A recent Snap study found that 94% of respondents expect to use AR for shopping purposes as much as or more in 2022 compared with 2021.
Ad giant WPP has collaborated with Snap Inc. to form The AR Lab – a global partnership that is aimed at helping brands incorporate augmented reality capabilities to offer immersive experiences for their customers. The Lab will primarily focus on ecommerce while combining Snap’s AR technology with WPP’s integrated capabilities across creative, media, commerce and technology.
WPP will work to develop new products for Snap, such as the Snapchat Trends tool. Snapchat’s parent company will also grant WPP access to its custom AR Lab Strategy Guide, which details optimum practices to make the best use of Snap’s AR technology. Similarly, Snap will enable WPP clients to engage with their customers more meaningfully on Snapchat.
A dedicated team from Snap will work on a training program for AR technology and products at the AR Lab Academy. The team will work on creating a structured learning and development curriculum, to certify about 1,000 WPP employees by the end of this year. In order to bring innovative AR experiences on Snapchat at scale, Snap will also sponsor a quarterly AR production competition for WPP clients in key markets like the UK, US and Australia.
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