Local company gives marketing a “reality” check with AR campaigns

 
 

Re-posted from InceptionU

At InceptionU, we love a good career transition story and Alisha and Joel Olandesca certainly have one. The husband and wife team, co founders of SOS Web AR, soon to be Simpl.AR,, have overcome a number of hardships, including the pandemic, to launch their web-based augmented reality company. 

“We are really excited to build a team, start hiring people and contribute to the local economy. To build something brand new! We’re  so emotionally invested in this business that has, literally, been ten years in the making,” says Alisha.

Simpl.AR is one of InceptionU’s newest “Startups in Residence", a program that sees a local company visit the InceptionU learning space one day a week to connect, learn and mentor the Evolve full stack developer participants. 

Alisha says they love coming to the Library once a week for a variety of reasons, but mainly to connect with new junior developers.

“We are perfectly positioned to bring newcomers into our company who have basic skills. So we thought, could we take underrepresented people in tech and be a stepping stone for them before they go off and work for some big tech company? The InceptionU learners show desirable traits - a willingness to work on the long game, build something new, willing to fail - these are the people that we want!”

 
 

Previously, users had to download a separate app to access Augmented Reality features, but the SOS team began coding the AR into a web-based form, meaning anyone at an event could simply scan a QR code and experience AR. It also drastically reduced the cost of incorporating AR into marketing campaigns and experiential marketing activations.

Why AR? The Olandescas say the research speaks for itself. When you communicate content through AR, research shows:

  • a 45% increase in engagement

  • 70% increase in memory encoding

  •  60% increase in emotional intensity

Over the past 2 years, they’ve worked\ with a number of notable clients including Shell, Nascar, RBC, ConnectFirst Credit Union, WestJet, and the Calgary Zoo.

Check out this video to experience how Dinny the Dinosaur experiences Calgary and his view of the city’s skyline. This activation has been a huge hit with young visitors to the Zoo and has brought new life to Dinny, who’s been around since 1939. Now, this 84-year-old statue is a key figure at the Zoo increasing enjoyment and engagement among all ages. 

Olandesca is excited about the company’s future and is convinced that AR is not just a fad, but is here to stay as a viable business. When AR is combined with experiential marketing, the results, she says, are way more cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Consider the cost of all that company swag which eventually ends up in a landfill. Replace that with an AR experience, and you will see far more qualified sales leads come from your event budget.

SOS Web AR (soon to be Simpl.AR) works directly with brands, marketing professionals and agencies to create compelling AR campaigns. You can view more of them here: https://vimeo.com/user95425735 

With a pre-seed funding round underway and a couple of new investors, the SOS Web AR team will be one to watch. We’re thrilled to have them at InceptionU, interacting with our learners, and showing all of us that grit, determination and innovation can augment our own vision of reality and what is possible.

Joel Olandesca