AR&Co won the Best Campaign category for the creation of augmented reality (AR) technology to support sales of a powdered milk brand in Vietnam.

“The AWE is like the Oscars of the creative industry in the field of augmented reality. We don’t think one can win the best campaign two times,” AR&Co cofounder Peter Shearer said as quoted by tempo.co on Monday.

The AWE includes conferences and exhibitions regarding augmented reality. It is routinely organized in Silicon Valley, the hub of technology and the creative industry, to introduce the latest technological advancements such as virtual reality (VR), AR and other ready-made technology. 

AR represents a breakthrough in technology in Indonesia. It presents a display that looks exactly like the real world by adding elements such as computer-generated sensory inputs like audio, video, photos or global positioning system (GPS) data.

“AR is different from virtual reality, though. AR aims to add information and meaning to an object or a place through the application,” said Shearer.

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Last year, Shearer and his friends won an award in the same category thanks to their creative work on the Nigerian presidential campaign. With a touch of AR technology, presidential candidate Muhammadu Bihari from Nigeria’s Progressive Congress (APC) opposition party won the presidential election in 2015. 

“We introduced the campaign to the youth of Nigeria via augmented reality as the presidential candidate is already 72 years old,” said Shearer.

Simply by pointing a smartphone or other device at the party’s logo, the figure of Muhammadu Bihari would appear to explain the APC’s vision and mission. Consequently, the technology has been booming, creating lively discussion among Nigerian teens on social media.

This year, AR&Co won an award for innovation with cow and pilot characters flying and distributing powdered milk throughout Vietnam. 

“Their sales have increased by 19 percent thanks to our new interactive technology,” said AR&Co project manager Juliwina. 

Established in 2009, the company has an office in Jakarta as well as branches in Manila, Barcelona, Singapore and Silicon Valley. 

“Our company already has a formal license from Disney, the Cartoon Network and the producer of the film Transformers to share their projects with us,” said Shearer. (jan/kes)

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