Featured
AR now virtually everywhere
Augmented reality is going mainstream in South Africa, leaping out of everything from shop shelves and warehouses to chocolate bars and whisky, writes ARTHUR GOLDSTUCK.
AR from whisky to insurance
Premium alcohol brand owner Pernod Ricard asked digital agency Sea Monster to give its whisky loving customers “a new digital brand experience that could be shared with friends at any time,” via an interactive virtual whisky tour.
The mobile app offers an AR experience of a live whisky tasting and a virtual tour of the whiskey making process. The app guides users in placing glasses of different bottlings of Chivas Regal, Jamesons, Ballantines and The Glenlivet on a virtual tasting mat. The user scans the glasses on the mat, through the app. It then pops up a virtual tour of how the whiskey was made, “from grain to glass”, and tasting notes about the “nose” – the unique aroma of each whisky – as well as the first taste, and the lingering aftertaste.
How the AR app works.
Moving from the sublime to the responsible, Sea Monster also created an AR app for Metropolitan Life, to educate the public about the importance of life insurance. If you’ve never heard of it, well, not every AR app sets the pulses racing.
At the other end of the speed spectrum, petroleum brand Engen raced into AR even before Pokemon unleashed its virtual monsters. In 2015, it roped in British-based AR studio Zappar, which provides a platform for AR experiences in any medium. Zappar created an unusual mobile racing game for Engen QuickShops, available to any customer who spent R30 or more. They would receive till slips imprinted with “Zapcodes”, which triggered an invitation to download the Zappar app.
If the app was already installed, it launched a game called Rocket Racer, with a new car every week and a link to social media, a live leader board and weekly prizes.
The augmented reality app hovering over non-Martians as it seeks out a Cadbury slab.
If you have to learn to run before you can race, Boksburg-based bizAR Reality had the answer for Adidas. The shoe manufacturer wanted a creative way for people to get a sneak peek of their new boots before the official launch, and commissioned bizAR to create an interactive AR experience.
Like Zappar, bizAR also offers an off-the-shelf AR platform, which it says allows businesses “to create an immersive experience at a fraction of the cost”. The platform is customisable and can be rebranded to any company’s specifications.
(Click here or below to read on: AR in the warehouse)
