SHU Professor Awarded Grant to Study Augmented Reality

Entertaining AR filters offer a creative approach to selling products

The American Academy of Advertising awarded Shiyun “Chloe” Tian, assistant professor of marketing in Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch College of Business & Technology, a research fellowship grant to study potential uses of augmented reality (AR) in advertising.

Augmented reality is an interactive experience that combines computer-generated content with the real world, for example allowing people to upload a picture of their kitchen or scan their kitchen directly and see how a company’s new paint will look on their walls. Tian’s study is called, “Bridging Intangibility via Augmented Reality: Unraveling the Role of Situatedness, Embodied Control and Contextual Congruence.”

With people multitasking and simultaneously using multiple screens—such as a television and smartphone—it has become difficult for advertisers to catch customers’ attention. “As marketers, we want to design advertising that customers find engaging, fun and useful,” said Tian.

Engagement is especially difficult when mixing traditional advertising with online shopping. “It’s difficult for customers to imagine how the product looks in home settings or how a clothing item fits them because they cannot see and touch that tangible item. There’s an imagination gap in the consumer’s mind,” Tian said.

Her research focuses on using augmented reality to bridge that imagination gap. While a specialized headset is required to access virtual reality, anyone with a smartphone can access AR. “Augmented reality is about placing advertised products as virtual elements into the consumer’s physical environment, including on their own bodies.” Instead of going to the store, consumers can stay home and virtually try on sunglasses, for example.

Tian points to the success of Taco Bell’s 2016 Cinco de Mayo Snapchat filter campaign, which let people see what they would look like as a taco. Adweek reported that the campaign resulted in 224 million views in one day. “Turning your face into a taco sparked a sense of enjoyment and fun,” said Tian. “Marketers want to try AR, but there is the criticism that AR campaigns are shallow and entertainment-based.”

She continued, “The technology is still new, and we want to demonstrate the benefits that AR can bring to the advertising industry.” She said augmented reality offers marketers an opportunity to engage consumers on a personal and practical level.

Study participants will take part in two experiments in which they will see different examples of AR, and their responses will be measured. Tian is looking for participants for in-person sessions. Anyone interested may email her at tians@sacredheart.edu.