Supporting the brand with AR
By Simon Fuller. AR reality. Yuza Mobile is pretty big on augmented reality right now. The UK-based mobile tech outfit has just rolled out its SKAN – Private Label AR engine, allowing brands to enter the augmented world quickly and cost-effectively. And come spring, Yuza will be launching its SKAN AR browser, which will draw many AR channels into one common destination.
Although full details on SKAN AR have yet to be revealed, Yuza Mobile CEO Richard Skaife talked to brand-e about the philosophy behind the browser – and Yuza’s take on the fast-developing AR sector.
“The benefit from AR will be that we will take it further than the common information – for example, Twitter feeds – that you can get on Google,” Skaife explains. “We’ll deliver content… the type of info in our AR zone will be info you can’t find elsewhere. So we don’t want [to have an app] you use to get what’s already out there… it’s about changing the content you find, not just the discovery mechanic. There is a danger in repackaging content that exists already, but just changing the way you view it – you’ve got to look at the type of content too.
“Take Google and their Goggles,” add Skaife, referring to Google’s image-recognition technology which provides users with info on locations they have photographed on their mobiles. “There’s not much value in taking a photo of a building you’re standing in front of – you’re already there, you already have [information on that building]. We want to bring things to life. We’ll focus on the type of content.”
So instead of recycled information, Yuza’s AR will focus on more interesting content, which might include details of promotions which are relevant to the location consumers are at. The outfit also has plans to integrate social media into its AR offerings.
Yuza reckons this take on AR will appeal to a diverse range of brands – a luxury hotel and a city guide series are already on board with the SKAN engine.
“With both the AR browser and SKAN – Private Label, we have image recognition,” says Skaife. “So we could have a magazine group bringing the magazine to life using AR. Or a High Street brand using the AR for product promotion – there are so many ways to use AR. And because our outlook is quite like a boutique, it’s an opportunity to give a focused experience.”
It sounds like there’s lots brands could do here. But are the majority of them ready to get to grips with a still-developing technology?
“There are different levels of [brand] awareness,” says Skaife. “Some brands are yet to get on board even with mobile technology. But I’ve been surprised by some brands who really do get it. They see a real obstacle in their business they want to overcome and look to the AR tech to do this. And everyone we’re working with has a clear reason why AR will benefit them – they’re not just doing it because it’s cool.”
