Augmented reality is really picking up steam as a tool for marketing departments to pitch their products. Over the past week or so, we've seen numerous examples of the augmented reality used to promote events in the world of entertainment. In the movie business, Disney/Pixar and Universal Studios have both used multiple AR platforms to push moviegoers to the opening weekends of their respective films. Meanwhile, on the sports side, Fox sponsored an augmented reality experience to push its broadcast of the thrilling match between Spain and Portugal in the FIFA World Cup.

Disney/Pixar Promotes 'Incredibles 2' Through Snapchat Lens Pixar's Incredibles 2 has entered the fray as the latest sequel in a summer of highly anticipated follow-up films and, like its peers, it also has an augmented reality experience to promote its presence in theaters. Available via Snapchat, the AR experience places the familiar mask of the movie's super family on your face, and simple finger taps on the smartphone's screen activate various virtual superpowers. The experience continues via the rear camera, where the adorable Jack-Jack floats in the user's view and disappears into random seams in reality. Learn more about how Disney/Pixar and the rest of Hollywood is using augmented reality to promote blockbuster films this summer... REALITY BITES: Despite the numerous examples of augmented reality already in use for marketing, Stefanos Loukakos, the head of Messenger business at Facebook, believes that marketers aren't taking full advantage of the technology yet.

Universal Hatches 'Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom' on the AR Cover of Moviebill Regal Cinema's augmented reality magazine Moviebill enjoyed a big debut in April and it has its sights set on an even bigger (virtually) outing with its next edition. Arriving in Regal theaters on June 22, the second issue of the publication will feature Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on its cover. Like the first issue, one million copies will be available for free to attendees of the featured film on its opening weekend. Read on to find out more about the AR content included from the latest installment of the Jurassic Park franchise, how the first edition of Moviebill performed, and how Hollywood is taking a shotgun approach when it comes to using AR to promote its feature presentations... Image via Regal Cinemas REALITY BITES: David Barry, a content strategist, and JR Dawkins, a business development expert, both of Verizon's augmented reality subsidiary Envrmnt, share tips on creating augmented reality illusions in image recognition-based experiences.

World Cup Fever Takes Over Facebook & Snapchat With the 2018 FIFA World Cup underway in Russia, soccer (aka "football") fans worldwide can show support for their favorite teams and players in augmented reality via Snapchat and Facebook. On Snapchat for iOS and Android, fans can don virtual glasses painted with their team's colors. Also, thanks to Snapchat's background segmentation capabilities, virtual soccer balls float behind the user. In addition, the World Cup's official broadcaster, Fox, has sponsored a Lens that ties into the big match between Spain and Portugal. Continue reading for more on the AR options available to fans of the most popular sport in the world during its biggest event... Images by Tommy Palladino/Next Reality REALITY BITES: Beyeonics Surgical Ltd. secured an $11.5 million funding round to fuel development of its surgical augmented reality solutions. Every Friday, Next Reality reviews the latest headlines from the financial side of augmented and mixed reality. This weekly Market Reality column covers funding announcements, mergers and acquisitions, market analysis, and the like. Check out previous editions of Market Reality for more news you may have missed.

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