Snapchat has shared some new insights into the value of AR for advertising, by underlining just how immersive and engaging AR experiences can be, and how Snap’s AR tools, in particular, can drive better response.

Snapchat commissioned market research firm Alter Agents to conduct a study of AR immersion, which measured heart rate variability when viewing different types of social content experiences.

As explained by Snap:

“When we talk about “immersion,” we’re referring to a neurological state based on a person’s relative level of attention and emotional connection. When people are highly immersed, they are paying attention, emotionally engaged, and actively committing information to memory. To put it differently, they are “in the zone,” and the experience is resonating with them on a fundamental level - to the point it can predict future behavior.”

Based on this study, Snapchat found that AR experiences are indeed more immersive, with AR process on Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram all generating higher immersion scores above the general entertainment mean.

But Snap’s AR tools were even more immersive – according to the findings, Snapchat’s AR was measured at 1.7x ‘more immersive’ than any other app.

Now, some of these measures are variable, based on the methodology and process. Is heart rate variability really the best measure of such, or would eye-tracking and neurological response data provide more indicative measures of actual engagement and mental response?

In this respect, I would say that based on this study, this is one way of suggesting that Snapchat’s AR tools are highly immersive, and that is worth considering in your process. But how much weight you put into each specific analysis and process will come down to your view on such.

In addition to this, Snapchat also found that AR advertising generated improved consumer response across various elements.

Again, there are some variables to the process, but it does provide some additional food for thought in regards to AR advertising, and with AR glasses on the way, that will become a bigger consideration for more and more brands moving forward.

You can check out Snapchat’s full AR immersion study here.