After more than a month of preparation, it was finally time to launch the Augmented Reality Scavenger hunt on December 1st, at Future Tenant’s Video Gamer’s Paradise Fundraiser.

To start off the AR Scavenger Hunt, a stack of sheets was left with instructions to download the app and then play the scavenger hunt. Guests received one upon entry. The incentive of one free beer upon completing the scavenger hunt was stated on the instruction sheet.

Data:

Total Attendance: 50-60

Number of people who played: 42, over 70%

Number of people who completed the survey: 19

Results/Reactions:

·      Out of all the survey data, 40% people said this was their first AR experience

·      Everyone surveyed categorized the Scavenger Hunt as “Fun” and “Interactive”

·      15% of the people said that they were playing only for the free beverage/prize

·      37% people said that they were interested in engaging in similar activities at similar events

Resources:

One of the most important factors that any arts manager has to consider for a project is resources: time and money. It is also what makes this project doable! In terms of time, most of the 'ideation' or creative process of up the majority. This was mostly time spent collaborating with the staff members of the organization and the programmer. 

For this particular project, I collaborated with a fellow student at Carnegie Mellon University and therefore it was free. If outsourcing is needed, this should not be more than 5-6 hours of work for a programmer.

Conclusions:

In a report, ‘Making Sense of Audience Engagement’, Alan Brown and Rebecca Ratzkin, talk about the different kinds of audience typologies. The 6 different kinds of audiences are: Readers, Critical Reviewers, Casual Talkers, Technology-based Processors, Insight Seekers and Active Learners. Through augmented reality experiences, almost all of these typologies can find something to engage with. Most arts related AR has informational text for the Readers and AR automatically attracts the Technology-based Processors. Taking part in AR activities, the Insight Seekers can have a greater intrinsic impact, and the Active Learners are actively engaged by the power to customize their experience.(2)

There is a lot of research showcasing the effect of audience engagement through digital media and especially AR, where AR used in museums has helped 72% of participants to remember information better. It has also been seen that the topmost interest of people in the age groups of 18-24 years and 35-44 years, who already attend the arts, is technology-based experiences. This goes on to show that employing more digital media will not only help engage audiences but may also go on to increase attendance.(1)

The aim of the experiment at Future Tenant was to spark interest in the video games and get them to participate more. This is one of the main reasons for placing all of the posters near the game booths, and also to have elements of the game in the scavenger hunt. One key observation was that initially most people were standing in clusters and talking in groups. After playing the scavenger-hunt, quite a few of the participants went on to take part in the other games and activities. This shows that at the very least the scavenger hunt proved to be an ice-breaker between the institution and its patrons.

Future Tenant as an organization was able to create an interactive experience through AR. While AR can be intimidating at first, it's quite simple when you get down to it. Applications of AR can be varied and easily customized, making it easy to engage patrons,and creating long-lasting memories with the institution.

Resources:

1. Wormald, Benjamin. "Section 6: Overall Impact of Technology on the Arts." Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. January 04, 2013. Accessed January 29, 2018. http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/01/04/section-6-overall-impact-of-technology-on-the-arts

2.Kemp, Zachary. Wolfbrown. Accessed January 29, 2018. http://wolfbrown.com/component/content/article/42-books-and-reports/391-making-sense-of-audience-engagement

Technology Credit: Sunil Nayak, Graduate Student at the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon University