Augmented reality advertising… Nice!, but what is it?

For those of you that don’t know, augmented reality is the means by which a technological item can detect and identify what you are showing it through advanced object recognition and imaging software. In short, your cellphone can identify what brand of cigarettes you smoke just by taking a picture of it. Now that we know what Augmented reality is, what is augmented reality advertising and how does it fit into the picture?

Augmented reality (AR) is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated sensory input such as sound or graphics. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.

Augmented reality advertising is an attempt at synthesizing both the fast-paced, brutal world of marketing with the high-tech, innovative mobile technology industry. Google has already produced an amazing augmented reality product called Google Goggles. With your Google Goggles, you are able to identify buildings, brands, books, landmarks and other objects with a simple push of a button. This would be an amazing opportunity for one or ones brand/company to benefit from this innovative technology. Imagine trying to get information of a product by simply taking a picture of it and then once receiving the appropriate information, an ad will be displayed (notice how I never used the term “pop up”) regarding a special discount of the product at a store down the road from you. The possibilities and combinations of advertising metrics and structures with augmented reality advertisements are huge.

As far as I’m aware, Google is already in the process of creating such a platform and have a few key customers already using and testing this technology. This technology is moving at such a fast rate that I believe it will be available in under a year from now.