Brief:

• Saban Brands' augmented reality (AR) mobile ad campaign for the 25th anniversary of "Power Rangers" on TV produced above-average results, according to results shared exclusively with Mobile Marketer. The "You've Got the Power" ads let fans virtually try on character helmets in a selfie through a smartphone camera, similar to the the AR masks in Snapchat and Instagram.
• The ads produced a click-through-rate (CTR) of 2.1%, 2.5 times higher than the industry benchmark of 0.08%, per the results by Vertebrae, the AR ad platform that developed Saban's campaign. The average targeted user was 26-42 years old and tried on at least two helmets in the experience, while 85% snapped at least one photo.
• The 300x250 display ad appeared in the iOS and Android versions of Forbes, Variety, Parents, Popular Science and more.

Insight:

Saban Brands' promotion for the iconic TV show's 25th anniversary aimed to appeal to mobile users through an entertaining and nostalgic feature while drumming up excitement around the show. Perhaps surprisingly, the campaign targeted mobile users between the ages of 26 and 42 — not the demographic typically seen on Snapchat and Instagram, two platforms that helped popularize AR lenses. Because of the slightly older demographic, Saban Brands' and Vertebrae smartly delivered the ad experience in publications that are more likely to be read by these consumers, such as Forbes and parenting websites. The campaign appears to have generated solid engagement, as the CTR was more than twice the industry benchmark, potentially signaling that immersive features like mobile AR aren't exclusively for tech-savvy consumers and digital natives.

The Power Rangers campaign follows a long list of TV show and movie promotions this spring for upcoming premieres. This summer's movie season has seen a major jump in the use of AR to promote new releases. Pixar's "Incredibles 2" has an AR experience on Snapchat that lets users place superhero masks on selfies, while finger taps on a smartphone screen activate various virtual superpowers. One million free copies of the second issue of Moviebill, a collectible print publication that can be scanned to activate AR experiences, were distributed last week in Regal theaters to accompany the release of Universal's "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom." Promotions for Warner Bros.'s "Rampage" and 20th Century Fox's "Deadpool 2" also included AR components.

Global spending on AR and virtual reality (VR) products and services is expected to nearly double to $27 billion this year, according to research from the International Data Corporation (IDC) cited by ZDNet. Spending on AR and VR is forecast to see a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 72% between 2017 and 2022, the researcher estimated, highlighting that marketers have just scratched the surface of what they will be able to do with immersive reality tech.