Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are sophisticated technologies that have the potential to change the way we do many things, especially in the field of marketing.
Feeling curious about how these tools could be used, we decided to test them out at Madex 2017, the Marketing, Advertising and Design Expo associated with Markex. We chatted to BizAR Reality, an interactive software development company, and they provided us with two different products.
For a playful, interactive experience, an AR photo booth was set up for visitors to place themselves into different scenes on a large screen. This technology operates much like a green screen, only it doesn’t require a green screen or any background, so it is more flexible in how and where it can be used.
A second device was the Markit AR app, which was used to showcase one of our best-selling retail products, the Modular Retail Kiosk (MRK). The MRK is large and not easy to exhibit within a limited space. But by using the Markit AR app on an iPad, stand visitors could scan an image of the MRK and then explore it in 3D and from different angles, with both an AR and VR setting.
Our MD, Justin Hawes, believes that these tools were an asset to our stand, as they became a point of interest and something to talk about beyond the expo. The key to using these technologies is to use them well. So, based on our experience, here is Justin’s advice for your next event.
It’s still new
A surprising discovery for us was that, even though a lot of this tech has been around for a long time and has been in the media spotlight, people seemed to know very little about it. We expected show visitors to be more aware. Therefore you need to be prepared to educate your visitors.
Push it
Perhaps because of the novelty of this technology, people did not readily engage with it. They were reluctant to take hold of the iPad to view the MRK. They seemed to prefer that one of our Account Executives do it for them. So it is important that you motivate your audience to get involved. Don’t think that your audience will automatically want to, or know how to, use this technology.
Keep it simple
It helps to keep things very simple to make it less intimidating and easier for people to use AR and VR tools. As AR and VR become more mainstream, people will naturally become more comfortable and savvy with using them in more complicated ways. But for now, less is more.
Adapt as you need to
Once you have built an exhibition stand, there is not much you can do to change it. You cannot raise walls, or move them around. However, digital devices have the advantage of being designed to be modified, so you can adjust the settings and features during an event, to make them more suitable and effective. We were able to improve the AR photo booth once we realised certain functions weren’t working as well as we would have liked.
Keep testing
Of course, tech can let you down sometimes. Although we did a lot of in-studio testing, we found that when we used the AR photo booth on site there were a few unexpected challenges. Probably because the studio was a controlled environment, and the live event setting was not, the camera had a tendency to pick up a lot of interference from other people.
You need to be aware that there could be a problem, and be prepared to run thorough testing on site before the event and make adjustments during the event.