In a discussion regarding the Metaverse in the X Reality Day webcast, held in November 2020, something stuck with me. Fifty years ago, making videos was expensive, timely, and demanding. Today, anyone can (and everyone does) run a vlog on Youtube. Similarly, as with video production, the tools for AR creation need to match with the mass's know-how for the technology to become a norm.
An average Joe's platform is needed for marketers and advertisers to have equal access to make AR experiences. No coding, no further understanding of the technology itself. Just easy and fun content creation.
You don't need or even want to know how the image algorithms work in Photoshop, so why should you know the technologies inside an AR platform?
The upgrade from barebones digital marketing to XR is happening fast, and adopting the new way of doing things takes time. However, Arilyn is on a mission to offer easy ways to create AR experiences today. We want to lower the bar for marketers, advertisers, and brand builders to start creating AR. Our vision is a world filled with engaging and delightful augmented reality, but we can't do it alone.
That's why we at Arilyn have developed our augmented reality content management system, Arilyn Manager. The reasoning behind our visual no-code CMS, free Arilyn app, and focus on WebAR is that AR belongs to everyone. AR marketing shouldn't be just massive custom projects reserved for big players with huge budgets. AR should be a medium every marketer has access to. Creating AR should be a skill for every content marketing master, and offering memorable brand experiences to audiences everywhere is only beneficial to everyone.
Arilyn's mission is to enable all creative professionals, no matter how big or small the business is, to engage their customers with delighting AR experiences.
Some trailblazer creative companies already have adopted AR as a part of their repertoire. Orange Advertising executed a Christmas campaign for the shopping centre Iso Omena. We asked them their thoughts on AR's future in marketing and their experience in creating AR.
The concept designer of Orange Advertising was first introduced to Arilyn's productions by a business partner and later through augmented art in Amos Rex museum.
When Orange's client told the agency about physical elf doors coming into their shopping centre under Christmas 2020, an idea of Santa's little helpers having an augmented adventure arose. Many families visit shopping centres before Christmas, so an interactive experience addition to the elf doors fitted like a glove.
The client was very intrigued about bringing AR inside the shopping centre, and so the project launched rapidly. Orange Advertising has in-house animation and 3D skills, so the team started to create life behind the little doors.
In the end, the elves even found their way out of their little doors: the campaign catalogue launched an experience, where an elf invited the reader to explore the catalogue's contents. Also, Santa's mailbox inside the shopping centre launched a Santa Claus, created by combining 2D animation and 3D visual effects, greeting the visitors.
Because the technology was already available in many parts, Orange could do the campaign's whole production by themselves. The trigger images didn't need any gimmicks; the image already planned for the catalogue worked perfectly as was!
"Actually, the whole project was surprisingly natty to execute. Arilyn's AR platform supports still images, 3D models, 2D and 3D animations, and audio, so the possibilities are very versatile. If only the clients would adopt the technology's possibilities in brightening our daily lives. The Arilyn app is free to the end-user and very easy to use. And, you can take really cool pictures with the elves through it! We promise, that this year the Christmas shopping with children will be much more delightful than before!" said the Concept Designer at Orange Advertising.
With AR technology becoming a norm, it is easier than ever to offer augmented experiences to creative agency clients. Planners should keep an eye on technical innovations and consider their possibilities in commercial use.
We will improve brand storytelling, better customer experience, create value, and boost remote sales by democratising augmented reality. We have the tools - unleash your creativity.