The ability of Augmented Reality to bring the digital world into the real world could have an impact as profound as the arrival of mobile or social media. That could leave most firms playing catch up, but for one forward-thinking print business, the future has arrived early.
Reynolds Press has launched an Augmented Reality app that enables them to show existing and prospective clients how draft designs for signage, packaging labels, and exhibition displays will look in the real world.
Here, Steve Ray, managing director of Reynolds Press, explains how the app, developed by digital agency 4 Roads, helped give his business a competitive edge.
Steve Ray: We want to be leaders in our sector. We’ve always been interested in new technologies and processes that help push our business forward. We’re sure no-one else in the print world is using Augmented Reality like this. That means we have a genuine competitive edge.
Steve Ray: 4 Roads pitched the idea to us. We found it creative, inspiring, and saw that a partnership with them could have an extremely beneficial outcome. Through our regular workshops we established how an Augmented Reality app could work and how useful it could be to our clients. In our world, making the customer journey easier and more connected to our brand is key.
Steve Ray: We believe that prospective clients can be turned into customers more quickly as the app will allow us to demonstrate how designs will look in situ and help us provide a greater range of design options at a lower cost.
In fact, we’ve already found the app can make the difference between winning and losing a project. The ability to share design and quality options in real-life scenarios ensures that decision making is that much easier for the client. It’s a win/win, we become the trusted innovative supplier and the client knows exactly what they’re getting.
Steve Ray: If we’re designing signage, for example, we can stand outside a prospective client’s office, run the app on a mobile, and point it at the building. We’ll be able to run through different designs, sizes, colours with our prospects and they’ll see all options as they would appear once the work finished. We think it will give prospective clients confidence and encourage them to work with us.
If we are designing exhibitions, we can walk the client through our designs (literally) with full 360-degree visualisation.
Steve Ray: In our world, value lies in speed and certainty. This technology has the potential to expand our brand and services into new areas. For example, this application could accurately demonstrate to a potential client how a new vehicle livery could look. That’s all very exciting for us.
Delivering the best digital experience to your audiences is everything. To discuss how you can use Augmented Reality in your business, contact James Browne on james.browne@4-roads.com or call 0808 189 2044.