Augmented Reality advertising has been a hot topic with plenty of large companies taking the plunge wholeheartedly. The most recent addition to the club is Best Buy. BestBuyin3D augments your recent Sunday ad by displaying a Toshiba laptop when you hold it up to a webcam. Adage reported that Best Buy’s weekly insert was sent to its normal circulation of 43 million and of that, about 6,500 people tried it out, which was more than double the company’s expectation. That seems like a low number, but when you factor in the tired medium, lack of intrinsic reward, and that more people than not are still without a web cam, it makes sense.
In any case, the concept is there, and serves as a great introduction to a possible future of online advertising/online shopping. When augmented reality ads are accessed using ultra mobile PCs or other mobile devices, solutions like this have the power to literally redefine the way we shop. Desktops, monitors, laptops, speaker systems, furniture, appliances, you name it and augmented reality can deliver a full sized 3-D model of it to your home instantly and before an actual purchase. Cycle through not just one, but all of the laptops for sale/on sale, hear a virtual sales pitch of features and benefits, compare colors, models, accessories, footprint and make a more informed, “augmented,” purchase. I commend Best Buy for their forward thinking and can’t wait to see what answers they come up with.
Tags: Augmented Reality