Facebook will use AR capabilities for Messenger app advertisements
Facebook Inc.’s Messenger app debuted an augmented reality feature on Tuesday that allows users to view goods they are paying for as if they already had them, such as a car parked in a driveway, in an effort to draw in potential advertisers.
Even though smartphone messaging apps aren’t usually known for displaying ads, Facebook asserts that targeting the 1.3 billion users of its Messenger service with ads will be a crucial component of the company’s long-term income expansion.
Silicon Valley tech giants are making significant investments in augmented reality, a combination of the real and virtual worlds made popular by the video game Pokemon Go.
At a tech conference that begins on Tuesday, Facebook is releasing a new toolkit for software developers to create augmented reality capabilities.
Facebook Messenger’s founder, David Marcus, said in an interview that users would be able to browse and maybe test out items that sponsors have made accessible. Sephora is among the first businesses to provide the feature, which enables users to virtually try on cosmetics.
Similar augmented reality features, such as the ability to view how a couch or toaster may look in a space, have been widely accessible on the applications of companies such as Ikea and Amazon.com Inc.
Facebook, the largest social media network globally, has been pressuring businesses to adopt Messenger for customer service and communication.
Marcus claims that businesses using Messenger help Facebook’s advertising division. In addition to offering Messenger conversation-connecting advertising in its News Feed, Facebook allows advertisers to post direct ads within the app. Marcus compared the News Feed and Messenger to a flywheel-style feedback loop for ad revenue.
The four firms involved in the launch are Nike Inc., an apparel company, Sephora, a branch of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, Asustek Computer Inc., an electronics corporation, and Kia Motors Corp.
Another messaging programme owned by Facebook that has pledged to eliminate advertising is WhatsApp, which has over a billion users. WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum made his exit known on Monday. The Washington Post claims that he is opposed to advertising and that differences played a factor in his decision to take this step.
Marcus expressed his doubt that Messenger users would become bored with the advertisements. Users must actively join up for the service in order to communicate with businesses. He says that people truly find it useful.
Businesses may engage with Messenger through many means, including as automated chatbots that can reply to inquiries from customers. Marcus claims that there are 300,000 bots on Messenger, which is three times the number that existed a year prior.
