Jean-Francois Chianetta, CEO of Augment.com is a futurist and thought leader in emerging trends in augmented reality. He founded Augment in 2011 with the vision of merging the digital and physical worlds through augmented reality. Backed by Salesforce Ventures, Augment has over 200 clients worldwide. We met up with him recently

Interviewed by Priscilla Thomas

/  /  Until recently VR/AR technologies served as inspiration for Hollywood sci-fi writers. What do you believe was the trigger that opened the doors to the AR's potential in the B2B environment?

While augmented reality is often seen as technologies dreamed up by science fiction writers, it has actually been in development in the real world for several decades.

In recent years, there were multiple introductions into the field that opened the doors to AR’s potential into the B2B environment. From the introduction of Google Glass to the rise of Pokemon Go to the announcement of Microsoft’s HoloLens, the past few years have brought AR and VR upfront in the minds of many businesses.

Google Glass by the way is a great example of a triggering event. It was initially introduced to the masses as a consumer product, and after several months of hype was declared as a giant failure by nearly everyone. But during that whole time those glasses were used in factory settings and construction sites. They proved their value to workers in term of efficiency gain and security. Now Google Glasses are back with an enterprise dedicated focus.

/  /  What do you believe are the top marketing challenges today and how can augmented reality (AR) help overcome these challenges?

One marketing challenge is the constant demand of engaging materials that capture the eye of the audience as well as converts. Augmented reality allows users to unlock memorable and differentiated experiences. As brands fight for mindshare among consumers, AR allows them to stand out among competition. It positions companies as innovative leaders and facilitates higher engagement with their end users.

By leveraging augmented reality, it’s becoming easier to create an interactive experience both online and offline. Customers can simply use their smartphone to scan a product booklet to bring the product to life at their fingertips, instantly. Interactive content through AR is a great way to have your online and offline marketing campaigns working in tandem with one another.

By leveraging augmented reality, it’s becoming easier to create an interactive experience both online and offline. Customers can simply use their smartphone to scan a product booklet to bring the product to life at their fingertips, instantly. Interactive content through AR is a great way to have your online and offline marketing campaigns working in tandem with one another

/  /  The consumer market is still uncertain when it comes to accepting AR. What should CMOs be aware of in adopting this technology?

Augmented reality is still a relatively new technology but has been steadily gathering steam especially over the past few years, and the consumer market is really no longer uncertain when it comes to accepting AR. Think of the recent popularity of Pokemon Go, Google Translate, Snapchat, and Facebook, and more recently the announcements of Apple’s ARKit and Google's ARCore. Companies are already leveraging augmented reality and those looking to adopting this technology should not be afraid to do so. For CMOs looking to adopt AR: Content is key, more than the technology itself. Keep in mind the purpose behind your use of augmented reality and think of ways the experience will bring value to the consumer. For example, with Augment, a consumer can preview a product at scale and at home to determine if it’s the right product for him/her. Stay away from gimmicky experiences and create specific content for your purpose instead of just repacking content from other places -- like using a video displayed in AR.

/  /  What are the challenges you face in selling the benefits of AR/VR to potential clients?

One of the challenges is convincing potential clients that augmented reality is something for their businesses to leverage right now. AR is not something of the future -- it has already become integrated in our lives and this will continue to do so.

The other big challenge is related to content creation, brands are not yet used to thinking about 3D content in the real world and how it impacts the experience. It’s a whole new medium to learn.

/  /  What does the future of AR look like?

The field is quickly changing as it has over the past 5 years and there are a lot of unknowns. Big players now all provide the building bricks to push the technology even further. Augmented reality as a field needs to take that technology and turn it in a meaningful way to interact with the world around us.

As I see it, in the near future, augmented reality and virtual reality will continue to become a part of our lives through our mobile devices as we wait on consumer ready hardware, such as headsets. Once the hardware is available for day-to-day life, augmented reality and virtual reality will be a seamless part of one’s life -- as we will be able to shift between VR, AR and the real world.