Why is it particularly necessary to strengthen the integration of AR in alcoholic beverage industry? The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education reported that there were 107 alcoholic beverage ads popped on personal Facebook and Instagram accounts in an hour, with an average of one every 35 seconds. Beverage markets without strong e-commerce structures and digital marketing strategies were hit the hardest in the COVID-19. With consumer behavior changing dramatically and millennials becoming the largest group, brands have to connect with them digitally. From whiskey to gin to cider, spirits companies are turning to immersive AR storytelling to enhance engagement and omnichannel sales.
Top 4 Highlights of AR in Beverage Industry
One of the main challenges for the alcohol industry is to differentiate their brands in a saturated market. Augmented reality can not only help them engage consumers, but will also inspire them to view, taste, and experience products in entirely new ways. Below are the top 4 highlights of AR in beverage industry.
Digital Storytelling
Breaking the limitations of traditional marketing, AR packaging helps brand present their products in a super-realistic 3D way and digitally tell the stories behind them.
Reach More Gen Z with WebAR
WebAR is an instantly accessible way to reach & interact with new customers, which means that more than 6 billion devices can run WebAR experiences by simply scanning a QR code or clicking on a link. It enables various beverage brands to create viral marketing campaigns and reach a wider target market.
Connect with Customer Values & Increase Sales Conversion
52% of millennials prefer to shop at retailers that share their values. Augmented reality in food and beverage industry is one of the best digital marketing hacks to connect with customer values. For example, a healthy drink can provide consumers with interactive AR scenarios to detail its health benefits.
Increase Brand Awareness and Loyalty
WebAR can be used to increase customer loyalty in a variety of ways, such as offering rewards for repeat purchases, providing the benefit of sharing products, etc. When consumers share their interesting experiences via social platforms, it significantly improves your brand awareness and sales.
4 Best Showcases of WebAR in Beverage Industry
Immersive animation and storytelling enable customers to learn about brand culture, product values & stories in a memorable way. Humans process visual information 60,000 times faster than text, so digitalization in the FMCG can attract more user engagement and sales conversion. Here are the four best showcases of WebAR in beverage industry.
Martell Noblige Limited Edition by Angel Chen: AR Mid-Autumn Festival Feast
Launched by Martell and fashion designer Angel Chen, the Noblige Limited Edition visualizes the story behind the brand with AR technology. By scanning the box or bottle, consumers can experience Martell’s first shipment to China in 1858 in real-time. Through AR image tracking, the colorful style combines traditional Chinese motifs with modern Western aesthetics. The interaction greatly builds deep connections with consumers and enhance their shopping experience in an innovative way.
Martell Noblige Limited Edition by Jacky Tsai: Historical Storytelling in AR
For the Noblige Limited Edition, artist Jacky Tsai created a collage that captures the dynamic vision of swift, a historical symbol of freedom and daring spirit for Maison Martell. Luckily, users can scan the bottle barcode unleashes to enjoy the storytelling in AR. With object tracking, you can digitally discover its vivid design. Consumers can immerse themselves in exploring Martell’s heritage and the spirit of the voyages. They will be transported to the greeting card digital platform. Through magical experiences, Martell has significantly increased its brand loyalty and ROI conversion rates.
CHIVAS: Whisky Remixed in AR
Highballs are becoming the way to drink whisky all over the world. Tall with crisp soda water and ice, whiskey highball cocktails are quick, easy and refreshing. To unlock the trendy cocktail recipes, CHIVAS launched Whisky Remixed in AR. Simply scan the QR code on the package to start your AR Metaverse. With object tracking and motion recognition, an immersive mixology scenario appears, where ice, tea and soda are mixed with wine. Digitally experience the refreshing and rich taste of Whiskey Highball. Through this unique interaction, more consumers are encouraged to explore the story behind the product, driving better sales and repurchase rates.
Watsons X Virtual imma: AR Metaverse for X Soda Water
Watsons selected virtual imma, who is extremely popular among Gen Z, as the ambassador for their new carbonated drink “X Soda”. Simply scan the can with your mobile phone, unknown energies pop out and you think you’re surrounded by a pink world, and suddenly virtual imma and “X Soda” appear in the modern city. Freely immerse yourself in mysterious space-time signals with AR object tracking. Consumers can also share this with friends and win a lucky draw that can be used directly at Watsons online stores. Augmented Reality in food and beverage industry has proven to greatly increase sales growth.
Embed WebAR to Reshape Omnichannel Sales Growth in 2022
With the e-commerce food and beverage industry in the United States set to grow to $25.7 billion in revenue by 2025, it’s essential to understand what WebAR can do for your brand. The ease of use and accessibility of WebAR encourages viral and mass consumption of your content, which ultimately translates into better sales. If implementing WebAR in the beverage industry is part of your digital marketing strategies, remember to choose a professional partner. Note that you need to work with service providers who are not only technically proficient in AR, but also know how to successfully deploy Web-based AR in the alcohol beverage industry.
Kivisense, a Sino-French joint venture, has been at the forefront of WebAR solutions in e-commerce & marketing, helping various brands stand out the competition, such as Gucci, Dior, Valentino, Canada Goose, Pomellato, TTDEYE, Mercedes-Benz, etc. With a variety of AR engine capabilities, Kivisense supports AR sneaker try-on, AR eyewear try-on, AR watch try-on, AR jewelry try-on, AR handbag try-on, etc., and breaks through AR image tracking, object tracking, world tracking (SLAM) technologies.
Its newly launched AR Try-on SaaS Platform allows brands to create AR footwear try-on scenarios in two minutes without codes. Kivicube, a visual WebAR Authoring Platform, also enables more developers to create lightweight WebAR scenarios and increase omnichannel sales growth for brands. Whether you embed it into your APP, Web, or Shopify, it is highly compatible, providing consumers with scenarios comparable to the offline shopping experience.
Conclusion
Brands have to engage Gen Z and Millennials in more social, immersive and experiential ways and the WebAR in beverage industry is the highly recommended digital marketing strategy. Achieve incredible omnichannel sales growth in 2022!
