As traditional marketing approaches are losing their effectiveness, brands have recently started to apply augmented reality (AR) for staging powerful brand experiences that will differentiate them from competition. However, despite proving an innovative way to captivate consumers’ attention, research within the field of AR brand experiences has been relatively scarce, resulting in reluctant adoption as marketers are unaware of the technology’s direct brand-related outcomes. Since several scholars indicate a possible connection between AR brand experiences and consumer-brand relationships, this thesis aims to extend the scarce literature and subsequently further entice adoption by examining the impact of AR brand experiences on consumer-brand relationships.
This study applied a mixed method research approach, consisting of a survey as the predominant method to assess the hypotheses as well as expert interviews to validate the quantitative results and gain further in-depth insights. The questionnaire sampled millennial consumers in Germany who recently encountered an AR brand experience. Overall, quantitative data analysis included exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis for hypotheses testing, while a thematic analysis was applied on the gathered qualitative data.
The results of this thesis demonstrate that AR brand experiences have a positive impact on consumer-brand relationships. Furthermore, the key relationship drivers of AR were identified as sensory experiences incorporated through visualization and immersion, affective experience staged by storytelling and co-creation, as well as behavioral experiences crafted through location-based AR.
This thesis contributes further knowledge to the augmented reality marketing literature, consumer-brand relationship literature and experiential marketing literature, as well as suggests directions for future research. Moreover, the findings of this research facilitate marketers’ endeavors to successfully develop AR brand experiences that foster consumer-brand relationships.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background
1.2 Problem Statement
1.3 Purpose
1.4 Structure
2. Literature Review
2.1 Experiential Marketing
2.1.1 Driver of Experiential Marketing: The Rise of the Experience Economy
2.1.2 Key Concept of Experiential Marketing
2.1.3 Brand Experience
2.1.4 Term Definition
2.2 Consumer-Brand Relationship
2.2.1 Conceptual Foundations
2.2.2 Measuring Consumer-Brand Relationships
2.2.3 The Attachment-Aversion Relationship Model
2.2.4 Consumer-Brand Relationship and Experiential Marketing
2.3 Augmented Reality
2.3.1 Augmented Reality Marketing
2.3.2 The Potential of Augmented Reality for Experiential Marketing
2.3.3 Prior Research on Augmented Reality Marketing
2.4 Conclusion
3. Methodology
3.1 Conceptual Model and Hypotheses Development
3.2 Research Approach and Design
3.3 Data Sources
3.3.1 Secondary Data
3.3.2 Primary Data
3.4 Data Collection
3.4.1 Expert Interviews
3.4.2 Survey
3.5 Measures
3.5.1 Independent Variable
3.5.2 Dependent Variable
3.6 Sample
3.7 Data Analysis
3.7.1 Quantitative Data
3.7.2 Qualitative Data
4. Empirical Findings
4.1 Quantitative Data
4.1.1 Demographic Characteristics
4.1.2 Reliability Test
4.1.3 Validity Test
4.1.4 Exploratory Factor Analysis
4.1.5 Multiple Regression Analysis
4.2 Qualitative Data
4.2.1 Visualization
4.2.2 Immersion
4.2.3 Storytelling
4.2.4 Co-Creation
4.2.5 Location-Based AR
5. Discussion
6. Conclusion
6.1 Implications
6.1.1 Theoretical Implications
6.1.2 Managerial Implications
6.2 Limitations
6.3 Future Research
Research Objectives and Themes
The primary purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of augmented reality (AR) brand experiences on the formation and strengthening of consumer-brand relationships. By developing a conceptual model, the study aims to identify specific experiential drivers—such as sensory, affective, and behavioral components—that influence how consumers perceive and connect with brands in an increasingly digitized marketplace.
- The influence of Augmented Reality on consumer-brand relationships.
- Key experiential drivers including visualization, immersion, and co-creation.
- Methodological application of mixed-methods research (surveys and expert interviews).
- Strategic implications for marketers developing AR-based brand content.
- The transition from traditional marketing toward technology-empowered experiential marketing.
Excerpt from the Thesis
2.3.1 Augmented Reality Marketing
Augmented reality refers to the perceptual alignment of virtual content with real world contexts (Carmigniani and Furht, 2011) so that the information is perceived as existing in an environment (Höllerer et al., 2001). Craig (2013, p. 20) defines AR as a “medium in which digital information is overlaid on the physical world that is in both spatial and temporal registration with the physical world and that is interactive in time”. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which entirely replaces the current environment with a virtual one to simulate the behavior of 3D entities such as places, people, and objects (Hudson et al., 2018), AR allows users to stay connected with reality and solely augments it with virtual information. An example would be head-up display systems used by pilots in military aviation, which utilize augmented reality technology to display critical flight information into their field of vision (O’Mahony, 2015). However, the technical components essential for AR no longer are restricted to industrial sectors but now have become native to consumer devices such as smartphones and tablets (O’Mahony, 2015). As a result, the use of AR for mobile marketing practices has emerged over the recent years (Javornik, 2016b), allowing marketers to craft immersive brand experiences and enabling consumers to interact with brands and products in novel ways (Scholz and Smith, 2016). Particularly retailing has embraced AR, as multiple pioneering brands in serveral industries have developed AR applications that enable consumers to enhance their buying experiences (Kelly, 2017). Moreover, Pollack (2018) states, that “augmented reality has already become a key ingredient to experiential marketing and is a way to close the loop between print and digital”. Although a growing number of organizations are already using AR for their advertising campaigns, including BMW, Coca-Cola and McDonalds, researchers are making little progress in developing a working definition for augmented reality marketing. This study therefore defines augmented reality marketing as the strategic concept of integrating virtual objects into a user’s perception of the real environment, thereby providing extraordinary brand experiences and benefits with the ultimate aim to achieve organizational goals.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the thesis by providing information about the research topic, research context, research problem, relevance and importance, research purpose and research questions.
2. Literature Review: This chapter presents and carefully reviews the relevant literature on experiential marketing, consumer-brand relationship and augmented reality.
3. Methodology: This chapter sets out and justifies the research methods used in this thesis for examining the impact of AR brand experiences on consumer-brand relationships.
4. Empirical Findings: This chapter reveals the main findings from both qualitative and quantitative data analyses, presenting results from the survey and expert interviews.
5. Discussion: This chapter provides a thorough discussion with regard to the empirical findings, interpreting the results and comparing them to previous studies.
6. Conclusion: The final chapter adds concluding remarks by summarizing the major research findings and presenting theoretical and managerial contributions.
Keywords
augmented reality, experiential marketing, brand experience, consumer-brand relationship, mixed methods, visualization, immersion, storytelling, co-creation, location-based AR, relationship valence, brand-self distance, brand prominence, marketing innovation, millennial consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
This thesis examines the impact of augmented reality (AR) brand experiences on consumer-brand relationships, addressing the current research gap regarding the effectiveness of AR as an experiential marketing tool.
What are the central thematic fields?
The study centers on the intersection of experiential marketing, consumer-brand relationship theories, and the practical application of augmented reality technology.
What is the primary objective of this study?
The goal is to determine if AR brand experiences positively influence consumer-brand relationships and to uncover the specific factors—such as visualization and immersion—that drive these relationship formations.
Which research methodology was utilized?
A mixed-methods approach was applied, combining a quantitative online survey of 225 millennial participants with qualitative in-depth expert interviews from four international marketing agencies.
What does the main body address?
The main sections cover the theoretical background of experiential marketing, the development of a conceptual model linking AR and brand relationships, empirical data collection, and the discussion of statistical findings versus qualitative insights.
Which keywords best describe this work?
Key terms include augmented reality, experiential marketing, brand experience, consumer-brand relationship, and co-creation.
Why are sensory and behavioral experiences considered significant?
The data revealed that sensory and behavioral experiences (often induced by location-based AR) have a statistically significant positive impact on consumer-brand bonds, whereas cognitive experiences were found to have no significant impact in this study.
How does this study contribute to the field of marketing?
It provides a validated theoretical model for AR brand experiences, helping marketers move beyond anecdotal strategies by offering research-backed insights into how AR can increase brand prominence and decrease psychological distance between the brand and the consumer.
- Citation du texte
- Simon Hörtreiter (Auteur), 2020, The Strong Potential of Augmented Reality for Experiential Marketing, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/901013
