WebAR has helped to shift the technology landscape, bringing immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences directly to consumers via the mobile web. With over 3.5 billion smartphones worldwide, WebAR offers unparalleled reach - and brands have responded by making AR a part of their growth strategies.

WebAR continues to take the world by storm, both in the retail sector and as a tool for brands to augment their marketing, packaging, or internal learning and development strategies over the coming years. From big names like Motorola to Octopus Energy, opportunities are expansive for companies that want to explore the many ways WebAR can help them reach their audience.

So, what can you do with WebAR?  Check out our list of top WebAR experiences of 2021, updated throughout the year:

WebAR for Marketing: Darabase - Octopus Immersivans

 

Objective: To bring existing Octopus Energy vans to life using WebAR while giving their customers a chance to meet their Octopus mascot, Constantine.

In January, Octopus Energy wanted to create a fun easter egg experience that their employees could share with their customers during service visits. By scanning a QR code, customers can point their phones at the Octopus Energy van and watch as the side tears away to reveal an aquarium scene, with Constantine the Octopus controlling the van with levers and pulleys. Customers can also take an underwater selfie with Constantine, which they can share on social media.

 

WebAR for Retail: Happy Feet - Learn About Your Foot Size

 

Objective: To engage with new and existing customers during a brand relaunch.

Web AR is a powerful tool for retail activations - for example, Payless wanted to use WebAR to make it fun for kids to have their feet measured at home and in-store. Kids (with the help of a parent!) can measure their feet using the shoe-sizer tool, and take the AR quiz to find out which animal shares the same foot size. They can then take a selfie with their animal pal, and see shoes that fit on the Payless website.

WebAR for Print: Promethean - Spiritz Cover

 

 

Objective: To enhance the experience of magazine subscribers with surprise and delight AR content.

Zapworks agency partner Promethean developed this WebAR experience for the December edition of Spiritz Magazine. Every print of 2020’s final edition had a QR code on the cover which launched a WebAR experience, revealing facts about the alcobev industry.

WebAR for Retail: Motorola One 5G Ace - WebAR Salestool

 

 

Objective: To help shoppers and employees visualise the new Motorola phone. 

For the launch of their new phone, we teamed up with Motorola to create an experience around the new Motorola One 5G Ace. An instant world-tracked model of the phone can be placed in the room through WebAR, revealing the key selling points of the phone (including its design and camera quality).

WebAR for Print: Virtual Method - News Corp Australia Wildlife AR Showcase

 

 

Objective: To engage users and inspire climate action.

Zapworks users, Virtual Method, created this WebAR experience for News Corp in Australia. Using Zapworks new cloud image look-up function and instant tracking, the experience transforms the book’s double-page spread into an interactive experience, engaging users and teaching them about wildlife.

 

WebAR for Retail: Rovio x Burger King - Egg Attack

 

 

Objective: To bring Burger King and Rovio together to deliver furious family fun.

The Zappar Creative Studio, Rovio, and Burger King joined forces on this wacky WebAR experience centered around the Angry Birds franchise. Egg Attack could be accessed at participating Burger King restaurants, and featured a whole host of face- and world-tracked interactive games, all from within your mobile browser.

 

WebAR for Retail: Curious Company x The North Face - Vectiv Shoe Line

 

 

Objective: To bring the North Face's new shoe line to life for customers.

Zapworks user Curious Company built this WebAR experience, wherein users are able to place shoes from the North Face's Vectiv product line within the world, admiring them from all angles, and learning more about their USPs.

 

WebAR for Retail: Kings Hawaiian - Guy Fieri Flavortown experience

 

 

Objective: To generate customer loyalty and bring more foot traffic into brick-and-mortar stores.

Kings Hawaiian recently partnered up with Guy Fieri, and created a Custom WebAR experience to celebrate that partnership. By scanning codes in participating King's Hawaiian stores, users can unlock a virtual Flavortown, full of interactive games that deliver real-life prizes. It's like a rewards scheme and a video game all in one.

 

WebAR for Retail: Phantom - Mytheresa x Christian Louboutin 

 

 

Objective: Promote Christian Louboutin's new shoe line and enhance the online shopping experience.

Immersive agency Phantom used our Zapworks toolkit to deliver this WebAR experience that's all about high-end fashion. Users can place 3D versions of Christian Louboutin shoes into the real world and see every angle of them, without ever leaving the Mytheresa website.

 

WebAR for Retail: Happy Egg - Happy Island Egg Hunt

 

 

Objective: To engage customers and encourage brand loyalty.

Happy Egg teamed up with the Zappar Creative Studio to build a WebAR experience that's all about whimsy, fun, and rewarding loyal customers. By scanning the QR code on Happy Egg packaging, users are transported to Happy Island, where they can participate in a virtual scavenger hunt, winning real-life prizes along the way.

How to create your own Web AR experiences

Want to start creating your own WebAR experiences? Good news - you don’t need to be a coder to start augmenting reality. Our Zapworks tools match all skill sets and backgrounds, whether you’d prefer a simple, no-code experience with Designer, or want to craft a full 3D project with Studio. For the more technical among us, Universal AR gives developers access to a unified suite of SDKs that help them create best-in-class Web AR experiences using the powerful render engines of Unity, three.js and React + three.js.

Get Started

If this list has inspired you to get creative, then our Zapworks toolkit has everything you need to create innovative image, face and instant world tracked WebAR experiences that deliver real value. 

If you've got an AR experience you’d like to share, please do send your project to us via marketing@zappar.com. Likewise, if you'd like to partner with Zappar to create best-in-class AR and WebAR experiences like this, then we’d love to hear from you.