Augmented Reality

I was sitting to day delving into my own skills and working on some innovation task force work when I was reminded of the minority report. How far away are we from the level of technology they feature in this film and the ability to target messages to the individual as they walk past? Not so far it seems. I was reading some articles on augmented reality and location based advertising and it all seems so close. Ok so it may not be using iris recognition although this, I think, isn't far off particularly if the government eventually gets to go ahead with ID cards and the mainstream introduction of Iris Recognition in airports as security measures. Thinking about it we do draw a lot from utilising individual data captured for other reasons. I know people see this as becoming a big brother nation but really we draw entertainment from more and more reality TV and... there is such an issue over spam and unrelated advertising that surely this level of data and targeting will allow the advertiser to sift out and desensitise individuals by simply avoiding advertising to people who may not wish to see certain adverts.

Anyway that is off the subject of what I was intending to write about. Augmented reality was what I was talking about, with the increased use of touch screen and GPS to achieve this. Already we have iphone apps to show us where the nearest tube station is in London and also there is the development of google maps street view. How long is it before we no longer see a 2D image of anything? Before we actually don't see blueprints of an architects design or website map but see a 3D augmented reality version of it? Already Ikea is utilising new technology to try before you buy and Virgin Media is one of the risk taking brands trying out this not so new but developing technology.

Working in recruitment advertising I am trying to see how we can apply this. Perhaps it brings more power back to the applicant that the client now needs to pander to. How long before when applying for a job you expect to have a tour of the office on your computer screen? I don't mean just a video tour I mean actually seeing what it would be like and have an experiential day there without leaving your house. For engineering roles how long before we start using Wii technology to actually get graduates to do the job without the potential damage of ruining a project or making a major mistake?

Unless the recruitment advertising world starts to innovate and find clients with enough balls and money to take a risk more and more clients are going to go down the McDonalds route and get a commercial agency to take on their recruitment and employer branding business.

With product and commercial inevitably ahead of recruitment advertising agency it may become a dying sector. Augmented reality, virtual, touch screen, technological dominance are inevitable right?

Unless we start to pick up speed or leapfrog commercial agencies in the digital world it could become a major issue to survive. Another possible direction may be the specialisation and fragmentation of the sector the same way in which commercial advertising agencies have gone with brands now outsourcing social media, employer branding to one agency, web design to another, PR to another, direct marketing to another, media buying to another? Do we need to specialise or can we continue to attempt to achieve the once strived for and talked about integrated marketing agency?

Or when is that high flyers and innovators start to turn to advertisers to develop a brand for them? Turn to an agency to create them an online profile and brand? Give them the brand that people keep advising them to develop and protect with more and more employers scoping out a person online before a decision is made. Lets face it even in real life when we meet new people we rarely ask for a number or an email, the question is.. are you on facebook? Ok I'll find you!

Be online or be lost?!