If you’ve ever seen a Snapchat video with a filter on it, or you witnessed or were part of the Pokémon GO craze that took the world by storm in 2016, you’re already familiar with various forms of augmented reality (AR), sometimes referred to as enhanced reality. The most common form of AR is utilizing a device, sometimes even your own smartphone or tablet, to view your real-world environment with computer-generated imagery “augmented,” or overlayed, into it. As you can imagine, this has event planners buzzing about the various ways they can leverage augmented reality technology to elevate meetings, trade shows, conventions, and conferences—and of course, attendee engagement.

Five Ways to Use Augmented Reality Technology

1. Showcase New Products

Sometimes, companies want to show how a new, cutting-edge product will function in the real world. There’s just one little problem: the product hasn’t been created yet! To show off the concept and gain legitimate feedback (a powerpoint presentation simply highlighting benefits is never going to be a true determinant), augmented reality can be used to provide a three-dimensional representation of the product, with additional overlays calling out features and benefits. Even if the product has been built, it’s still not always economical or feasible to travel with it to various trade shows or events across the country or around the globe. Think about a new car; wouldn’t it be easier to simply show it off virtually using AR than to physically bring it to each event? It also greatly cuts down on the amount of space needed at a venue, which can significantly cut costs (think about a car show, which needs hundreds of thousands of square feet of space).

2. Boost Attendee Engagement

Wandering a convention, attendees know what to expect: elevator pitches, handshakes, and business cards. Event planners can mix things up by wowing them with augmented reality concepts that complement the event. QR codes are back and better than ever thanks to AR. At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, Hidden Figures—the film about three black female mathematicians who helped NASA launch a man into space during the 1960s space race—was promoted using an augmented reality app. Empty pedestals were placed throughout the event, with QR codes on them. Smartphone users could scan the code, and the “hidden figure” would appear on the pedestal, accompanied by a short description of who they were and their contributions to history. It was such a success that the Outthink Hidden project was created, placing the pedestals throughout the US at 150 locations in ten cities.

3. Enhance Presentations and Performances

At many events, you’re sure to find a number of attendees taking photos or filming with their smartphones. Rather than discouraging this behavior, encourage it and incorporate augmented reality to create an experience! This can be particularly engaging at large trade shows, conferences, conventions, and concert events. Speaking of concerts, rapper Eminem recently used AR to great effect as the 2018 Coachella headliner. Through their phones, concert-goers saw a King Kong-sized Eminem take swings at buildings and swipe helicopters from the sky. The pièce de résistance was a larger-than-life Jason Vorhees dropping a giant machete and chainsaw right into the audience. You can check it out now on YouTube; it’s pretty impressive!

4. Eliminate Pain Points

One of the worst aspects of any large event is navigating the crowd and waiting in line. With augmented reality, both can be mitigated. At a convention, for example, booth numbers and vendor names can be overlayed on top of the actual environment, made viewable through a mobile device. This allows attendees to hit all the spots they want to go (and can also direct them to refreshment areas, restrooms, and more). Some supermarkets and stores are already testing this technology to help customers navigate the aisles and to highlight sales. Waiting in line is no fun, but making it engaging can ease the pain! In anticipation of long lines on the 40th anniversary of Free Cone Day in Australia, Ben & Jerry’s created an interactive AR experience that would entertain and educate customers about their favorite flavors while they waited for their scoop. By scanning a location-enabled asset, customers could engage with content about their favorite ice cream flavors. The progressive company also took the opportunity to share some of the good they do through their augmented reality app; for example, customers engaging through AR learned that the brand’s popular Chocolate Fudge Brownie flavor is based by Greyston Bakery in New York, which provides training and employment to people needing a helping hand.

5. Put Anyone on Stage—From Anywhere

Augmented reality goes beyond mobile device and headsets. Using larger hardware devices, hologram screens can now be incorporated into events. While rather expensive and reserved for very large trade shows, the hologram of a person can actually interact with concepts, products, and people to create a more engaging and hands-on experience. For example, Computex, one of the largest tech trade shows in the world, Intel debuted its new AR processor which uses telepresence hologram technology. Gregory Bryant, Intel’s GM of connected home and commercial clients, appeared on stage as a hologram. Not only did it make it seem as if he were in attendance (the event was held in Taipei, Taiwan), Bryan was able to address the audience and answer questions in real time. There’s one more way an event planner can use augmented reality, this time simply to make their own life easier. During the 2017 Microsoft Build Conference, the set design team for Cirque Du Soleil showed how they utilized the Hololens to visualize their entire set before creating it. Now, it may be a few years off, but think about how much time and money you could save using AR to visualize the layout of your event space, making tweaks to arrangements and settings to maximize usage of space or to ensure everyone has a great view of the stage. All this before you’ve even lifted a finger—how cool is that! Want to learn more about the latest in audio and visual for events? Contact the experts at One Way Event Productions today.