Augmented Reality (AR) is described as a real-world experience, where there is the integration of the objects residing in the real world with the computer structured perceptual information, in a process known as “augmentation.” In this case, most of the objects that do exist in the real world are made in way Most professionals have noted that the marketing industry is at its state of flux, whereby it is experiencing quite a number of transformations that are unprecedented, which also seek to challenge its ways of operation (Hilliges, Kim & Izadi, et al., 2016). The primary role of doing marketing and adverts is to ensure that new products reach the clients. For various companies to come up with strategies of getting their products to achieve the clients, the best approach would be to come up with technological means (Maciocci, Everitt & Mabbutt, et al., 2016). Therefore, baring this As a result of the advent of a new media, there have been ways that also seek to compete with some of the arguments given regarding its structures of industry, and the business models. Therefore, the most critical thing would be to ensure that the model structure is made in such a way that it does not affect the flow of information.
On the other hand, augmented reality can also be synonymous to terms such as the computer-mediated reality, or the mixed reality (Huang, Chang, & Huang, 2017). The central significance of augmented reality is that it brings the digital world’s concepts into an individual’s real world and perception. The entire process is carried out through some parts of the natural environment, put together through the process of immersive integration (Carmigniani, Furht, Anisetti, et al., 2011). If critically explored, augmented reality is expected to bring more transformation in the marketing industry, more than any technology has ever done before. On the other hand, there is no technology that does not have its own flaws. This study seeks to identify most of the disadvantages in the quest of adjusting them. Even so, it has been deemed to have a great capacity as far as marketing and advertisements are concerned. Therefore, in as much as it is perceived to be a new field, it is expected to have a significant impact in the marketing industry. Gradually, like other technologies have taken over, augmented reality is also expected to take over regarding advertising.
To get a deeper understanding of the subject under discussion, three main factors should be considered, which includes the following:
- The challenges behind the AR as a means of advertising and marketing in the modern world, especially with the introduction of technology in various sectors
- The increasing trend of marketing audience fragmentation and the acts of behavior shift in multiple businesses; and
- The increasingly complex and fragmented advertising media landscape (Osterhout, Haddick & Lohse, et al., 2011).
The image below shows an example of the augmented reality, in the contemporary world:
(Studica.com, 2018).
Literature Review
While understanding augmented reality, five main academic knowledge characteristics are meant to be understood clearly. Therefore, to this thesis, the five areas that have critically been analyzed for clear understanding areas highlighted below
- Evolution and development of the media landscape
- The making or creation of the advertising engagement process
- AR as a means of advertising and as a technological approach d. The value of transaction while advertising e. Integrated marketing and communication in the sector (Kim & Kim, 2014).
Definition of the Augmented Reality
While carrying out this study, the first thing is to have a clear understanding of the term. By making use of the reality-virtuality continuum, it would be critical to contextualize the application of the augmented reality as a type of construct. However, it should also be noted that while moving from real to virtual, an individual would have to go through some mixed realities (Barfield, 2015). First, the process of having mixed feelings on the same involves having to move from entirely a real experience into an environment which is artificially generated. Just the way augmented reality has seemingly become a great focus when it comes to academics, the understanding is also said to have devolved to a greater extent. Accordingly, AR should be defined as a real-time tool that is used to mediate the perception within human beings, concerning the real-world and the technological world that is intercepted by the user of computer made visual tools(Lv, Halawani & Feng et al., 2015).
On the other hand, it should be noted that the AR experience of an individual could at times extend far beyond the visual sensory dimensions to cover different skills such as touch, smell, hearing, and taste. Therefore, for such a reason, it has been argued that AR is one of the best means of advertisement, as it is likely to make individuals build the perception that the actions are a reality (Heikkinen, Havukainen & Holm, et al., 2015). Therefore, it is easier to come up with a conclusion about the definition of the AR, replacing “computer-generated sensory objects” with the “artificially made sensory inputs.” Therefore, AR can be defined as the real device, `that is made to mediate the perception of a real world which in one way or the other is also integrated with sensory inputs that are artificially generated.
System Analysis of Augmented Reality
Through the provided definition, it would become an easy task to analyze the Augmented Reality (Höllerer & Feiner, 2004). At a very simple level of clarity, it should be noted that the system is bound to receive the inputs hence transforming them into an output, and this is critically done through interactions and activities that are conducted by various elements that are found in the system. In as much as this is said to have a close relationship to the simple marketing communication and response models, it should be noted that the sight difference comes regarding technology intervention (Levin & Lieberman, 2004). By making use of the augmented reality systems, it is possible to unpack its vital elements regarding the advertising systems. However, it would also be prudent to examine the internal systems and mechanisms, while also giving close monitoring of the inputs and outputs, since this act as an integral part in an internal analysis (Carmigniani, Furht, Anisetti, et al., 2011).
Unlike the marketing system that was used over the past, the Augmented Reality is quite a little bit different since it allows the users to have a more interactive process. Out of this, it is believed that most of the users are likely to be satisfied with whatever services that they need to purchase. Additionally, in as much as the AR has been termed as a system which cannot replace the 2D way of printing, it has been deemed as one which would be used extensively shortly (Billinghurst, Clark & Lee, 2015). Since the entire world seems to move towards technology, it is expected that the Augmented Reality system would revolutionize the method of advertisement in the contemporary society.
Methodology
It is critical to note that this study is a representation of the views carried out from participants who are conversant of advertisement methods such as the 2D printing method, which is traditional, and the augmented reality. By comparing the two means of advertisements that lean towards technology, it is crucial to state that one would quickly get to understand the approach, hence being able to predict the future of AR as a mode of marketing. The 2D model was carried out in such a way that it would set some records when it came to holding a comparison between the two. On the other hand, for the augmented reality, it was made in such a way that it used the DeltaGen software, used in conjunction with a software machine from vehicle models, identified as the Autodesk Maya software (Graham, Zook, & Boulton, 2013). It was deemed that by collecting values of the two models, one would easily be able to understand the functions of the AR. In this study, 35 participants from Midwestern University were picked and therefore recruited through an email list that had been created. It was opined that through the efforts of the students, it would have been easier to establish the facts behind the augmented reality model as a means of new advertisement.
Later on, after the recruitment process was done, the participants were categorized into the two groups, whereby each one of them was to come up with a comprehensive result on their observations. In this study, it is vital to state that the two groups represented the control one and the experiment team. The control group was placed in a way that they would look at the 2D print and advertisement model, whereas the real experiment team was to conduct a study on the actual augmented reality (Billinghurst, Clark & Lee, 2015). Out of the results, individuals would, later on, compare the two and come up with a comprehensive analysis, of whether such an experiment could thrive in the future, especially regarding marketing. All the participants were also set to carry out a survey that was meant to measure the preferences of the viewers, while also considering the information retention among every person.
It is vital to note that the result of this study took place in three days, all carried out in the same computer laboratory. The primary thing that was tested among the participant was the information retention of the products that they had seen. Having gone through the entire team that had been selected, it was realized that the existing variation between traditional 2D printing and augmented reality is very minimal. The control team and the experiment group had the capacity to reveal most of the challenges that are to face the augmented reality. By looking at the two groups, it would also be easier to predict the future of augmented reality, in terms of its performance and ability to change things up. The main intention of this was to ensure that the student’s ability to recall the products using either 2D or 3D had been measured. In this case, the product that was used was the Mini Cooper Automobile. On the other hand, the entire information of the used product was provided by the RTT Technologies (Billinghurst, Clark & Lee, 2015). On its side, the control group was offered a traditional print for marketing, one which was similar to what can be found in the contemporary society or media houses.
The primary role of doing marketing and adverts is to ensure that new products reach the clients. In the contemporary world, there is no business that does not require marketing. This prompts technicians to think in line with bringing more transformations in the sector. There is much potential in augmented reality, not only in education and business generally, but also marketing. For various companies to come up with strategies of getting their products to achieve the clients, the best approach would be to come up with technological means (Maciocci, Everitt & Mabbutt, et al., 2016). Therefore, baring this As a result of the advent of a new media, there have been ways that also seek to compete with some of the arguments given regarding its structures of industry, and the business models.
The intention of this was to gauge the effectiveness of the AR regarding marketing or advertising something. Another focus was to allow the experiment group to monitor the actual augmented reality, which in the real sense would enable the participants to analyze the image of the AR critically. By examining the AR manually, it is expected that the participant would have acquired an opportunity of getting detailed information about the same. The image marker was also rotated, which was in attempts to simulate different ways in which the participants would have translated the image which they saw. Both groups were also given a maximum of 30 seconds to go through the images, and this was mainly to prevent the participants from taking a lot of time, which may have interfered with the results.
Results and Discussions
The results that were obtained in the qualitative question indicated that both groups had similar knowledge regarding the type of vehicles that were used and their likelihood to purchase the same vehicles. Additionally, the overall rating of the ads that were used was also similar in both of the user groups. In as much as the variation was minimal, the augmented reality group also developed the urge of going to the website and analyzing the products more critically. This is a typical indication of the impacts, which would have been made by the augmented reality model. The variation between the two groups regarding rating was placed at 13. After checking on the results of the questions dealing with factual knowledge of the used motor vehicles, the indication that the retention levels were quite higher compared to the other groups. The print marketing team produced 82%, while the control augmented reality experiment group came out with a score of 93%. All these are in comparison to the 59% retention levels in the control experiment group, and 73% of the experiment group.
76% of the control group is also said to have identified the horsepower correctly, unlike the with the augmented experiment group, which was able to produce only 66%. Therefore, most of these results illustrate the fact that in as much as the augmented reality in marketing is deemed to be effective, it also has its flaws, which makes it ineffective. Similarly, when it came to the retention levels of the wheel, it was realized that the 60% of the control group was able to recall the actual size of the wheel. On the other hand, the augmented reality experiment group were unable to remember the wheel size effectively, as only 60% of the participants recorded the right size. This also shows how ineffective the augmented reality group may be, to some extent, the augmented reality may not function very well when it comes to advertisements. Therefore, this invites experts who can run some analysis tests before carrying out such projects. It should also be noted that marketing is not such a fixed field, therefore, it can be easy to analyze various possibilities of certain technologies, before releasing such into the markets.
In the future, if some of the things would be adjusted, then it is expected that augmented reality would largely improve making the field to thrive. Over the last technologies, marketers have been proven to be the greatest audience drooling personalities, therefore engaging in augmented reality techniques would be a plus to them. The only trick is to carry out a critical analysis on the technologies so as to come up with a comprehensive project. According to the results, it was established that the contextual relevance plays an important role when it comes augmented reality marketing. Additionally, it was realized that the contextual relevance had critical importance when it comes to the audience’s visual and the emotive, regarding the levels of engagement with the subjects. At the moment, augmented reality is regarded to be one of the latest technologies expected to drive marketers. Through the application of external mobile apps, it is expected that most of the marketers would have gained a significant opportunity regarding advertisements. With the global technological advancement, augmented reality would also be used in making interactive ads. To some degree, the QR codes are used in this, but it would be better if augmented reality techniques were incorporated.
Conclusion
Out of the results that have been portrayed, one realizes that both the traditional 2D and augmented reality models are useful in their ways, and that there is no significant difference between the two. However, more elaborately, one would give a conclusion that even the traditional 2D is more effective compared to the augmented reality model. This speaks volume regarding the model, and that there should be more rectifications as far as the system is concerned. If not adjusted, it means that the system would not be appropriate. Within the market area, further research is required to come up with a comprehensive means of developing the augmented reality system, which would work better in the advanced markets, full of technology. Therefore, the most critical thing would be to ensure that the model structure is made in such a way that it does not affect the flow of information. On the other hand, augmented reality can also be synonymous to terms such as the computer-mediated reality, or the mixed reality. The primary significance of augmented reality is that it brings the digital world’s concepts into an individual’s real world and perception. Therefore, those who seek to carry out some implementation in adverts and marketing, using augmented reality should be able to reconsider their positions. All said and done, augmented reality would be of the greatest technological ideas, which are likely to transform the marketing industry, taking it to higher scales.
References
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