Editor’s Note: While social media is currently all the rage, it would be folly for us to make this technology our sole focus.  This is because a range of new technologies are rapidly growing in mindshare and uptake.  In an effort to prevent health marketers from being blindsided by the next leap in marketing technology, we have asked Sven Larsen, Chief Marketing Officer of Zemoga, to provide a sneak peek at what’s coming up the pike.  Zemoga is an an award-winning digital innovation firm that specializes in the creation of meaningful and engaging interactive experiences and applications.

From time to time, we’ll feature a few guest posts from Larsen on a range of new technologies.  His first essay focuses on Augmented Reality.  You can learn more about Augmented Reality (and other marketing technologies/strategies) at our new knowledge community, Living the Path, by clicking here.

BY SVEN LARSEN

Have you heard of Augmented Reality?

It’s been used in popular campaigns by iconic consumer brands like Coca Cola, Frito-Lay and McDonalds. It’s been featured on the covers of well-known magazines like Popular Science and Esquire. And it’s about to be the subject of a multi-million dollar film called Avatar (from Titanic director James Cameron). There’s no doubt about it. Augmented Reality (or AR) is one of the hottest emerging technologies of 2009.

But why should pharmaceutical companies, non-profits and other health organizations care? How can this new technology help them better educate and inform consumers and healthcare professionals?

To answer that question, we need to start with an explanation about how AR works.

The technical definition of augmented reality is the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio and other sense enhancements over a real-world environment displayed in real-time.  What this means for consumers is the ability to interact with a brand’s imaginary world in an entirely new and compelling way. AR uses Flash technology and a user’s webcam (either on a computer or mobile phone) to create 3D images that superimpose themselves on the real world environment displayed on screen.

Though AR has invaded the pop culture world of popular consumer brands and magazines, our company, Zemoga began by demonstrating the successful use of AR as a tool for education and instruction in the medical/pharmaceutical industry.  “We built the prototype of a human heart and could visually demonstrate in a dynamic 3D environment the effect a new drug would have on the heart,” explained Zemoga CEO and co-founder, DJ Edgerton.  “For medical devices such as inhalers or pacemakers, we created augmented reality versions of those devices, which are the perfect tools to clearly convey precisely how that device would operate.”

But AR uses don’t stop with consumer education. Companies have already begun developing mobile applications that provide useful information like the location of the nearest subway stop. Pharma companies and health organizations could take this a step further and create applications that display the nearest location for a patient to get a prescription filled or tested for HIV.

In addition to patient use, AR holds tremendous potential for assisting healthcare professionals with complex tasks. As the Wikipedia entry on Augmented reality notes “ … surgery can be simplified by inserting additional information into the field of view. AR can include images of hidden objects, which can be particularly effective for medical diagnostics or surgery. Examples include a virtual X-ray view based on prior tomography or on real time images from ultrasound or open NMR devices. A doctor could observe the fetus inside the mother’s womb.” Students could also observe procedures via video feed, with AR providing annotations and displays of relevant objects in real-time.

Like all new technologies, Augmented Reality will go through a phase of popular uptake. As companies rush to get on the AR bandwagon we will see a lot of projects developed for a “wow factor” but without much practical use. However, true visionaries will be able to see past the “bells and whistles” and develop applications that will provide real value to patients and healthcare professionals alike.

How do you plan to incorporate this new tool in to your digital strategies, public health campaigns and social marketing initiatives? How can AR benefit your customers, stakeholders and their families?

Image Source: Edopter

Read More from Walking the Path:

1. Why Non-Pharma Marketers Should Care About the FDA Public Hearing on Drug Promotion & Social Media
2. Where’s the Beef? The Need for Evidence and Systems-Change in the Health IT Movement
3. How Ángel González is Leveraging Community and Collaboration to Push Europe into the Social Age