AR offers better engagement than traditional advertising

The in-depth neurological study of consumers from across the world used smart watch technology to measure their immersion. It found AR experiences command continuous high attention, compared to traditional advertising experiences which have peaks and valleys over time.

Participants in the study took part in virtual, individual research sessions. They watched content from home or out and about, with engagement measured in the most natural environment.

Immersion’s neuroscience platform – the technology behind the methodology – makes it possible to map the distinct patterns in heart rate, indicating a participant is engaged in an immersive state. That’s translated into the immersion index, which rates a person’s level of immersion on a scale from 0 to 100.

Key findings included the fact that immersive experiences offer significant value; when people are highly immersed, they are paying attention, emotionally engaged, and actively committing information to memory. Immersion predicts consumer action and memory with 83% accuracy.

Respondents’ average scores on the immersion index were higher than industry benchmarks for the entertainment category across all social media platforms, which includes 350 experiences across television, film, music, gaming, and sports. There was an average of 56 versus 45.

In addition, AR experiences maintain high attention throughout; a heart rate tracker graph demonstrated that every second is that much more impactful and delivers positive memory encoding. 

The report’s author, Andy Pang, head of international marketing science at Snap Inc, said: “We commissioned this research to deepen our understanding of the unique impact of engaging with augmented reality and whether consumers are more receptive and engaged by AR advertising as opposed to traditional advertising formats.

“When people are highly immersed, they are paying attention, emotionally engaged and actively committing information to memory. They are in the zone and the experience is resonating with them on a fundamental level – to the point it can predict future behaviour.”

The 30-minute virtual in-depth-interviews (IDIs), utilising immersion neuroscience technology, was conducted by independent research firm Alter Agents between 16 August and 16 September this year.