Last week, we posted a question: Does AR have a measurement problem? In short, AR marketing is so new that it hasn’t developed native metrics. That plus brand marketers’ comfort with existing metrics draws them towards established analytics like clicks and impressions.

But the issue is that those metrics were made for different formats, including online display and search ads. As such, they don’t do justice to AR’s unique abilities, including deeper depth of engagement. That depth can lead to favorable outcomes like brand awareness and conversions.

But one metric that’s starting to emerge to better evaluate AR is dwell time. It’s showing strong early signs which in turn signals AR’s depth of engagement. This experiential depth and lasting impression (e.g., brand recall) are common and longstanding objectives for brand marketers.

So for this week’s report excerpt, we’re spotlighting a few case studies from ARtillery Intelligence’s recent report, AR Marketing Best Practices and Case Studies, Vol 2. We’ve pulled a few case studies that specifically demonstrate AR’s ability to drive favorable dwell times.

When reading these mini case studies, keep in mind that AR campaign dwell times — often exceeding 1 minute — compare to online video ads that average about 20 seconds.

For the release of its “Later Years,” boxed set, legendary rock band Pink Floyd included an AR companion experience. Working with agency Draw & Code and utilizing 8th Wall’s technology, the goal was an AR experience that brought the band’s iconic album art to life.

Beyond that high-level objective, tactical goals included making the experience frictionless. This was achieved by choosing web AR as the vessel (8th Wall’s specialty). More details and dynamics of web AR can also be seen in ARtillery Intelligence’s recent web AR report.

As for the AR experience, fans could place Pink Floyd 3D album artwork in the physical spaces around them. True to the subject, additional dimension and immersion were achieved through sound — naturally, Pink Floyd songs. Fans could also record and share experiences.

And the results? The web AR experience attracted tens of thousands of users across 140 countries in the first week alone. Cumulatively, it saw more than 76,000 user sessions. Back to the focus of this article, it also boasted an average dwell time of 1 minute and 47 seconds.

As noted above, this compares with online video — the closest benchmark in multimedia brand marketing — which averages 20 seconds. Beyond these metrics, the campaign won a silver medal in the 2020 Telly Awards, and finalist-standing in the 2020 Auggie Awards for Best Campaign.

Moving on to the second case study, Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank launched a web AR campaign that let users send virtual flower bouquets on International Women’s Day. The campaign was created and executed with the help of 8th Wall and agencies Mosaic and Hyper Reality.

The web AR experience was promoted through high-reach traditional media channels including a TV spot, direct mail, and email blast. These channels instructed users to customize and send virtual flowers — applying an omnichannel approach that brought high-reach advantages.

Upon reception through SMS, social media, or email, the gift receiver could then tap to accept, after which 3D flowers would appear in their space. This also came with instructions for quickly activating the camera and holding up one’s phone to see the AR experience.

Altogether, the campaign offered the serendipity of receiving flowers, omnichannel distribution (as noted), clear user instructions, and easy sharing through familiar channels. The latter is a key success factor for AR as the medium is still early and sometimes needs a viral nudge.

And the results? Sberbank achieved one-million user sessions in the first two weeks of the campaign, with an average dwell time of 1 minute and 18 seconds. Of the hundreds of thousands of bouquets created, 94 percent were shared through social channels.

We’ll pause there and circle back next week with Part II of this article, examining two more AR marketing campaigns that achieved high dwell times… Header image credit: Pink Floyd

Is Dwell Time AR’s Next Performance Metric? was originally published in AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.