Many developers and entrepreneurs have been deterred from including AR in their marketing and brand campaigns due to the proposition of developing a separate app. 

Requesting people to install a separate app for an isolated, yet unique AR experience might be a bit too much to ask. App development and maintenance costs being prohibitive is another restricting factor. 

WebAR eradicates several restrictions of conventional AR to deliver an app-less AR experience through a browser, without the need for AR glasses. WebAR as an augmented reality platform has been gaining ground due to practical reasons. In this blog, we will look at eight instances of popular brands who have successfully leverage WebAR to produce a unique and captivating web-based augmented reality experience to their consumers. 

1.TIME – “Moon Landing” 

This is the newest amongst a plethora of AR/VR campaigns by famous brands in recent times. TIME magazine just initiated its AR/VR efforts to give a lift to its visual journalism. They developed the Apollo 11 moon landing in VR and launched it as their first AR/VR story. The companion mobile WebAR experience brought the astronaut into your environment when you accessed the URL in your smartphone browser. 

2.Spiderman 

Imagine Spiderman, in your environment, appearing in your house and crawling on the walls. This was the promotional web-AR experience for the Oscar-award winning movie “Into the Spider Verse”. 

Users could snap a pick of themselves with Spiderman and share it on social media. 

3.Toyota 

Toyota rocked the ad world this year when it kickstarted its internet based ad campaign in WebAR. As part of the campaign, viewers could see a true-to-life size version of the 2020 Corolla in their environment. They could tap on various touch points to be shown overlays about the car’s technical features. 

4.First Man 

Rather ironically, the Ryan Gosling starrer was one of the forerunners to utilize WebAR in their marketing. And in what a way they did it! They literally used the MOON as an AR market to trigger the experience. All you had to do was access the URL and aim your smartphone at the moon to initiate an amazing experience of the Apollo 11 mission. You could tap on the moon to put yourself in front of the Apollo 11 and the American Flag on the Moon. 

5.Purina

This is a great example of brands leveraging AR for storytelling and educating their clients through interactive guides.  

In the Purina Web AR experience, you could opt for a pet from the welcome screen and see it come to life in your environment. As the pet moves about in your room, users would be educated on the 28 signs of a healthy pet. 

6.Miller Lite

Brands utilizing AR-based marketing campaigns during the holiday season is nothing new. 

In Miller Lite’s Web-AR experience, users could open a separate webpage on the Miller Lite Website and scan a log on a can of Miller Lite. 

After this, an AR-based leprechaun pops out of the can in their room and amuses the user with various tricks. Users could even take pictures with it and share it on social media. 

7.Jaguar

Land Rover was likely the first automobile brand to include web-based AR in their brand’s marketing. They initiated the experience on banner adverts. Upon tapping on the advert, customers get the in-vehicle tour of the Land Rover. 

8.Red Bull

Red Bull is one of the latest brands to join to the web-based AR bandwagon. Previous month, they initiated Ninza AR Snapchat lens that enabled the interactive avatar of pro gamer Tyler “Ninja” Blevins to be augmented into their living rooms. They could snap pictures with him and participate in a competition to win an opportunity to be a part of an actual gaming session with him in August.  

Conclusion 

AR, for much of its life, has lived as the unsung cousin of VR. VR’s level of immersion made it an instant hit amongst users. Virtual and augmented reality have both made a splash in the market, but VR was the hype generating machine for the longest time. 

Expensive headsets, however, put AR out of the reach of the average user. Smart AR has put up a surprisingly competitive fight against VR. Be it in gaming, Snapchat’s face filters or other applications, Smart AR has quickly gone mainstream. 

Brands have leveraged the lack of necessity for an app or specialist equipment to their advantage. WebAR, as a result, has been behind some memorable marketing campaigns. 

References 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wowso.me/blog/webar-examples%3fhs_amp=true