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Why is hologram advertising going to go mainstream in the coming years?

We are inching towards an age where reality and immersive worlds are blurring lines. Technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality are disrupting industries with their immersive applications. But have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could watch a live football match from your living room sofa, in real-time with all the world-class players in your room while you cheer for them? Or watch your favorite action movie live, visit popular travel destinations without leaving your house? Well, all of this can happen, thanks to promising hologram technology.

Holography is a photographic technique that records the light scattered from an object and then presents it as three-dimensional. The concept of hologram first originated from sci-fi movies like Star Wars, Star Trek, Vanilla Sky, action movies like Ocean's Twelve, and superhero movies like the Iron Man series, Black Panther, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and more. In 1996 Ford Motor Company had created their machine prototype with the help of a hologram. Fast forward to today, the applications of this tech have widened with time. Now, we have holographic artists who are contributing to the technology as well as the creative process. Today, holograms are not only found in CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, ID cards, driver's licenses, and credit cards; various companies use them to help brands with their marketing campaign, data storage, artworks too.

One of the most common use cases of hologram technology is advertising. Since the advent of holograms, the landscape of the advertising industry has changed rapidly. Its high-quality, vivid displays make it a perfect addition to the existing marketing campaign mix.

The marketing brands often target the younger generation in their brand campaigns. In recent years a shift has been observed among the youngsters who now prefer brick-and-mortar stores and online shopping. According to Lumen Research, on an average, people spend 1.5 seconds on desktop, 1.25 seconds on mobile ads, and 1.72 and 1.56 seconds on static OOH and digital OOH based ads, respectively. This implies that engaging via electronic media ads will prove futile. Therefore, marketers must leverage resources that can be engaging, interactive, with a pinch of the 'wow' factor. Hologram advertising checks all these boxes.  They deliver an attention-grabbing solution, which impresses people owing to their unfamiliarity and 'coolness' factor. This is why hologram advertising can capture attention and hold the viewer's attention for as long as possible. As holographic advertising is becoming more prevalent in international markets, there has been a steady uptake in new local markets too.

This year one of the most successful and viral hologram advertising events has organized by Puma. The sportswear manufacturer experimented with a weekend-long holographic activation in Chicago to celebrate the launch of Sky Dreamer, a new silhouette of PUMA Hoops, on February 13. As part of the promotional campaign, Firefly, the street-level digital media network, outfitted its smart media displays with hologram projectors on the roof of parked vehicles located in front of several Chicago landmarks. The final projection showed a 360-degree image of the Sky Dreamer sneaker and a PUMA-branded basketball.

The benefit of hologram advertising is not limited to its eye-catching factor. It also helps enhance the viewer's understanding of the brand, creates deeper connectivity between consumers and the exposed holographic product while imprinting a long last impression about the digital signage. Further, it can also boost sales, e.g., when Coca-Cola teamed up with HYPERVSN for its hologram advertising in Mexico, it observed a 12% increase in sales.