Goals/Objectives
The AR glasses device category has barely scratched the surface of the mass consumer market. Apart from tech innovators, who has actually tried AR glasses for themselves? What’s it like to wear them? What can they actually do?
In fact, AR glasses have been stuck in limbo for years. They’re seen as the next major tech revolution, but no major tech brands have successfully commercialized a consumer-grade device. Google Glass got shunted to enterprise applications. Apple’s AR glasses keep getting delayed. No doubt the tech giants think the market isn’t ready.
Enter Nreal. The AR pioneer that cracked the code to get AR glasses to market first, determined to pave the way and prove that consumers are ready for AR, in spite of what Apple thinks.
In fact, Nreal had beat Apple to the punch by launching affordable, portable, and fashionable AR glasses in the US. These glasses are a 79g, 201-inch cinema screen that fits in your pocket, all for US$379.
With the tech ready for market, now Nreal needed to ready the market for the tech.
When launching Nreal Air in the US market in September 2022, 15k unit sales was the main KPI, along with positive ROI. Driving sales of a product barely anyone knows is ready for mass adoption was no mean feat. This was no fuzzy-feeling brand campaign. And simply throwing money at the problem would undermine the ROI objectives. Strategic thinking was necessary to achieve the required commercial success with the USD1.8M budget.
Strategy
We conducted a survey of US consumers, and discovered that thanks to prior PR campaigns, 40% of early adopters were already aware of Nreal. Nreal Air is an early-to-market device, best suited for early adopters, so the data agreed with our own logic. We also knew gamers, gadget geeks, tech enthusiasts, and movie lovers would immediately see how these AR glasses make their favorite hobbies more portable and immersive.
As awareness was solid and the use cases matched with this group, next we knew we needed to educate this audience on what these glasses are capable of. Consumers needed to experience first-hand how this device worked, and how it would augment their day-to-day lives. So education on use cases became the name of the game. The full-funnel “See Different” campaign kicked off with a smartphone-based WebXR experience, a preheat that enabled consumers to virtually try on AR glasses for themselves, most likely for the first time. We then lined up a PR and influencer blast on launch day, followed up by retargeting via email, ad buy and more, doubling down on driving consideration and conversions among the target audience - gamers, AR-curious iOS users, and VR consumers topped the list. At the heart of the campaign was educating and inspiring consumers about exactly what they can do with AR glasses, while leveraging FOMO and the year-end holidays to drive urgency.
Execution
The full-funnel “See Different” campaign leveraged strong existing awareness, inspired desire and urgency through virtual experiences, and drove traffic to Nreal’s Amazon page.
First, whether on a couch, a bus, or a plane, people could try out Nreal Air’s AR experience for themselves through a web-based smartphone app. No purchase required. Users discovered multiple, massive virtual screens hanging in the air around them, without even having to stand up. For many, it would have been their first experience of AR glasses. The pre-launch Web XR experience was just a taster, however.
From launch day (Sept 27, 2022) onward, we leveraged PR and influencer marketing to double down on expounding Nreal Air’s everyday use cases and third-party device compatibility – especially as the first AR headset to be Apple-compatible. A battalion of nearly 100 influencers put the device through its paces across Twitter, YouTube (inc. Shorts), Instagram and TikTok.
Thereafter, we maintained a steady drumbeat of digital ads, email marketing, satellite media tours on TV and radio, gift guide coverage, and more. Retargeting early adopters, we encouraged them not to wait years for Apple’s AR glasses, when they can ‘See Different’ right now, for less than the lowest-priced iPhone.
Results
Sales target exceeded by 130%
First batch of units sold out in 9 days
#1 smartphone-connected product on Amazon
56k people tried out Nreal’s WebXR experience
17M influencer video views
Site traffic up 220% during campaign
Twitter impressions rose 550% and engagement rose 4x
Dozens of tier-one media coverage, including: ARPost, Apple Insider, Ars Technica, DNYUZ, Digital Trends, Engadget, Financial Times, Forbes, game-news24, GBA Temp, Lifewire, Mixed News, MSN, Protocol, Review Geek, TechRadar, The Verge, Tom's Hardware, Venturebeat, XDA Developer, Yahoo News.
Widespread gift guide coverage in the run up to the holidays, including: GamePolar, HubPages, IGN (Sponsored), Inverse (Input Mag), KnowTechie, NewsBrig, PC Gamer (Sponsored), Polygon, RoxxCloud, SlashGear, South China Morning Post, Tech We Like, The Gadgeteer, Tom's Hardware, TurboFuture, Variety (Sponsored), Yahoo.
Not only did Nreal show AR glasses are ready for the consumer market, US consumers showed they’re ready for AR too, even if Apple isn’t. US consumers engaged with the See Different campaign en masse, across Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and more, indicating a groundswell of demand for AR that even Nreal hadn’t expected.
Nreal has raised the bar for affordable AR, while the big tech giants continue to fail to get their products to market at all. It’s now time for the AR industry to See Different too when it comes to the mass-market potential of AR glasses.
Innovation/Creativity
Most US consumers had no idea that you can buy affordable AR glasses right now, or even what you can do with them. That’s mainly because the likes of Apple haven’t readied the market, as they continually delay their own AR device launches.
So, Nreal stepped up instead, educating and inspiring consumers with the full-funnel “See Different” campaign in September 2022. Nreal celebrated how it had beat Apple to the punch, and invited consumers to experience exactly how AR can fit into their everyday, on-the-go lifestyles, today. Hence the tagline “Go Ahead, You’ll See.” And it all kicked off with a smartphone-based WebXR virtual try on, to let consumers get hands-on with the device without spending a cent, or even leaving the couch.
And it worked. In fact, Nreal was surprised by the voracity of demand among the US’ early adopters. Consumers’ pent up demand surged into view in response to the See Different campaign.
In 2022, Nreal shipped 100k units of its AR glasses globally - and 21k in the US alone - a major feat for an early-to-market product launch in a nascent category.
That unexpected demand has led the brand to more than quadruple its US sales targets for 2023 and massively ramp up production.
It’s now time for the AR industry to See Different too when it comes to the mass-market potential of AR glasses.
Additional comments
Apple has dragged its feet for years to bring a consumer-ready AR glasses device to market. Nreal wasn’t going to wait for the big brands to prep the market. Nreal put its money where its mouth is. It created an online WebXR app for consumers to experience AR glasses with a virtual try on. The brand also lined up hours of online content to educate consumers on what AR can bring to their daily lives. Different from its larger competitors, who can’t get their tech to market, and its smaller competitors, who just push products, Nreal has committed to educating and expanding the market, so everyone can gain access to AR, and See Different.
