The Role of AR in Content Creation

In our precursory AR 101 article, we explored how augmented reality (AR) can help brands interact more closely with audiences and how it is changing consumer purchasing behaviour. With an ever-changing digital landscape, the next few years will unveil the potential role of AR in content creation.

Using AR within content creation is relatively new. Many Instagram and TikTok users will employ an AR filter to give their content a certain aesthetic. However, this practice hasn’t quite reached content creators when it comes to branded campaigns and ads. 

The creator landscape comprises a multitude of creators with varying content styles, all using a variety of shooting and post-production methods. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, and creators should stay true to themselves. But, there is a firm argument for AR filters to feature in the content creation process. 

AR integration in brand campaigns

BDB worked with Sainsbury’s on its campaign to #HelpEveryoneEatBetter. The campaign aim was to get more people making the most of their unused vegetables to create healthy and delicious soups.

The use of an AR filter was central to the campaign to cut through the noise of traditional recipe content. Using the popular ‘Eyes and Mouth’ filter, creators gave the leftover vegetables a voice by creating content from its point of view. This resulted in a fresh take on food and recipe content, and gave the vertical a light-hearted and comedic edge. 

Using a pre-existing AR filter as part of a branded campaign isn’t a new approach in content creation, but it highlights the benefits of using AR in this way. It gave the campaign a unified look and feel, while still allowing creators to put their own stamp on it through the voices used and soups created. From a logistical point of view, AR filters are incredibly effective if used in this way. Compared to the cost of a team executing this in post-production, the use of an AR filter is not only cheaper, but it can be applied in real time too. 

What this demonstrates is that AR can be a vital tool in content creation itself, moving beyond its more traditional role as an extension of a brand. In this case, the AR filter was used for comedic effect, but AR filters can be created to serve varying functions for a wide range of clients. 

The role of AR filters

Creating AR filters isn’t new for brands, but the creators designing and building these filters regularly operate in the digital and creative tech space. What would happen if we took a creator operating outside of this sphere and gave them the opportunity to create an AR filter?

Together with Candy Crush, we worked with Sophie Baverstock, (makeup and hair artist, and Glow Up winner) to bring one of her Candy Crush inspired looks into the AR space. Collaborating with Sophie in this way ensured the filter felt authentic, and therefore strongly resonated with her audience – which explains the steady engagement and growth the filter has received over the last six months, and continues to drive: 685.3k opens, 15.8k captures, 8.1k shares and 550k impressions. Click here to experience it.

AR has already had a big impact on consumers and brand audiences, but it will inevitably begin to shape the creator landscape, and herein lies huge opportunities. Brands will be able to explore further collaboration with creators, lean into new ways of engaging with their followers and even add a new tool to the content creation process.

Article written by Kinda Savarino, Senior Designer at Billion Dollar Boy.