From smartphones to marketplaces to social media platforms, as companies like Apple and Amazon continue to grow, they continue to resemble one another. Adding augmented reality applications to their ecosystem is no exception.
Facebook, for example, recently launched several augmented reality dinosaurs available for purchase with the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom DVD or Blu-ray. While Fallen Kingdom isn’t the most popular of the Jurassic Park movies, it is the most recent and therefore the most likely to have technologically savvy kids show an interest in briefly playing with AR dinosaurs for a few minutes.
By using the Facebook or Messenger app, users can view friendly and/or hostile velociraptors in their real-world location. An obvious ploy to entice people to buy the DVD, this marketing campaign is akin to McDonald’s including a toy in a Happy Meal.
Whether or not this partnership will cause sales of the Fallen World DVD to skyrocket remains to be seen. But as more and more companies dip their toes into the world of augmented reality, we’re likely to see the quality of the experiences increase. And even though this attempt by Facebook seems rather lackluster on the surface, one can never know what unexpected data they’ll gather from this campaign.
In the past, Facebook has helped with much larger branded AR experiences. The Thanos mask from Avengers: Infinity War comes to mind. And there was also the functionality that allowed users to scan posters of A Wrinkle In Time and Ready Player One that produced an AR effect.
That said, this is the first time that the social media giant has used the fledgling technology to tempt parents to buy something.
What do you think about Facebook’s marketing campaign for the Jurassic World franchise? Let us know in a comment!
