A Groundbreaking "Heartbreak"

John Mayer has made the news - yet again. No, his tattoo count is still the same and he and Jen are still "working it out" but he has shown a new aspect of artistic capability as he has launched the first ever music video in augmented reality. You may or may not have heard of augmented reality - but if you know anything about it at all, it is both a bit scary and incredibly cool. You may have seen it in futuristic movies or maybe even dreamed about the possibility of this type of technology yourself. I was introduced to this form of "reality" a few months ago when I saw a demonstration of AR on a branding website. You can simply search for this term in Google and you will be delivered a multitude of examples that will show you everything from how this technology works to some innovative ways that companies are already adapting this technology (think business cards). It has not been embraced with open arms by the majority of businesses yet, but its capabilities will change the way that we experience brands (and each other) online.

A simple explanation of this form of technology is the following: an image like the heart above is printed on a piece of paper and placed in front of a computer's video camera, the camera recognizes this special image and projects the augmented reality content back onto the piece of paper which is viewed on the computer screen. Depending upon what that content is, it allows you to interact with it in a variety of ways. In the example above from www.johnmayer.com/ar, I was able to use the symbol to start a private "concert" of John Mayer singing his song "Heartbreak Warfare" from his new CD called Battle Studies. Since I am mildly obsessed with JM *wink wink*, this was exciting on a variety of levels. As a marketing freak I thought that utilizing this type of technology to interact with his fans is genius. It is groundbreaking in the world of music and a fresh take on the idea of a music video. Through this technology I am able to move the piece of symbolized paper up and down, forward and back, side to side...any way that I desire to get the content to do and show different things. From the pictures above you can tell that I was able to tilt the paper to show all aspects of the room that he is singing in to reveal details such as splattered hearts on the floor where "war" missiles have struck. You can see where I am in the background relative to where the content is projected into the computer screen - as if I have John Mayer in the palm of my hand. John Mayer is already getting a lot of buzz for his use of this technology and I am sure artists like Kayne West won't be far behind. As a JM freak I got an exclusive listen to a new song (which is not his latest released single) and it made me feel like I had my own unique experience with an artist that I love - right in the privacy of my cubicle. Very cool.

It is the use of augmented reality in this way that will allow for consumers to interact with brands on a much deeper level and have their own unique experiences with them online. Being able to feel like I had my own "experience" with John Mayer, his new song, and his brand gives me a heightened sense of appreciation for him as an artist. It has limitless possibilities. What if everyone had their own symbol? Think about how it would allow us to shop online - being able to use our symbols to project our own bodies onto the computer screen and view ourselves with clothes on before we push "BUY." Or having access to other people's symbols would allow us to really put a face to their name. If you have never had an experience with augmented reality I suggest that you immediately stop reading this, go to John Mayer's website (I don't care if you think he is a womanizer) and print out your own copy of the Battle Studies symbol to launch his AR show - it is unlike any experience you have had online.

As we get more in tune with the capabilities of this technology we will undoubtedly see more artists, people, brands and fans using it online. Right now, it takes a lot of time, money and creative intuition to develop these types of experiences for consumers, but I imagine that these symbols will have a commonplace in our lives sooner than we think. Like any new technology it has the risk of getting used and abused, but as more brands move forward in utilizing this for not just their marketing efforts, but their brand experiences, we will adapt as we always do. It will be a battle, just like heartbreak where the best and the most flashy will most likely win but as we start to implement this technology we need to proceed with caution.

Consumers have hearts that too, can be broken, so use your symbol wisely...