WebAR making vandalised mural accessible to everyone

Technology presents opportunities for savvy marketers

The controversial Luke Cornish mural at Bondi Beach
The controversial Luke Cornish mural at Bondi Beach

Immersive technology company, Unbnd, has immortalised a controversial mural using augmented reality technology, opening up a wide variety of opportunities for marketers. 

Recent work by Archibald-nominated artist, Luke Cornish, is at the centre of a debate around Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers. Cornish’s mural on a Bondi Beach seawall depicts 24 armed Australian Border Force officers standing under the words “(Not) Welcome to Bondi,” to represent the number of suicides in Australian detention centres since 2010. The work was defaced by vandals hours after Waverley Council voted against calls to remove it. 

As a way to preserve the original meaning of the artwork, Unbnd has employed its WebAR technology to capture it digitally. By setting up a URL, Unbnd has enabled people visiting the vandalised mural to hold up their phones and view the original artwork in augmented reality (AR). Because WebAR eliminates the need to use an app for AR, the technology can bring the mural back to life simply by using the browser on a mobile device.

Unbnd specialises in AR, WebAR, SocialAR, virtual reality and interactive projections.

“This is a prime example of how WebAR can immortalise the intended meaning of an idea, concept or message and make it accessible to anyone with a smartphone,” said Unbnd managing director, David Loughnan. “Not only does this open up huge possibilities for artists, communities, individuals and brands to bring powerful messages to life and communicate them at scale, it paints a picture of the future of augmented reality and how it can be used beyond novel applications. 

“With older AR, you had to download an app. WebAR is new tech, and while it is still in its infancy, it means you can click on a URL to open up your camera and view the AR. It essentially democratises AR and allows it to scale. Downloading an app is a huge barrier for marketing." 

Loughnan saw plenty of opportunity for marketers to provide more immersive experiences for customers using the technology, but said it's also a driver for the conversions piece.

"You can attach promotional codes, and connect online and offline assets. For out-of-home in general, it will be a big disruptor and offer many creative opportunities," he claimed. “AR experiences put into contextual environments drive visualisation and emotional connection with a product."

Unbnd's plans are to take AR, voice and artificial intelligence (AI) and converge the three to serve relevant information in immersive way. This could include behavioural and location details.

"It also allows us prove ROI, it’s cost effective, and because it’s on the web we can attach a whole heap of metrics around it,” he told CMO

Meanwhile, the WebAR experience will not only make Cornish's artwork accessible to those who didn’t get a chance to see it, but will also ensure the message lives on. Cornish himself believes a measured and less reactive response is essential, a sentiment he delivered to his Instagram community yesterday.

“A lot of people have asked me how I’m going to respond to the vandalism of my Bondi mural, and this is something that I've needed to be smart and mature about. You don't respond to vandalism or censorship, you react to it, and reacting will only draw me into a tit for tat fight about a topic I'm not interested in fighting about, freedom of speech, something I already have, unquestionably,” he stated on the social site.

“After giving it much thought, I've decided the most progressive way to move forward, and leave this behind, is by implementing an augmented reality feature of the mural, which anybody with a mobile phone, can hold up, and view the mural, as it was intended to be seen, any time, forever. Thanks to the team at Unbnd, passersby can now hold up their phone to the wall and experience the original artwork." 

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, follow our regular updates via CMO Australia's Linkedin company page, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia. 

 

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in