Save the Date - Augmented Reality Advertising - May 15

Thanks to platforms like Snapchat and Facebook and advances in software and hardware from the likes of Apple and Google, augmented reality advertising is becoming mainstream among innovative brands with the technological capabilities to make truly captivating experiences at scale. But it isn’t so simple. AR advertising requires advanced computer vision technology packaged up into tiny, extremely creative experiences.

Augmented Reality advertising has arrived and while marketers are eager to get their brands in on the action, many aren’t entirely sure where to start or what their options are. High level: AR ad experiences are available in-app and on mobile web. The two major apps where brands can build and deploy AR creative are Facebook and Snapchat. Alternative to the walled gardens, the route with the greatest scale, and our bread and butter, is mobile web.  Comprehensive AR campaigns may leverage all three. But how? And where to start? Not to worry, we’re here to help! In the following pieces, we’ll explain best practices for augmented reality advertising on Snapchat, Facebook, & Mobile Web, as well as how to use the same assets across platforms. We’re going to focus this first post on in-app augmented reality advertising experiences, specifically within Snapchat. For a deeper dive into what makes a compelling AR ad campaign, check out our most recent blog post aggregating our favorite AR campaigns to date.  In the meantime, let’s review the basics.

Augmented Reality Advertising on Snapchat - How It Works

There are two types of “sponsored” interactive AR lenses on Snapchat: World lenses (using the rear-facing camera) and face lenses (using the front-facing camera). Both include 2 & 3-dimensional designs tracked to points in the user’s world.

There have been a slew of new AR advertising tools unveiled in the last year, and the medium is flinging the door wide open for a new kind of consumer engagement at scale. We've aggregated a few of our favorite, and arguably the best AR ad campaigns from Snapchat, Facebook, and mobile web below: