What’s the strength of AR campaigns, and should you be looking to build your own AR experiences to promote your products?
Well, it depends. It depends on your audience and how, and where, they engage, and it depends on your products, and/or offerings, and what you want the world to know about them.
But if the answers to those questions point to a more educational, engaging approach to certain elements, then maybe, AR might be for you, and Snapchat has shared some new insights to help inform your approach in this respect.
Partnering with Wpromote and Lumen, Snap has conducted a new survey of 38 campaigns, which accumulated over 219 million impressions across different ad formats on Snap. Based on this, Snapchat has provided some specific insight into the benefits of AR over video campaigns, by looking at attention measurement and in-app response data, to see how AR performs in comparison to others.
First off, the report shows that AR activations can boost user attention, and drive more specific outcomes, versus other promotion types.
As per the report:
“Unlike static or video ads, which rely on passive viewing, AR invites users to actively engage, creating stronger, more memorable impressions. Our study shows that AR-based campaigns not only attract more attention but also translate this engagement into measurable outcomes like ad and brand awareness and brand association.”
In other words, through more specific interaction, that can enhance brand awareness, which makes sense given that you’re actually interacting with specific branded elements from a campaign.
Though it would depend on the campaign specifically, and your use of brand and brand characters in each.
The report also found that AR drives slower, more intentional decision-making:
“We observed that time spent with AR supports deliberate thought processes, leading to higher swipe-to-purchase ratios compared to non-interactive ads. When compared to Commercials, the swipe-to-purchase ratio for Lens was 6.4x. AR experiences seem to deepen the decision-making process, encouraging users to act with intention rather than impulse.”
So Lens campaigns, which inspire direct activity and response, create more memorable impressions, leading to more consideration time.
Finally, the report also found that following creative best practices works:
“There’s a clear playbook for AR and video success, and adhering to best practices can significantly increase attention regardless of the format. For AR, creating shareable experiences led to higher attention garnered, while the utilization of prominent branding, sound-on design, and talent presence were associated with higher attention.”
Based on these findings, Snap suggests that brands should look to integrate video and AR campaigns to maximize resonance, while also recognizing the education and advocacy benefits that AR-specific elements can provide.
Snap also emphasizes a variance in approach in each different campaign type:
“Utilize urgency in videos and shareability in AR.”
AR activations are good for building more association, and enhancing brand awareness, and as such, building them for more shareability aligns with these goals, and leans into those strengths.
These are good tips, which could help you get your own AR campaign on the right track in 2025. And given the engagement and focus benefits, it may well be worth considering for certain promotions, dependent, also, on your audience.
You can check out Snap’s full AR ads overview here.
