 Universal Applications of Augmented Reality in Business

 

Currently, we can distinguish five ways to employ augmented and virtual reality in marketing:

 

1. Promotion of products and brands
2. ‘Try before you buy’ applications
3. Building brand connection
4. Consumer research
5. Marketers’ everyday tasks 

 

Let’s take a look at each use case. 

 

Product and Brand Promotion

Associations between a brand and creative and innovative experiences are likely to increase positive brand perception. Immersive technologies especially empower businesses to reach out to a younger demographic, urban population with smartphones glued to their thumbs, and affluent tech-savvies.

 

AR technology lets companies, publishers, artists, and app developers create and tie content to images, logos, signs, and pictures in the real world. Smartphone owners just need to point the camera at any surface anchored with AR, and the camera will track an image and overlay it with some predefined effects and/or animations.

 

It’s easy now to bring to life promotional brochures, book and magazine pages, ads, movie posters, T-shirts, and other merchandise. 

 

For instance, below, you can see Onix’s AR-enhanced presentation from a while ago. A custom AR mobile app transformed a printed brochure into a fun experience as event attendees moved their phone cameras over it to reveal company stats, projects, and a 3D model of the headquarters. 

 

 

Onix’s AR Magic Print project resulted in an innovative AR platform where printed materials come to life with captivating experiences, from interactive advertisements to educational content.

Example of AR app development by Onix – AR Magic Print

 

QR codes may enable customers to purchase tickets to movies and events on the go.

 

Learn more: QR Codes for Payments: How to Implement and Why?

 

Brands can also partner with social apps and launch product-themed AR masks (face filters), e.g., to promote a movie premiere by allowing users to play with movie characters’ make-up and outfits.

 

Augmented reality brings products to life more effectively than a photo or even video, because people can interact with them. Insights into products help win consumers in their path to purchase. Replicas of products in AR allegedly help increase sales conversion by up to 30%.

 

The simplest scenario involves an app with a barcode scanner where a product’s details are revealed in AR.

 

Below, you can see Onix’s supermarket AR scanner demo. Upon scanning a barcode, the system swiftly identifies the product and fetches its description, ingredients, price comparison, and visual representation.

 

This presentation of neatly organized and categorized information is more convenient than the minuscule text typically found on product packaging. 

 

 

By bringing a product into the users’ space, AR technology makes online browsing and shopping more immersive, engaging, and memorable giving consumers a more intimate buying experience.

 

For example, while pointing a phone camera at a catalog or magazine page or laptop screen, fashionistas can invoke models wearing the advertised items as though they’re walking in front of them, view the clothes from different angles, and zoom in and out to see the details.

 

Similarly, a brand AR app can bring car dealers and showrooms into consumers’ phones. They may admire a new model as if it were already in their garage, understand how it works, and even ‘see inside’ it.

 

Graphics can also be overlaid onto physical vehicles, as Onix’s Unity developers did in an Android project you can see below. AR technology and object recognition enable 3D experiences showing parts of the car with descriptions, with an option to animate objects.

 

 

Instead of bringing promo campaigns to the consumer, virtual reality brings the consumer into the middle of it all.

 

Fashion retailers have been treating the public to front-row views of their exclusive fashion runway shows through 360° VR panoramic video streams. Top musicians and even innovative theaters attract audiences through virtual experiences.

 

Learn more: How VR Is Changing the Entertainment and Film Industry

 

More sophisticated VR marketing allows consumers to explore products on a more personal level and get hands-on experience with how they work, which promotes greater buyer awareness and accelerates the purchasing process.

 

 

Narratives presented through immersive experiences hold tremendous appeal for niche markets. Consumers who immerse themselves, even virtually, in the adventure and enjoyment associated with a product are more inclined to purchase it.

 

Moreover, organizations embracing VR technology project a modern and relevant image setting them apart from competitors.

 

Read also: AR vacuum cleaner development

 

Even most "traditional" establishments like libraries and museums use VR for marketing purposes. 

 

Learn more: Virtual Reality (VR) in Museums – The Definitive Guide

 

For instance, in 2023, the management of Anija Manor, a significant historical site and museum in Estonia, enlisted Onix’s VR developers to craft a gaming experience. Their rationale included:

 

1. A VR game may captivate younger visitors who might otherwise show little interest in the exhibition. By blending historical education with entertainment and exploration, a virtual quest would elevate the museum experience, leaving a lasting impression on visitors. Satisfied customers write positive reviews and spread the word.

 

2. People engaging with the VR game online may develop a curiosity about Anija Manor’s rich history, prompting them to visit the estate for a firsthand experience.

 

The VR quest game developed by Onix enhanced the appeal of Anija Manor’s permanent exhibition through innovative technology and facilitated cultural exploration for individuals unable to visit the site physically, thus broadening the museum’s reach and impact.

 

 

Even food and beverage companies, less likely beneficiaries of a VR marketing strategy, can promote themselves through immersive educational videos, e.g., telling a compelling story around their product and its life cycle.

 

Earlier, the Onix team created a VR application that ‘brought to life’ 19th-century stereoscope images from the Library of Congress. The team made a comprehensive VR solution housing hundreds of antique photos, multiple review modes, and educational and entertaining historical references.

 

They preserved the antique photos' authentic style and depth effects and ensured seamless viewing across various devices, making diverse locations, events, and individuals from the past accessible to wide audiences.

 

 

‘Try before You Buy’

One of the main reasons retail brands are investing in augmented reality apps is to help customers make more informed product decisions, and thus help reduce returns and boost customer satisfaction.

 

Learn more: Benefits and Use Cases of Augmented Reality in Shopping And Retail

 

The IKEA Place smartphone app once pioneered using AR to ‘try before you buy,’ in their case – furniture. The customers’ ability to visualize items in their homes before purchasing reportedly helped increase online sales by 35% and reduce product returns by 20%.

 

Most of the top beauty brands and clothing retailers have tried their hand at personalizing shopping experiences with the power of in-store AR ‘try-on mirrors’ and mobile and web apps.

 

The apps can help retailers reach out to consumers who prefer to buy things online or need to try them at home.

 

For instance, Onix once designed an application for trying on watches in augmented reality mode. The user would put on a paper wristband with a printed QR code. The app recognized the position where the watch should be and overlaid it with a digitally rendered wristwatch of the selected model and materials.

 

   

More sophisticated face recognition technology may facilitate online sales of sunglasses, jewelry, or headwear. 

 

Beauty brands launch apps enabling consumers to try on make-up digitally. They can overlay make-up onto photos or videos in real time, try different fashionable looks, hair colors, and more.

 

Seeing how a product suits their skin tone, style, etc., and how it enhances their appearance, the customers are more eager to buy it right from the app, with a simple tap.

 

For example, in 2022, when Snapchat users were engaging with AR over 6 billion times daily and 93% were interested in using AR for shopping, the app launched shopping lenses from Ulta Beauty and MAC Cosmetics.

 

 

Clothing and foowear retailers are also adopting AR technology for both online and in-store experiences. For example, a fashion brand’s app with an AR feature may allow users to ‘try on’ a new collection virtually and share snaps of their looks via social media, further promoting the brand.

 

There are also apps that use AR combined with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to measure a person’s foot or body with millimeter accuracy and provide personalized size recommendations.

 

This technology will help consumers fit clothes and shoes perfectly and retailers to reduce their shipping and restocking expenses.

 

 

VR enables shoppers to explore more complex products in a life-like way. For example, retailers of home improvement goods and equipment may offer virtual skills-training clinics for patrons.

 

Realistic VR simulations with added haptics can give them a feel for a tool, albeit virtually, and visualize the results in a fun and safe way right in the store, which may increase conversion. This method also demonstrates the brand’s care and ability to educate customers.

 

Below, you can see an example of training VR app development by Onix. The app for heavy equipment operators and students facilitated training in checking the equipment and operating machines required to pass a test.

 

 

Read also: The Guide to Create Your VR Training Solution

 

The ‘try before you buy’ advantage applies not only to goods. What about experiencing a place or service? Virtual tours are a growing trend in which Onix participates as well. For example:

 

• Tourism companies are advertising destinations, and airlines and cruise lines market their luxury options using VR simulations

 

• Architects and interior designers showcase projects to potential clients via 3D computer models and immersive VR simulations

 

• Even universities can advertise themselves by inviting potential students to digitally replicated campuses

 

Here is another example of Onix’s work. TriptoVR enables users to experience the world’s best destinations, brought to life with stunning realism, from the comfort of their homes.

 

 

Read also: Metaverse Tourism: Benefits, Examples, and Onix Experts' Insights

 

For a tourism business, the difference between a cropped photo and a full panorama where viewers can look around and feel comfortable among the locals can be a difference between a viewer and a paying customer.

 

Companies can further enrich such videos with a stereo effect, adding depth, which Apple Vision will now sell again.

 

Making the VR content conveniently accessible through web browsers, on mobile devices, and on VR headsets will help the message reach broader audiences.

 

Such VR solutions may prove to be functional and cost-saving for many organizations and manufacturers. They also gather customer data as a part of market research, which is extremely valuable for building a marketing strategy.

 

Hospitality businesses should particularly explore the capabilities of VR technology in hotel marketing and sales, especially if they target millennials and Gen Z guests.

 

Over one-third of travelers are interested in virtually exploring accommodations before booking, and almost half of hoteliers said they were developing or would develop VR maps of their properties.

 

Hoteliers can generate content like 360-degree photos and videos of rooms, restaurants, spa facilities, pools, and beachfront locations, and complete 3D models of properties. This content can be linked to real-time product information from their CMS and facilitate bookings right from virtual reality. 

 

 

VR replicas may also facilitate the booking of spaces for meetings, conferences, and exhibitions. A VR app can connect buyers and salespersons inside a property digital twin, reducing the need to travel.

 

Event planners may walk through the simulated property, scrutinize details, and chat with the salesperson via VR headsets. This approach also facilitates the planning of decor, menus, presentations, etc.

 

Read also: Hyper-Personalization in Hospitality – a Step beyond Customization

 

Building Brand Connection & Loyalty

A brand stands for much more than the actual products, and meaningful marketing is not limited to ads and promo campaigns.

 

Forward-thinking brands are striving to move people emotionally and to create experiences they can connect with. Both virtual and augmented reality applications can help to do this beautifully.

 

Augmented reality apps can help companies stay relevant both on the tech side and in the hearts of customers. Businesses using AR solutions for customer engagement are reported to see a 200% increase in sales.

 

The use of AR in social media may help with building brand connections. For example, AR filters allow brands to communicate their messages organically and give a new side to a brand’s voice.

 

Simple and cheap filters can be relevant to specific events, businesses, and more. While users are having fun and sharing the filters, brand awareness and brand engagement are increasing.

 

One studio cited amazing benefits for its clients using AR filters for their social media campaigns: 

 

• up to 30% increase in usage
• up to 250% increase in shares
• up to 580% increase in saves
• up to 950% increase in engagement

 

Virtual reality has the power to present concepts most vividly and to introduce viewers to environments and activities they might have never experienced otherwise. This ability has been used to great effect by charities and cause-driven groups.

 

For instance, Onix once developed a VR platform for promoting sustainable animal farming.

 

 

This ability can be leveraged by commercial organizations with equal success. VR movies, apps, and games will not only market their products spectacularly but cement the pairing of their brand and the feelings of excitement and awe in many viewers’ heads.

 

Some companies may wish to show their branches in different countries, each with unique characteristics, or production by different contractors, through VR tours for customers and investors, emphasizing sustainability and minimizing the carbon footprint.

 

Gamification, another amazing ability of virtual reality, also helps brands to stand out from the crowd, capture the audience’s attention, educate and engage them emotionally, and be remembered. 

 

For example, a sportswear and accessories retailer may create a VR fitness app or game that will engage current and potential customers in fun workouts while smartly placing its products and logo in their view.

 

Your imagination is the only limitation to the applications of immersive experiences. One of the smartest virtual reality marketing examples we’ve come across involved a group of insurance companies.

 

They were sponsoring boating education for attendees of boat and sports shows, simultaneously promoting their boat insurance.

 

At some point, they created a VR game integrated with a steering wheel and sensors mapping players’ hands into the virtual experience. There, the players raced against time, sailing through checkpoints, avoiding obstacles, and collecting power boosts.

 

The fun game attracted thousands of people, exactly what the sponsor expected: besides the promotion of boater education, the catch was in collecting the participants’ contact info and details about their current insurance provider.

 

 

Brands can also add immersive experiences to their service packages to enhance the customer experience and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty.

 

For instance, hotels can use brand apps with an AR feature to offer entertainment, guidance, or promotions to guests when they are at specific locations. Mobile-based AR providing interactive information about a hotel, its local partners, and areas of interest around it opens doors to immense leisure and marketing opportunities.

 

Millennial and Gen Z guests might appreciate a game where QR codes scanned throughout the property unlock challenges, while others can use this tool to access restaurant opening times, interactive tourist information maps, etc.

 

Read also: How to Make a VR Game App

 

Luxury hotels can also offer guests VR headsets in their rooms so that

 

• adults and kids can enjoy VR movies and games
• guests can exercise right in their room using a VR fitness app
• guests can relax and fall asleep faster with the help of virtual meditation sessions

  

An example of Onix’s work for InnerVR, a VR-based meditation application

 

Consumer Research

Businesses should also consider the potential of VR and metaverse – immersive 3D environments where people interact with each other’s avatars and surroundings – for consumer research purposes.

 

For instance, just like hotels, retailers can create entire stores and showrooms in virtual reality. There, virtual mannequins would showcase various seasonal looks in 3D, and visitors would view products from different angles or even in different scenarios.

 

Besides the collection promotion, the management can use such VR stores for testing various store configurations and studying visitor behaviors to create more dynamic, relevant, and contextual online and offline customer experiences. 

An example of Onix’s 3D art, a screenshot of the Unreal Space VR app

 

VR heat mapping may be one of the most useful technologies for consumer research. For example, it’s possible to track a person’s gaze within 360° environments, marking the ‘hottest’ positions and the path of what captured the attention of the eye.

 

Retailers can learn which areas or products garner the most test subjects’ attention in brick-and-mortar stores. This ability will help them perfect and test store displays and other elements of visual merchandising to enhance shopping experiences and maximize spending.

 

Heat mapping analytics can also empower brands to compare the level of attention their products are drawing against the competitors’ products. The analytics may provide actionable insights, such as the need to reconsider product packaging.

 

Similar information can be obtained from AR-enriched mobile apps, such as the AR feature for supermarket apps developed by Onix.

 

Assistance with Marketers’ Tasks

The marketers’ understanding of products and services, especially in the automotive,  pharmaceutical, and manufacturing industries, is essential for success. Global leaders have been using AR glasses to train employees, including marketing, branding, and sales employees, worldwide.

 

For example, thanks to exploring 3D models of vehicles and equipment, they are faster to understand the inner workings with higher levels of detail. 

 

Below, you can see a concept of interactive engine disassembly instructions Onix’s Unity department made for Apple Vision Pro:

 

 

Learn more: VisionOs App Development: Use Cases and Opportunities

 

Communications and marketing staff can create simulations applicable on the sales floor. AR can be so effective that car dealers might need only one car per showroom: all the features, colors, and other options can be presented through AR.

 

Nowadays, marketers may be expected to contribute at earlier stages of product development. VR-enabled integrated workflows and other collaboration tools can facilitate their work. 

 

For example, Onix has developed a VR coworking space for meetings with colleagues and an application for presentations in VR.

 

 

Marketers are also adopting new approaches to manage and unify data. VR and AR facilitate the presentation of sales, marketing, and other data in 3D displays with interactive possibilities.

 

For example, in virtual reality, marketers can literally immerse themselves in data tables and scatter plots and explore lakes of data and mounds of money.

 

Detailed and engaging data visualization techniques help identify critical business insights and facilitate productive collaboration, decision-making, and development of marketing strategies. VR app users can also view and analyze data and work on it together in shared virtual spaces.

 

Marketers can also use AR’s ability to create immersive experiences that seamlessly blend digital content with the physical world. AR apps can visualize the latest business data during team meetings as well as Onix’s concept for Apple Vision Pro visualizes sports racing information.

Simulation of statistics for a NASCAR event built by Onix team

 

Virtual reality can also immerse employees in realistic environments for training purposes. For example, VR-based training clinics can teach them how to use specific equipment, improve their project knowledge, and develop the skills needed to serve customers in real life.

 

VR simulations may also help to prepare employees for unpredictable or infrequent situations without disturbing the normal operations of a business. 

 

Marketers can even test their presentations and hone their public speaking skills in simulated settings.

 

A user may give a presentation in a virtual room, demonstrating their actual slides and experiencing audio and visual distractions from a virtual audience. A VR app may also analyze the speech and even eye contact and give real-time feedback.

 

Learn more: Virtual Reality Meetings: Benefits and Use Cases

 

The Takeaway

Marketing is one of the most promising virtual and augmented reality business applications. From auto manufacturers to higher learning institutions, companies are leveraging immersive experiences for promotional and educational purposes, increasing conversions and sales.

 

Virtual and augmented reality marketing applications present a new way to communicate with customers and to connect with a brand or product. They can help improve buyer awareness, accelerate the purchasing process, and offer more personalized choices to consumers.

 

AR technology is a superb tool to create engaging content and enhance online and in-store shopping experiences.

 

VR technology supports gamification and emotional, feelings-based marketing campaigns that drive an even higher level of engagement. It also empowers businesses to create cost-effective true-to-life simulations engaging and educating customers and employees.

 

Simultaneously, forward-thinking companies leverage the power of AR, VR, and metaverse in marketing and sales teams training, communication, and consumer research.  

 

Businesses and organizations are only beginning to use augmented and virtual reality in marketing. We are looking forward to novel use cases in various areas: the applications of VR and AR seem to be limited only by people’s imaginations.

 

If you want to be a part of this future – contact Onix’s AR/VR team. We are here to help you benefit from these new opportunities!

 

 

 

FAQ

 

What makes VR and AR good marketing tools?

Both media 

 

• are great at telling visual stories, explaining complex concepts, sharing information entertainingly, and reducing language barriers

 

• facilitate unique, personalized, and immersive digital experiences that improve customer engagement

 

• make consumers’ encounters with products and brands memorable and facilitate purchasing decisions

 

• are still relatively new technologies, and thus buzz-worthy and noticeable 

 

What benefits can be expected from using AR and VR technology in marketing?

 

• Increased customer engagement
• Higher conversion rates
• Faster buying process
• Higher brand awareness and outreach to new audiences
• Better customer insights for more effective future marketing campaigns and higher personalization
• Higher cost-effectiveness in comparison to traditional marketing channels

 

What are the challenges and limitations of VR and AR in marketing?

 

• The cost of developing and using these advanced applications, including specialized software and equipment, may be prohibitive for some small businesses.

 

• It may be challenging to find an experienced, reliable, and affordable AR/VR development team.

 

• Some time must be spent to train your marketing and sales teams to use AR or VR software and equipment. 

 

• The relatively slow adoption of VR devices makes virtual experiences available only to 1.3% of the global population.  

 

• As AR and VR are relatively new technologies evolving across a variety of devices, customers may experience technical issues that can harm a brand’s reputation. Motion sickness and bulky headsets are also frequent complaints during VR experiences.