One thing is clear: The global COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated changes to the event industry. Adoption of immersive experiences and technologies has significantly increased in recent years and especially since March 2020. These technologies create better engagement, retention, and interactions for in-person and online experiences
Increased Adoption of Augmented Reality
One technology that has become the norm, changing business as we know it, is augmented reality (AR). Augmented reality is no longer considered a new technology. With serious advancements in phone, wireless, and application technologies, AR is now easier and simpler to use. It can enhance the value of in-person and virtual events. As planners design events, they need to consider how they can bring various elements to life by taking advantage of AR. It’s quickly becoming a must-have to engage attendees and bring 3D and off-screen enhancements to all program types.
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “AR is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device (such as a smartphone camera).”
All You Need for AR Is a Mobile Device
Mobile devices are ubiquitous in our society, making AR even easier and quicker to adopt. No fancy technology, complex software, or special features are required. And we’re seeing endless benefits across many industries, including medical, automotive, training, field service, remote support, NFTs, and retail.
Retailers that use AR see a 19% increase in consumer engagement, leading to a 90% conversion rate versus those retailers that do not use AR (Vertebrae). With numbers that high, no wonder companies, such as Microsoft (HoloLens), Google (Glass), and Apple, are doubling their investments in AR technologies and making the technology more accessible.
Adoption of Augmented Reality Is Growing
Some recent statistics demonstrate the growing AR industry (Statista):
- 70% of consumers believe that AR can bring them benefits.
- The AR market is projected to be worth well over $18B in 2023, up from $3.5B in 2019.
- There were over 1 billion AR users in 2020.
- The AR market is trending to the 16-34 age group, with older age groups adopting the technology at an increasing rate.
- AR is trending to overtake VR in the next few years.
“AR is revolutionizing product and event marketing by enhancing ways in which customers are able to engage with and understand products without having to set foot in a physical store, trade show floor, event space, or office,” explained Evan Gappelberg, CEO of NexTech AR Solutions, a company leading the way in the AR space. “It is important to develop engagements where people can personally connect with a brand, product, or experience in a personal environment.”
Even with the return of in-person events in Q3 and Q4 of this year, the industry needs to continue embracing this technology to enhance in-person and online experiences. Let’s take a look at how AR can enhance the event experience:
Is AR Too Good To Be True?
Data continues to show how AR is improving sales and performance. A recent Hacker Noon survey found that 61% of participants prefer buying from organizations using AR. Why? Because these experiences are more immersive, engaging, and interactive. Imagine:
- Viewing a product journey virtually, to ensure that it fits through doors and hallways, and fits into spaces within your home, office, or laboratory
- Traveling and experiencing digital destinations by entering 360-degree 3D portals
- Viewing live holograms of business leaders, celebrities, or musicians in your office, living room, dining area, or kitchen
- Interacting with products, spinning them 360 degrees, moving them around and viewing them from all angles
- Viewing 3D immersive holograms that help make product repairs remotely
The technology is easy to use, and even less-savvy technical people can view AR with little effort.
Event Industry Disruption
I’ve talked extensively about the pandemic forcing planners to change the way they approach their events. Planners have transitioned over the last year and adopted new approaches, due to COVID-19, and we shouldn’t kid ourselves into believing that events will be going back to the way they were. AR is here to stay, and we will start seeing its use more and more in businesses, as well as the hospitality and event industries. AR adds a dimension to events that wasn’t available before and is quickly becoming highly desirable.
“With AR holograms, Digital Destinations, Genie in a Bottle, 360-degree videos, and other 3D objects being added to the product experience, we are seeing a whole new marketing category and competitive edge,” said Guillaume Pascual, Chief Marketing Officer for NexTech AR Solutions. “AR is making the product experience more engaging, immersive, and more digestible and accessible for consumers of all ages and technical ability.”
What makes AR useful is that it allows attendees to interact with content, learn new things, and practice new skills in real-time conditions. These interactions stimulate engagement, increase retention, improve recall, and most of all, can lead to better sales performance.
Trade Show Disruption
AR offers trade show exhibitors the opportunity to amplify their messages, immerse attendees, and stand out from a crowded marketplace, better connecting with attendees through AR experiences that can enhance sales, showcase products, improve training, and promote attendee engagement. Large products that cost a lot of money to ship, set up, and present at a trade show can now be virtually experienced by scanning a QR code.
If you return to trade shows with the intent of doing the same things you were doing before the pandemic, you just might be left behind by those adopting AR technologies.
Education Disruption
The education system is ripe for AR, giving students the ability to review, design, experiment, and engage in the learning process. With higher participation and interactivity, the learning experience is enhanced. For example, students are now able to dissect and interact with different parts of an animal or cadaver from their computer screens, allowing for more visualizing labs and study groups through the use of these 3D images. AR helps education by:
- Creating immersive experiences that enhance interest and accelerate learning
- Making learning fun to enhance student motivation
- Using AR to restructure education settings and bring experiences into a personal space
- Creating another learning perspective
AR will open new worlds of education that will continue even when students return in person.
Retail Disruption
Well before the pandemic, AR was being used to enhance retail experiences. Consumers expect more technological solutions to enhance their shopping experiences. Imagine using AR to help build a product journey. How will that product look in a lab, office, or home setting? You can see a 360-degree view of the product, spin it around, and look at all sides. If you sell a product, AR must be a part of your marketing plan.
Business Disruption
Brianne Kimmel, founder and managing partner of WorkLife Ventures, a venture-capital firm that specializes in the future of work technologies, explained in an interview in the Wall Street Journal, “There’s Zoom fatigue, there’s a lot of friction to being on video all day—it is exhausting. Holograms and avatars enable a new style of communication, where you’ll have better, more frequent interactions.” Through holographic projections, meetings can be more engaging and personal, even from a distance. Microsoft, Google, and WeWork are betting on AR, and according to WSJ, they say “holograms and related technology will soon become common in conference rooms all over the world.”
Augmented Reality Brings Reality to Virtuality
Whether you’re hosting an event or a trade show, delivering education, or trying to compete for brand loyalty among a generation of consumers, augmented reality technology is fundamentally changing the way we engage with consumers and stakeholders. AR transforms experiences, engagements, and results.
Corbin Ball, CMP, CSP, DES, MS, meetings and trade show analyst, was not far off in 2017 when he said, “The trade show model, as we have known it for the past several decades, is obsolete and irrevocably broken.”
It took a pandemic to accelerate changes, and now there is no going back. AR is growing fast and being used for trade shows, events of any size, education and training, medtech, edtech, retail, and much more.
The AR tipping point has been reached. It’s no longer a disruption but a must-have.
About the Author
Jon Lese leads enterprise strategy for NexTech AR Solutions. He develops solutions to meet clients’ business objectives specifically through augmented reality experiences.