By Robin Wilding
An innovative augmented reality (AR) company, Layar, is bringing print ads to life with new forms of interactive media.
The way we absorb information in our landscape is changing. We, as advertisers and marketers, are no longer limited by 2D platforms as we can now turn simple, archaic print ads into a jumping-off platform for video, rich photos, social media interaction, 3D tours and more.
Layar pages and ads allow you to leverage multiple mediums to place, virtually, on ads. Unlike QR codes, thanks to the AR technology, you now have an entire page of real estate to place data on to create a rich consumer experience.
Layar believes that these transcendental interactive experiences are ideal for the real estate industry, because it empowers Realtors to better represent themselves and drive further interaction in print with prospective clients – through incredibly interactive, scannable ads.
“The real estate industry has a huge opportunity with AR for activation, information and branding. On our DIY platform we see real estate material like ads, brochures, business cards and more being enhanced with links to more information, slide shows and videos and more,” says Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, co-founder and U.S. general manager. “ Layar Geo AR offers people the ability to hold up their phone to see what is for sale around them. AR and real estate are a natural combination.”
This high-level technology is currently being used by multi-million-dollar corporations the world over and by more than 55,000 of the biggest publishers and advertisers, including Inc. Magazine, Elle, Seventeen and Playboy. The data-rich pages are interacting with the 33 million people who have downloaded Layar’s page-scanning app. This compelling technology isn’t just for corporations though – it has an entry-level price point that Realtors can afford, at just $20 per page (with price breaks for purchases of 10+ pages).
Neal Bouwmeesters, senior manager at Nissan, said it best when he said “to have [your viewers] be able to look at the ad, then just engage with it – even for 30 more seconds –- that’s golden. You can’t buy that. Well, you can buy it now.”
The even-better news for real estate agents is that Layar’s Creator software can be used to create the information-rich, interactive pages via a simple drag-and-drop platform. With their platform a Layar page can be set up in under a minute.
For more information on Layar’s capabilities, uses and fit within the real estate industry, visit https://www.layar.com/augmented-reality/why-layar/real-estate/.
Robin Wilding is the creative mind behind Real Estate Websites Canada, a boutique real estate website company providing “differentiating-yet-laughably-affordable web solutions for agents across the country.” She says: “The company’s success is highly attributable to creating low-cost branded websites that highlight the personality of each individual agent. You’re unique; your website should be too.” https://real-estate-websites.ca/
