#there's finite information so it's not like a general project planner that needs to change all its info constantly

[grim-echoes]

i'm so serious about my jimmy fandragon collection on flight rising i'm currently making an entire meticulously themed spreadsheet to keep track of what i do and don't have

[dylan38sanders]

Augmented Reality for Events and Experiential Marketing

Pokémon Go took over the world last Summer, but users have fallen dramatically, leaving the world to wonder if Augmented Reality (AR) for Events is a passing fad or truly the future of audience engagement. Its huge success was a perfect storm of famous IP, addictive gamification, and social, not just online but human to human contact. While its users have trailed, this does not by any means imply the future of AR adoption. Location-based AR is only one method; AR technology goes far past mobile to headsets and holograms, all of which can be used to engage consumers in new enchanting ways.

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  Augmented Reality For Events gives us the ability to put the digital into the real world, transforming how brands can interact with consumers in our everyday lives. A company’s best way to begin to experiment with the technology is with single use cases that have measurable impact to evaluate, making events and experiential marketing an ideal first step. Events give you a specified group of potential customers to engage within a finite period that can be measured for value post event. For example, brands can display endless amounts of products allowing the consumers to customize and view their changes in real time.

Capitalize on endorsement deals

Show off infinite product customization without the burdensome inventory

Allow consumers to engage with pre-released products to learn about their preferences before a launch

Let consumers become the center of the story and dictate the path

Add digital elements to your keynote presentations or even beam in someone live that could not attend in person

LEAD GENERATION! LEAD GENERATION!

Entice more prospects into your booth at trade shows

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  The Two Types of Augmented Reality For Events

Mobile

Mobile apps like PokémonGo are one type of device in which to leverage AR. They are an easy first use case as most people have one in their hand 24/7. They can be used to guide users to your booth, provide supplemental information to existing displays or even super impose celebrities for photo opportunities. There are a number of companies who will build custom applications for your brand including Marxent and Appshaper. There are also industry specific app companies like Holition for luxury jewelry and Adornably for furniture placement, who have done the ground work for the industry to plug in their products leading to a more cost effective approach.

While mobile apps are an easy first use case, they put the burden on the user to download an additional app. Unfortunately the app boom is over, according to Tune’s 2016 study people on average download 2.6 apps per month. When competing with giants like Uber, Snapchat and Facebook the outlook does not bode well for new players. The best way to ensure your app is downloaded and used at an event is to make it part of the initial event registration process so it is not seen as an annoying second step once at the venue.

Holograms

Next in the mix, and where our expertise falls are holograms. Holograms are stand-alone hardware that project images into the real world, so everyone in the room can see and interact with digital objects without wearables.  For example, fans can pitch a baseball to Derek Jeter and cheers him with a Bud Light and get a video to share on social media, earning major bragging rights with friends. Holograms are one of the best ways to increase user-generated-content for social because we all know nothing is as shareable as a selfie with a celebrity.

Like PokémonGo, holograms can also be a group experience. Everyone in the room can see and interact with the same digital object creating an authentic event experience, which is every planner’s number one goal. Taking it a step further, imagine a speaker not even having to be at the event. Holograms can be used to teleport someone live on stage to present without the need for travel. Or add 3D visuals to presentations to wow the audience and blow away your competitors’ PowerPoint slides.

AR also has immense data tracking capabilities to validate use and prove value for future deployment. Everyone who does a hologram experience enters their email to begin in order to get their selfie take home. While they are engaged, VNTANA’s technology can track age, gender and even sentiment, which is valuable when consumers are evaluating different hologram products. The experiences can even be designed to gain more information from the prospect. For example, VNTANA is building a hologram car configurator that allows consumers to choose all of their features and see themselves in their dream car, which then syncs directly to the auto client’s CRM so local sales teams can reach out to meaningful leads. All social shares are also tracked through VNTANA’s online platform allowing brands to calculate their reach post event. Similar to holograms and what VNTANA is doing, every app or headset can track user’s preferences, usage and social shares as well, if designed properly.

Like any new tool, AR requires a new way of thinking about content, just as digital ads had to change to be more effective on mobile versus a desktop. Goldman Sachs’ 2016 report* declares the market will reach $80 Billion by 2025 affecting every industry from engineering, education, entertainment, retail, real estate, and live events, that are expected to hit $4.1 Billion.

Virtual reality and augmented reality for events combined have the disruptive potential of the PC and should be apart of every company’s digital strategy. AR is a brand-new medium with endless possibilities, think big and look beyond yesterday’s use cases to use AR to its fullest extent.

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http://fast.wistia.com/static/concat/iframe-api-v1.js from Endless Events http://helloendless.com/augmented-reality-for-events/