Case Study: How Olympus Spurred Product Awareness and Sales With Augmented Reality

Company: Olympus Imaging America Inc.
Contact: Sally Smith Clemens, product manager
Location: Center Valley, PA
Industry: Electronics, E-Commerce, B2C
Annual revenue: $10,000,000,000
Number of employees: 4,000

Quick Read

It is said that consumers are four times more likely to buy a product once they’ve held it in their hands. But if you know retail, you understand how challenging it can be to get people into stores, let alone within reaching distance of your product (and interested in handling it).

When electronics giant Olympus introduced a new SLR (single lens reflex) hybrid camera to the marketplace, it knew that it was vital that people get their hands on it; that's because one of the camera's major selling points was its advanced compact body design. In short, it was far more representative of a pocket-size point-and-shoot than the typical SLR with interchangeable lenses.

To provide the masses with a hands-on experience that wouldn't require heading to the nearest store, Olympus trialed a new augmented-reality technology. Consumers could print out paper-doll versions of the product and test out its various features via an online interactive tutorial and simulation experience. The campaign even included social elements to motivate users to share these virtual experiences with their networks, and a contest was added to draw additional attention.

It worked. Within a month of the campaign's launch, more than 50,000 people played with the technology, and the company witnessed a jump in in-store inquiries and sales.

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Kimberly Smith is a staff writer for MarketingProfs. Reach her via kims@marketingprofs.com.