Notes On is a weekly column inviting our community to explore a topic they believe is shaping Europe’s digital industries. In this edition, Romano Casellini, Founder & Director of ROCANI studio, shares what it will take to make the most of VR and AR technologies—with examples of which companies are doing it well.
This op-ed has been edited for clarity.
By Romano Casellini
“AR is poised to revolutionise traditional media. What was once a static poster can now become an interactive canvas.”
In 2024, the short-lived hype around Apple’s Vision Pro momentarily catapulted spatial computing into mainstream conversations. Although VR devices like Meta Quest have been around, their appeal is mostly limited to gaming and education. Despite these use cases, VR’s widespread adoption still faces significant hurdles due to the clunky and costly nature of the hardware.
Yet, a significant and often overlooked element in this spatial debate is the AR-ready device in our pocket — our smartphones. These little supercomputers are already seamlessly integrating augmented reality into our daily routines through social apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, as well as through WebAR accessible via browsers. This integration suggests that the future of immersive technology is already here and ready to be woven into the fabric of our daily digital experiences.
AR enhances rather than isolates, blending digital enhancements with our physical world. A total eye-opener for us was our collaboration with Highsnobiety and Coke on their Euro 2024 merch collection. By scanning a QR code on the merchandise and pointing your phone at the Coke logo, a portal opens, revealing seven lucky charms and a scrollable lookbook, adding an additional spatial dimension and value for both the user and the brand.
With a similar approach, AR is poised to revolutionise traditional media. What was once a static poster can now become an interactive canvas. By simply adding a QR code to a poster, users can unlock additional videos or storytelling elements through their phones. This capability transforms ordinary media into dynamic experiences that can drive traffic and engage audiences more deeply than ever before. The trend of FOOH (fake out of home), where 3D objects are rendered upon real-life footage for social content, is showcasing beautifully how far this could be pushed.
Furthermore, the recent collaboration between Ines Alpha and Studio Halia introduced a beautiful wearable that activates a dynamic, highly customizable face mask, illustrating how AR can enhance digital identities and personal expression in our age of content. Just imagine a future where we have AR-integrated sunglasses revealing the digital identities of fellow earthlings.
As we look forward, integrating AR into marketing and storytelling will depend on our ability to educate and innovate. Understanding both the technological capabilities and the audience’s needs will enable us to harness AR’s full potential turning every surface into an opportunity for a spatial experience and deeper engagement.