Companies often use augmented reality as a selling point, hoping to entice tech-minded consumers to make a purchase. Sony is taking the same approach to sell their more of their TV’s. The TV’s themselves have no capacity for augmented reality, instead Sony is launching a campaign that will leverage the technology in helping consumers find the right television for their homes. Augmented reality has been used in marketing campaigns before, but no company has ever used the technology to tell their customers exactly what to buy based on the space available in their own homes.
Like other AR-based campaigns, Sony’s relies entirely on consumer interaction. Those looking to purchase a new TV can go to Sony’s website and download and print a marker that will be used to identify where the TV is to be placed. The markers can be placed on any flat surface, walls included, and consumers need only take a picture with their phones or cameras and upload it to Sony’s site. From there, the company will superimpose a number of options on the picture and allow customers to tweak the details of their potential purchase.
Sony’s use of the technology may not be the most breathtaking but it is arguably one of the most practical uses augmented reality has seen recently. If the current campaign fares well with consumers, the company may expand its use of augmented reality to sell more of their products in the future.
