Promoting Your AR Project

Tell users what they stand to benefit from scanning (what is the value proposition). Use phone graphics (like the one above) to make the action of scanning clear. Put yourself in the shoes of the user. In the context it’s placed in, would someone scan it? If the answer is ‘no’, you probably need to go back to the drawing board to ensure the QR code is visible and the call to action is incentivizing scanning.

 

What we have found is that the success of an AR project can have everything to do with the process and communication. Creating this clear and effective Call to Action is part of what we call the 5 C’s for Success:

 

Context - Put yourself in the shoes of your end user in the exact moment of

assistance and ask yourself what that moment would feel like: do you have a hand

free at the moment, good network connectivity and the dwell time to make it a

positive scanning experience?

 

Control - How well can we control this context: the lighting, the image itself

being scanned, the distance of the user from it, occlusion, the acoustics, file size

etc. The more control we have in that context the better the end user experience.

Remember that when it comes to AR, the experience will only be as good as what the camera on the device can see at that scanning, detection, initialization and tracking moment.

 

CTA - Make sure the Call to Action clearly tells people HOW to scan and WHAT

they are going to get for their efforts. Make sure the CTA is connected to the image

or place you’re asking people to scan. The greater the distance from CTA to scanning

moment the greater the drop-off in activation. Getting the CTA right is crucial. This

is the C that on the surface seems the simplest to get right but 9/10 is left too late

or not thought about deeply enough. Remember that no one is looking for (or cares

about!) your AR experience so be very clear about what you are asking them to do

and what they’re going to get. 

 

Content - Make sure the content you are delivering is valuable to your users

and could not have been more easily accessible or better delivered by just going to

your website or YouTube channel! Reward them for their participation with digital

value add or real world value (sweeps, coupons etc.) and offer levels of immersion,

engagement and interaction that make AR so powerful.

 

Communications - Make sure to leverage your other comms channels

to tell people about this new camera capability (through POS, Print, TVCs, social,

online ads, influencers, PR, internal comms etc.). This is a new behavior for your

audience so help them understand the benefit and how they can participate.

Remember, beyond your core consumers, your internal audience and sales staff are

your most powerful advocates for spreading the message. We find that when there are failures or shortcomings in a campaign, going back and revisiting how everyone collectively performed against the five C’s is instructive to improving for the process going forward.

 

A detailed example of this could look like: This postcard comes to life! Follow these steps to see for yourself and access a 10% off coupon:

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• Open the camera app on your phone.

• Point your camera’s viewfinder at the QR code on the back of this postcard.

• Follow the prompts to launch the AR viewer “Art House”.

• Tap ‘Allow’ on the security prompts to provide access to your camera (this allows the AR viewer to operate).

• Point the viewfinder of the AR viewer at the front of this postcard.

• Watch it come to life!

• Swipe for additional layers of experiences and your coupon code.

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A streamlined example of this could look like: This postcard comes to life! Follow these steps to see for yourself and access a 10% off coupon:

​

• Point your mobile camera at this QR code.

• Follow the Art House prompt.

• Flip this postcard over and point your camera at Andy Warhol on the front of this postcard. 

• Watch this limited edition print come to life, and be sure to swipe for your coupon code.