How Digital Technologies Reshape and Transform Marketing: The Participation of Augmented Reality in Brand Loyalty Building

Abstract

Since the 21st century, the environment in which enterprises operate has witnessed the rapid development of digital technologies [1], such as AI, IoT, etc, and these disruptive technologies have gradually participated in business operational activities as well as value creation approaches. Among these state-of-the-art technologies, Augmented Reality (AR) has gradually become a popular tool with powerful interactivity features to alter physical surroundings with superimposed virtual elements [2]. Simultaneously, with the popularity of digital marketing and the rising strategic value of brand loyalty in the digital era, the impact of augmented reality on both is also gaining increasing attention. This paper analyses the application prospect of AR technology in brand building based on the brand loyalty model and digital marketing framework, and thus explores how to leverage the capabilities of AR to optimise brand loyalty building. On the one hand, the interactive features of AR allow novel products to reach targeted potential customers in a more direct way via ubiquitous mobile devices and thus efficiently drive brand awareness in the early stages of marketing. On the other hand, AR could aid marketers in developing long-term customers by optimizing ongoing engagement after the initial purchase. Moreover, the ethic of AR in marketing, especially data security and privacy protection is also covered in this paper. Overall, although the benign interaction between AR and digital marketing discussed in this article is only a microcosm of digital transformation within organizations, the application opportunities and challenges discovered not only provide directions for smooth adoption of AR technology in practice, but offer novel insights into the research on adjustment of organizational activities under digital transformation.