Reality Check

HOW BRANDS LIKE PATRÓN AND MTV ARE USING AR TO DRIVE ENGAGEMENT—AND MEASURING THE RESULTS.

- Lauren Johnson

In the span of a few seconds, Patrón’s new augmented reality app creates a miniature hacienda on iPhones that replicates the distillery in Jalisco, Mexico, where the brand’s tequila is made—complete with a virtual bartender and a tiny agave field. At first glance, The Patrón Experience—one of many branded apps built using Apple’s recently launched ARKit platform—may seem like a gimmick, but Patrón has bigger plans for its latest mobile innovation. The spirits company wants to eventually turn augmented reality into an ecommerce platform of sorts by selling tequila through platforms like Amazon and alcohol delivery site ReserveBar.

“In the future, [imagine] you’re in a VR or AR experience, a bartender has made you a cocktail based on your preferences and now you can click and that cocktail is being sent to you,” said Adrian Parker, vp of marketing at Patrón Spirits. “We’re not too far from that—I’d say we’re 12 to 18 months away.”