8.3.2016

Pokemon Go brought mad traffic to businesses. Is it time to think about AR integration with signage?

Yes. Pokemon Go brought mad traffic to businesses, whether or not those businesses wanted it. In fact, it's became so popular that there's now an opt-out feature in the game, and it surpassed Twitter in daily users and Facebook in engagement.

Pokemon Go's popularity explosion an incredible first step in not only gaming, but in marketing. It also legitimized the business applications of Augmented Reality - also known as, "AR".

"Should businesses be on the lookout for AR integration, especially with their signage?"

Well, the answer is probably in two parts. The first part being, "Are you in B2C or B2B markets?" If it's a B2C then it's, "sooner than B2B." In both cases, it's probably not a, "sooner rather than later," so much as a, "someday, maybe soon."

AR integration is going to become an incredible layer to signage and messaging for businesses, eventually.

The marketing campaigns, the immediacy, and the exclusivity AR will be able to create will eventually become the tipping point to marketing campaigns. Oh, the things it will be able to do to gamify and engage the overall customer experience. It will be the stuff of marketing dreams.

That day probably isn't today for the following reasons:

1. The technology is still in adolescent development : It's not like you'll find a Snorlax at a local ice cream shoppe snacking on the day's special (but now I'm hungry for some Froyo). There's still plenty of room for integration in their business applications.
2. The application is still expensive: Right now, all you need is a few specialized mobile app developers and a dream. And it'll have to be a custom application, for now.
3. Customer accessibility is still limited : Pokemon Go was an update to a massively popular 20-year-old game that was played on massively popular devices.

It's going to take improvement in one of those three areas to make it feasible

Right now, most businesses are just now getting used to digital signage. Why? Because digital signage is becoming more affordable, more accessible, and the technology to amplify its usage is becoming more readily available.

Once AR becomes more accessible, affordable, and diverse in application, AR will become more readily used by businesses. That day isn't today, yet.

But when it's ready, AR's accessibility will probably be backboned upon Digital Signage and mobile devices.