Is Augmented Reality the Future of Marketing?

Concocting a comprehensive and concise marketing strategy is extremely important for any small business. Across the board, the average company uses between 8%-to-15% of their gross revenue to reinvest into marketing themselves. When you consider how large of a percentage of an organization's workable capital that really is, you'll begin to understand why companies are trying to find a solutions to cut their marketing costs. They need not look any further than the palm of their hand to find that very solution.

Smartphones and tablets have become very popular for individual and business computing alike over the past couple of years. Smartphone technology has improved exponentially since Apple changed mobile computing forever in 2007 (with the iPhone), and with all the new features that these incredible new devices offer, nothing is more next-gen than the apps that utilize augmented reality.

Augmented reality is the practice of overlaying text and media on physical objects to promote higher awareness. By developing this technology, some of the most innovate marketing minds in the world have begun to shape the world around their products and deliver interfaces that will change the way consumers shop. By adding this additional context to the real world, marketers can integrate the conceptual world with the user's environment to create the most dynamic applications ever conceived. This includes educational tutorials, real-time connections using directories of like-minded individuals, and an endless array of uses in the marketing of goods and services. Here are three apps that just scratch the surface in the capabilities of augmented reality.

Augment
Augment is an application that allows the open sharing of three-dimensional models. The app was created as an interface in which to get an accurate look of a product without that product being at your location. The app works great as a collaboration tool as well, providing users the ability to share 3-D models with potential investors or colleagues. It really allows people to present clear and concise ideas about the development of a product.

The Augment app is available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Word Lens
Word Lens is a translation program that uses augmented reality to translate text by simply framing the text in question with the camera of your smartphone. The interface can be used to translate signs, books, and more. The Word Lens App supports several language translations including:

• English ↔ Spanish
• English ↔ French
• English ↔ Portuguese
• English ↔ German
• English ↔ Italian

Each language pack costs $10 and can be a great tool for professionals that travel through Europe or to the Americas.

Word Lens is available on the Apple App Store and on the Google Play Store.

Junaio
The development of augmented reality browsers will be the first step in making augmented reality a viable interface for business. Junaio uses the camera of your smartphone to transform the world around you into a map, showing users names of locations. Junaio offers a new vision of the world around you by labeling the physical objects through the display of your device.

Junaio is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.

As new technology, such as Google Glass, becomes more prevalent the uses for an augmented display will expand. This technology may be the foundation that ushers in a whole new wave of interactivity. These are only three of the many apps attempting to incorporate augmentation of some manner to the user interface.

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