Unity Technologies, a video game software development firm, has introduced an augmented reality (AR) ad unit to help advertisers who struggle to implement the technology in advertising.

The ad unit, called ‘responsive AR ads’, has been developed in response to a survey of 1,000 people within the US and UK advertising and marketing sectors. The research found that 63 per cent of creatives struggle to implement AR in advertising. The biggest issues faced, when it comes to creating successful campaigns, are technical challenges (24.6 per cent) and cost (39.1 per cent).

Those who are yet to create an AR campaign point to a lack of technical knowledge (24.1 per cent) and concerns about the potential cost (31 per cent) as the reasons they have yet to get involved. However, 80 per cent of creatives believe that AR for advertising and marketing is integral to their work and fully intend to use it.

“Augmented reality is becoming ubiquitous and creative marketers and advertisers are already establishing the use cases that have made the rest of the industry pay attention,” said Julie Shumaker, vice president of advertiser solutions at Unity Technologies. “This survey reveals one very important thing: there is a disconnect between the growing demand for AR solutions and the pace at which advertisers, marketers, and creatives are becoming comfortable with the technology. We need to improve AR familiarity among creatives – both in terms of technical competency and highlighting the cost-effective solutions that are available today.”

Each of Unity’s responsive AR ads begins with a 3D-rendered interactive ad unit, which enables users to enhance the ad experience with AR components. These ads continually provide users with interactive 3D features until the end of the engagement.