Have you ever wanted to design your own sneaker? In Nike’s latest marketing campaign for AirMax sneakers, users can see their own designs come to life in 3D digital renderings thanks to AR technology.

How does it work? In Japan, Nike circulated 1,000 copies of its 56-page Create with AirMax magazine, featuring black and white coloring pages of its new AirMax sneaker. Users can simply color in their designs, and then scan a QR code on the page with a mobile phone or other smart device, and voilà! Users can then watch their vision come to life in 3-D on their mobile device screen in AR rendering.

Piquing interest, driving engagement

The campaign not only drives engagement by encouraging user interaction, but it also allows Nike to broaden its reach. Users can share animations of their designs on social media, increasing the campaign’s potential for viewership.

But it certainly isn’t the legendary brand’s first foray into AR territory – as the Mobile Marketer notes:

The company in May set up a microsite for customers in Brazil to visit before raising their phones to the sky to see an AR cloud shaped like an Air Max sneaker. After finding the cloud, mobile users were given a chance to unlock content including exclusive music videos, tracks and interviews with celebrity performers. Last year, Nike launched a mobile-based campaign that urged people to visit sites throughout São Paulo featuring graffiti artworks painted with Air Max shoes. The “Graffiti Stores” used geolocation technology to verify that mobile users were nearby the artworks, and gave shoppers a chance to buy new Air Max models before they were available in stores.

Learn more about AR in marketing

With lockdown restrictions continuing to limit retail environments, many brands are implementing creative strategies to engage consumers and simulate products.

Interested in learning more about the growth of augmented reality and virtual reality technology usage in marketing in 2020? Check out our post Virtual reality takes center stage as retailers adapt to COVID-19.