All the folks currently working in graphic design, advertising and other digital creative fields can already take advantage of augmented reality in their projects, and also as their next differentiating skill set.
Spatial computing, the moving from 2D to 3D, will be the next big thing in computer evolution. Not unlike the shift from print to TV to digital. One of augmented reality's most promising use-case areas is to create experiences for consumers like lenses and animations — the most apparent current revenue opportunity for businesses and the current industry accelerant.
The need for more talent is going to be significant, as will be the need for marketing and advertising agencies offering AR to their clients.
According to ARtillery Intelligence's forecast, advertising is one of the most significant growth areas in AR, growing to $8.8 billion by 2023 and doubling each consecutive year. So given the osmosis of talent to revenue-generating fields, and according to typical supply/demand dynamics, there will be a real need for new talent.
The technology aligns nicely for immersive and high-engagement ads. But the advertising world is famously laggard. It will take a few cycles and feedback loops before AR is prevalent in mainstream advertising. But for the advertiser, this currently means a definite first-mover advantage.
The recent Unity survey supports an optimistic view. The study revealed that 56 per cent of the 1000 creative professionals polled reports the likelihood of working on an AR-based ad campaign in the next year. Sixty-two per cent meanwhile believe there will be increased client demand for AR-based ads in the next year. Of the professionals, 54 per cent were satisfied or very satisfied with the results already.
These are strong signals for the rise of using AR in advertising, but there are also mixed feelings about this novel technology. The most notable fears are technical issues, the lack of client knowledge or simply not being sure how to use AR in their campaigns.
We at Arilyn are versed in these concerns and are tackling these issues by spreading the AR word through easy-to-understand and proven campaign concepts, in addition to robust and field-tested technology giving easy access to augmented reality.
One area of AR that is currently on the rise is browser-based AR, more commonly known as WebAR. The evolving technology opens up lots of new possibilities for marketers, as the end-user no more has to download an app to experience AR content.
With WebAR, experiences can launch from web-pages, landing pages, emails and online ads. As you might have guessed, Arilyn is at the forefront of WebAR development, and we have lots of ready to test concepts for our clients.
All current and future growth is going to require lots of creative production for AR assets. The creative pros eligible for this opportunity will be in ad agencies, as well as in-house marketing departments of major brands. There are also lots of independent contractors that will see the need for AR skills.
The total universe of creative professionals today is 16 million, according to the ARtillery Intelligence forecast. And the subset of that group that actively uses and is trained in AR creative production stands at 720,000 today, growing to just over 6 million by 2023. That's over an eightfold increase in just a couple of years!
If you are a creative working in advertising, marketing or in-house marketing team, your next big career leap could be accelerated with mastering virtual content. With this new playbook, there are new rules to learn, but I guarantee you that the learning will be fun and the results worth your time both to your career, and your clients.