AR allows fans to experience events in a new way.
Augmented Reality
Technology is playing an important role in the event industry, supporting both planners and stakeholders in achieving a competitive advantage in their marketing efforts. Augmented reality (AR) saw immense growth in the past year, as the commercial use of this technology skyrocketed.
The success of AR technology is based on the fact that it provides viewers with interesting, meaningful content. At the same time, it allows the audience to easily interact with the virtual environment, while generating interactive content and sharing their experiences with others online.
Source: Artillry.co
Rather than creating a completely new world using virtual reality (VR), augmented reality adds to the viewer’s environment and changes it. It can add a plethora of elements so viewers can find creative ways to generate content using their mobile phones or other AR-enabled devices.
How to Upgrade Live Events Using AR
Concerts and music festivals can benefit from AR in many ways. Not only can it deepen the atmosphere, but it can also create mind-blowing effects that will make any event memorable. Artists and labels are slowly realizing the potential of additional interactions with their audience via augmented reality tools and are now using them to promote new events and venues or to additionally engage their fans.
Use AR for venue navigation. AR technology is excellent for physical events, as it provides spectators with an easy way to navigate the venue. It can help avoid getting lost in large pavilions and works like Google Maps for various types of events.
Highlight important information. During an event, AR can highlight important information about the venue and the schedule, and provide additional information about the concert, the match, the conference, or the exhibition.
Gamification. Enhanced with a few simple game rules, AR technology can transform a mundane event into a fun experience. Event planners can put together treasure hunts by adding AR-based leaderboards and gaming interfaces while engaging spectators in new activities.
Where You Can Use AR
Augmented reality offers many perks to all kinds of events, from music concerts and educational activities, to large sports events. The trend towards the convergence of AR with media, sports entertainment and education was accelerated by the pandemic and doesn’t show any signs of slowing.
Music Events
There are many ways to use AR to build stronger connections with the audience at live and online music events alike. With live ticket sales slowly recovering, concert goers and opera fans are still interested in seeing their favorite artists perform live.
Between the concert experience, band performances, and other events, VR and AR have proved useful tools for creating a unique event atmosphere.
With Lens Studio on Snapchat or Spark AR on Facebook, artists and musicians can showcase their talents by connecting music videos and fans to share a new single or promote a new album. With a custom lens that resembles the aesthetics of a specific album or song, fans can become their favorite musicians or share content that’s inspired by the music they love.
Artists like Bruno Mars, Imagine Dragons, Gucci Mane, and many others have built relationships with thousands of their fans using custom Snapchat lenses.
Using augmented reality at music festivals helps integrate artists into the digital mainstream by creating unforgettable concert experiences for everyone in the audience. Unlike live concerts, AR and VR performances offer enormous potential for fan interaction during and after a show.
Abel Tesfaye, known as The Weekend, has created a whole augmented reality experience on TikTok. The interactive Livestream was named “The Weekend Experience,” and, unlike live concerts, it was completely free. Augmented reality helped develop emotional connections with the audience, so that everyone can feel like they are a part of the big online event.
Art and Education
Augmented reality offers a unique space for artistic expression. It allows art to reach more people, since all they need is their phone to see art everywhere. AR also enables museum and gallery visitors to use their phones to appreciate art differently through interactive exhibition guides and 3D models.
Bringing any art piece to life was an inspiration for Gints Gabrans, a Latvian artist who developed an AR art app called SAN.app. Because of the unlimited freedom to place his art anywhere, Gints put his work close to some of the biggest museums in the world, creating a virtual experience open to everyone.
So far, AR has had a slow but very significant impact on the education profession. New learning practices have become possible. According to a Goldman Sachs report, annual revenue for VR/AR educational tools is expected to grow to $700 million by 2025.
Since AR has many applications to boost the learning experience for students, Wikitude has developed Ai.R-Cord. This app can help elementary school pupils learn abstract concepts using augmented reality. Schools are slowly adapting to using Google Arts and Culture’s virtual exhibitions for art classes to help children learn, even when they cannot leave their homes.
Sports
AR is slowly becoming a big part of the sports business. Due to COVID-19, most sports fans had to watch their favorite games at home this past year. They discovered augmented reality, as it was interposed on top of the field image where all the important information about the game was. The augmented reality elements have also been used to display player positions and present additional statistics.
Major broadcasters like ESPN and Fox often use augmented reality to show player positions, present interesting data about the game, or analyze problematic situations.
Another useful way to engage audiences is to offer AR filters to take photos with their favorite players or post branded pictures on social media as a sign of their support for the teams and players they love.
What AR Brings to Your Event
Visualization
With AR, viewers don’t have to imagine how something looks. Whether they are sitting in a stadium or in their living room, they can get an up-close and personal look at a celebrity football player, musician or performer.
Real-time Information
Apps that feature AR can provide spectators with additional real-time data about the event they’re following. Especially when it comes to sports, every piece of information related to a player’s performance counts.
Branding
People love to use new apps and gadgets. If presented with branded filters, sport fans often use them to support their favorite teams, as they have an emotional connection with the players. Celebrities and famous athletes are also coming up with filters to enhance their digital presence by allowing fans to take virtual photos, promote their new songs, or announce new albums, online concerts, movies, or events of any kind.
Enhanced User Experience
Augmented reality is one of many ways to stand out in a saturated and noisy environment where everyone is competing to offer the best audience experience. AR is a wonderful way for viewers to share their experiences within fan communities, feel connected to a particular artist, and become interested in generating new content.
Conclusion
The events industry has undergone significant changes in the past few years. With experts who know how to transform your ideas into innovative, creative solutions, partnering with Softjourn will give you the necessary tools to offer something new. We have become a trusted event ticketing solutions development partner by proactively working on exciting projects and coming up with concrete suggestions on how to build and improve existing AR applications.
Thanks to immersive technology, event organizers can communicate with their audience before, during and after events, to ensure that people feel entertained. Ultimately, an elevated event experience leads to memories that bring people together while getting them excited about the next event.
