Using augmented reality shooter to get dedicated customers

ARhrrrr is an augmented reality (AR) shooter for mobile camera-phones, created at Georgia Tech Augmented Environments Lab and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD-Atlanta). The phone provides a window into a 3d town overrun with zombies. Point the camera at the  special game map to mix virtual and real world content. Civilians are trapped in the town, and must escape before the zombies eat them! From your vantage point in a helicopter overhead, you must shoot the zombies to clear the path for the civilians to get out. Watch out though as the zombies will fight back, throwing bloody organs to bring down your copter. Move the phone quickly to dodge them. You can also use Skittles as tangible inputs to the game, placing one on the board and shooting it to trigger an explosion.

Augmented reality has been frequently in the news, in the blogosphere and also in our minds lately. And this not strange as the posibillities are being more developed and demonstrated by the day through trendwatchers, innovators and marketeers. In the example above the students have used Skittles as extra armor and weapons to kill zombies in the game. This could have also been M&M’s, Jellybeans or Mentos for that sake. The game is a good example of how fast AR is developing in it’s technique, but also sends out a message to brands, marketeers and other commercial minded watchers: AR can and will be an important part of  marketing campaigns and branding strategies. It will be used for getting customers interact with your brand and get dedicated to your products. And all this could be realised a bit easier by making AR applications, games or environments that uses a specifically your products (like Skittles). It is a very interesting development that every selfrespected brand, company or marketeer should follow very closely!

Lego also has made an implementation of AR in their brand experience by showing what is in the box (it motivates buying a product by diminishing decisive moments where there is doubt about what to buy):