One of the perks of augmented reality (AR) is that it has given consumers the opportunity to try before they buy from the comfort of their couches, an ability that has become a major selling point for numerous brands across the fashion space who have deployed the strategy in effort to reach a wider audience.  

Still, the tech, which has become popularized in part by social media platforms like Snap, could have limitations when it comes to replicating the in-person try-on experience. It might be that the colors are a little off, the placement isn’t exact or doesn’t follow movements in the camera as it should, or that it ultimately just doesn't look right. Such concerns could keep high-end brands from leveraging AR for virtual try-ons, though a recent effort from Christian Dior Couture could indicate that those brands aren’t shying away.  

As part of its “Rose des Vents” campaign, Christian Dior Couture experimented with a virtual try-on (VTO) format in four markets including the United States, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan. The experience was developed through a collaboration between Perfect Corp. and global media platform Teads and allowed consumers to try on earrings virtually on their smartphones without leaving a publisher’s website.

“The earrings they were using retailed between $5,000 and $15,000,” said Rachid Ait Addi, senior vice president of strategic accounts at Teads. “The ad experience and user experience needed to be excellent.” 

Using the VTO format, Christian Dior saw a 43% increase in advertising recall and a 62% increase in brand linkage compared to traditional video formats used by the brand, according to results from the effort conducted with Kantar Profiles. Meanwhile, engagement with the advertisement saw growth, including a 12% rise in users who indicated that they were eager to share their experience and a 36% lift in purchase intent. The campaign ran from July through August of last year. 

Perhaps most importantly, the campaign has positively impacted Christian Dior’s brand perception, indicated by a 17% increase in respondents recognizing the brand as premium. 

“For us, that was the best KPI we could have wished for because they want to be seen as premium in everything they do,” Ait Addi said. “And video can be seen as gimmicky sometimes, and that’s nothing Christian Dior wants.” 

In the U.S., the campaign leveraged Teads’ optimized VTO assets and saw a boost in brand awareness. The activation drove a user engagement rate of 0.23% and the campaign saw an 11.25% click-through-rate post-AR activation.  

“The battle for attention being the core focus nowadays, we truly believe Teads’ innovative solution helps to increase online brand engagement and encourage future purchases,” according to a statement attributed to the brand. “This campaign has enabled us to offer an immersive experience to our audience and to achieve our objectives, both in terms of engagement and brand awareness.”  

Tailored for luxury

The success of the VTO activation is attributable to one main attribute: control. By virtue of controlling every aspect of the experience, from how the VTO operated to the way it looked to where it appeared, Teads could ensure the experience was delivered at the quality levels Dior required.  

For instance, working with big names like Condé Nast and other high-end publishers — and ensuring that the users remained on those publishers’ sites rather than being taken to a social network where the content could not be controlled — guaranteed that the brand’s experience would remain tied to the high-end content it desired.  

“Taking it out of the social platforms and putting it into quality journalism within articles is giving it so much more quality and luxury and connection with the consumers,” said Lily Givoni, head of luxury at Teads. “This is running in your traditional ad slot, the environment is curated and your content is curated.” 

Similarly, by developing the technology for the activation in-house, Teads could ensure the earrings in the advertisement looked as they would in the store, not just in color and shine, but also fit. The end result was to ensure that trying the earrings on virtually would offer an experience as close as possible to putting them on in-person. 

“Making sure that the earring colors were identical to those that were showcased on the website makes for a seamless ad experience, but also for a seamless consumer experience,” said Givoni. “Also, making sure the earrings were placed properly on the ears. It seems basic but it’s actually hard to do.” 

Moving forward, the brand and the media platform remain optimistic. Teads and Dior are working on other projects, including those in the world of cosmetics, where the importance of color matching is vitally important, Givoni explained. But they’re also thinking about other areas that might be primed for innovation. 

“What we’ve been thinking about is where do we go from here?” said Givoni. “How do we put fragrance on the internet? How do you evoke emotion to be able to smell? That’s something I think a lot about.”