This year we’ve seen some pretty cool “out of home” branded augmented reality executions. Below are videos from Disney, National Geographic and Lynx showcasing their work. As you’ll see, they are pretty similar in concept, and yet subtly different in execution.
It’s always fun to watch people’s reactions in these videos. Part amazement, part wonder and part pure joy. I like all three executions, but personally, the National Geographic’s one is my favorite. Admittedly, I’m a bit of a nerd about NatGeo (among other things). I love that channel. But I also love that they used some gesture controls to make the AR experience more interactive.
So what do you think? Which one do you like best? I’d love to get your thoughts below…
Highlight: According to Mashable “many of the character interactions are done live. That means that the characters can respond directly to how guests are moving and reactions from the crowds.”
When it comes to Cancer, the importance of regular self examinations cannot be overstated. But, what’s the right way to administer those exams? The fact is, most people don’t know how to properly examine themselves, and many are too embarrassed to ask…
So we teamed up with Saatchi & Saatchi Mexico to create a Breast Cancer Awareness application for Olay that utilizes an animated silhouette (and a motion capture interface) to educate women on the proper technique to use when giving themselves a breast exam. All women need is the right Olay t-shirt and a webcam, and they are good to go.
This is yet another example of how augmented reality can be used to facilitate a particular experience, one that in this case educates in an interactive manner.
Hey Folks! Our newest augmented reality brand engagement is live, and you can check it out here. Unfortunately, we’re not cleared to discuss any of the details around the execution (in this blog) so this is going to be the extent of this post. But, you’re a smart crowd, so I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure it out once you click on the link above…
Note: The engagement actually launches as a pop-up off the site, so please make sure you allow pop-ups on the page.
Are you familiar with SocialVibe? Odds are, you’ve seen their work. They power user-initiated brand engagements on some of the web’s most visited networks. Networks like Zynga Games and Pandora. If you’d like more information on SocialVibe, Fast Company ran a great piece on them the other week.
Recently, we partnered with SocialVibe and Deutsch to create the “Anthem Blue Cross Webcam Exam” for Zynga’s network. It’s a fun, interactive Augmented Reality “Check-Up” that reminds people of the importance of seeing a Doctor regularly. It actually uses facial tracking to allow people to naturally interact with several Doctor’s tools, like that thinga-ma-bobby that they use to look at your eye (sorry for using such technical language).
Below, is a demo link for those of you that want to check it out. I’ve also embedded a few screencaps below as a mini walk-through to showcase the engagement. I’d love to get your thoughts on the execution in the comment section, and as always, you can find me on twitter here.
Since we launched the Webcam Social Shopper (WSS) on Banana Flame we’ve encountered the same question a few times: “Are people really using it?” I figured you might be interested in the answer to that question too, so I wanted to share with you the deck embedded below. It details shopper data around WSS usage, engagement, and ROI.
As you’ll see, yes, people are using augmented reality and they are deeply engaged with it when they are.
Finally, please keep an eye on this blog over the next few weeks as retailers in the UK, Denmark, Russia, Italy and the US are scheduled to launch WSS on their sites soon, and we’ll be announcing them each here when they do.
Oh, and for the record, it looks like SlideShare decided to take some creative liberties with our formatting when they converted the .ppt. I’m sorry about that…
In the past we’ve addressed some of the technical limitations that we see with the mobile augmented reality space in general. In this post, I want to get very specific and address why we don’t currently develop our ecommerce augmented reality software for the mobile market (as we get this question a fair amount). For those of you that are unfamiliar with our software, The Webcam Social Shopper, I’ve embedded an introductory video below.
Sorry, for some reason we’re having trouble embedding the video. If you don’t see it above, you can view it on YouTube here.
Okay, so back to the question at hand: Why don’t we develop for mobile? The short answer? It’s simply not strategic to do so. Let me explain our thinking:
The Addressable Market Is Just A Fraction Of The Computer Market
Our shopping application functions like a mirror, so that means people need to have their screen, and their camera facing the same direction (AKA a forward facing camera). For the computer market, that’s just the way it works… but in the mobile space, that essentially leaves us with two consumer devices: the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2.
Like all businesses, we need to be laser focused and strategic with both our financial and human resources. So let’s look at where we can have a greater impact now. Let’s look at the potential consumer reach for PCs, iPad 2s, and iPhone 4s:
Sources: In September, The Daily Beast stated that 30 Million iPads had been sold. Back in March at the iPad 2 launch event Steve Jobs noted that 15 Million iPads had already been sold.
iPhone 4: 50 to 75 Million sold (note: we don’t know how many of these are replacements for a previously purchased iPhone 4).
Sources: At the recent iPhone 4S event, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the iPhone 4 accounts for half of all iPhone’s sold. Back in March Steve Jobs noted that since 2007 Apple had sold 100 Million iPhones.
Okay, so let’s put the combined iPad 2 and iPhone 4 sales at the high end of that range: 90 million units. It’s an impressive number, but those sales totals are just 6% of the PCs that Intel states are “in use”… and it should be noted that Intel also states that PCs are selling at a rate of 1 million per day. And here’s another metric for you: 93% of digital traffic is consumed by PCs. That means that the entire Smartphone and tablet market (i.e. not just Apple’s two most recent product launches) accounts for only 7% of digital traffic consumption.
So, when looking at the addressable markets, it’s pretty clear that the computer has the upper hand.
It Would Be A Horrible Experience For The Shopper
For the sake of argument, let’s assume that the PC market didn’t dwarf the mobile market. Let’s assume everyone had a Smartphone and they all had forward forcing cameras. There’s still a rather large usability issue keeping us from developing for those devices. And that’s the arm length of the average person. If you noticed, in the video embedded above, the young woman is standing roughly 4 – 6 feet away from her computer. That’s because she’s visualizing if a dress’s style is right for her, so she needs to see her entire body. If you’re holding a Smartphone in your hand, you just can’t hold the phone far enough away to have that experience. And at the end of the day, if we aren’t providing an amazing experience for the shopper, than what the heck is the point?
Now I get it, mobile, especially the iPhone and the iPad get an overwhelming amount of media attention. Are they revolutionary products? Yes. I’m not debating that. Is the future bright for mobile? Of course. But that’s the future, and as a company we’re focused on how we can make the biggest impact in people’s lives today (and over the next 5 years).
Did you know that one day after download, only 20% of users come back and run an iPhone app? And after a month, that number drops to 5% (chart). For us, it’s not about producing an augmented reality app that people won’t use but will get us covered by the press. It’s about measureable impact. It’s about disrupting the way people shop online today, and providing them with a significantly better experience. On computers we can do that. On mobile devices, we can’t.
What do you think? Are we right? Wrong? As always, you can find me on twitter here.
The whole team here at Zugara is very excited to finally be able to tell you about an R&D project we partnered with Orange Silicon Valley on: “Project DocPAL”, an augmented reality telemedicine system that uses natural user interfaces, Interactive Voice Recording, and other innovative technologies to help improve the quality of doctor patient consultations (please see the video below).
One of the pieces of emerging technology that Project DocPAL utilizes is our proprietary ZugSTAR software. ZugSTAR allows people in different locations to have shared Augmented Reality experiences from within their video feeds. For this project, it’s a Doctor and a patient. For our ecommerce augmented reality software, it would be two (or more) shoppers. The use cases are somewhat endless.
For several years now, we’ve talked about how augmented reality will ultimately change people’s lives, and how it can be so much more than just a marketing gimmick, or an overlay on your smartphone’s video feed. Hopefully projects like this help people see the potential that we see in the technology. It truly is so much more than a video playing on a marker. It’s the beginning of a whole new way of interacting with data… The Natural User Interface (NUI).
We’re truly honored that the amazing team over at Orange Silicon Valley chose us as their partner, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on the project below.
Video Credit: Adam Odessky, Product Manager and Software Developer, Orange Silicon Valley
Typically, we don’t use this blog as a vehicle to promote media coverage of our company or our software. This post will be an exception to the rule though because there’s a rather solid piece of qualitative data nestled in the article below. And, as you hopefully know, it’s our goal to share as much data (from our augmented reality work) as we can with you.
In a NY Times article covering some of the ways the fashion industry has embraced augmented reality, the journalist interviewed a young woman (Elizabeth Cardy, 22) who had used The Webcam Social Shopper on Banana Flame’s site. Here’s the relevant excerpt directly from the article:
“’It was fun,’ Ms. Cardy said. ‘I’d never used my Webcam like that before.’
She was able to ‘try on’ the dress, using her computer screen as a sort of electronic mirror. By gesturing, she operated the virtual controls, adjusting the garment’s position, color and size, and then photographed herself to show friends. In the end, she bought the dress: ‘Seeing it on helped me decide.’“
That last sentence is a doozy isn’t it? Here’s a young woman, a “digital native”, letting us know that Augmented Reality (i.e. The Webcam Social Shopper) directly influenced her purchase decision. The technology was “fun” for her to use and she made a purchase she otherwise wouldn’t have, because of AR. Don’t look now, but I think that might be called “ROI”…
As always, if you want to discuss, please comment below or you can find me on twitter here.
As we noted last week, we’re going to work to share as much data as we can from retailers that license our ecommerce augmented reality software, the Webcam Social Shopper (WSS).
Today we’re only sharing one stat, but it’s pretty compelling one (we think): Banana Flame has seen conversions on the “add to cart” button skyrocket from 1.16% to 5.38% since our Webcam Social Shopper was integrated. That means roughly five times as many people are now adding items to their cart thanks to WSS.
What do you think? Are stats like the one above proving that there’s real ROI in augmented reality?
I’d love to hear your thoughts below, or you can find me on twitter here.
An Online Fashion Boutique Integrates The Webcam Social Shopper in to Every Piece of Clothing’s Product Detail Page.
Beginning today visitors to online fashion boutique Banana Flame will see that the retailer has rolled out Zugara’s Augmented Reality E-Commerce software “The Webcam Social Shopper” (WSS) to every product detail page on the site. Two elements make this WSS launch different:
Banana Flame has integrated WSS as an advanced product-viewing tool for their shoppers, not as a marketing campaign. Every single piece of clothing on Banana Flame’s site will give shopper’s access to WSS via a seamlessly integrated “see how it looks” button. (screenshot below)
It’s the first time the recently released “Plug & Play” version of WSS has been licensed.
WSS utilizes several pieces of emerging technology to turn shopper’s webcams into interactive “mirrors”, providing online shoppers with that “at the rack moment” where they grab a hanger off the rack, hold the piece of clothing up to themselves and turn to a friend (and/or the mirror) to ask “what do you think, is this me?”
With WSS the Banana Flame experience now allows shoppers to:
Immediately see if a piece of clothing’s color/style is right for them
Snap photos and share looks with friends to get instant feedback (via Facebook, email, or Twitter)
Match their existing wardrobes with potential new purchases
Have a more fun and rewarding online shopping experience
“Our customers are young, savvy, followers of up to the minute trends and lovers of all things stylish. They grew up digitally”, said Emily Walker, Creative Director of Banana Flame. ‘‘Of course they love to shop in store, but with a heavy work load and an increasingly hectic way of life they’re choosing more and more of their favorite items online. As an online retailer, it’s critical to our business that we create the best and most enjoyable shopping experiences available to customers, so that when they do choose to shop online, they do it with us. And that’s what the Webcam Social Shopper gives us, a brand building and personal shopping experience tailored to each individual that they will not only love but also return to time and time again.”
A few years ago the number of retailers that were integrating product-viewing features like zooming, product videos, and 360 degree spins were few and far between. Now these “advanced viewing features” are becoming common place and are irreplaceable elements of a shopper’s purchase validation process. In fact, data from Limelight Networks Inc. shows that these types of features make shoppers more likely to purchase, and more brand loyal. WSS is simply the next iteration of these types of tools, providing shoppers with more information, and subsequently more confidence in, their purchase decisions.
We Are Organized Chaos (WAOC) is Zugara’s (www.zugara.com) interactive marketing and advertising blog where we’ll be featuring some great projects and discussing upcoming trends in the digital world. Work — good and bad — will be critiqued. Hope you’ll enjoy reading our insights and thoughts on interactive.
