AR activations, explained

An AR (augmented reality) mural is a physical mural or piece of public art that comes to life when a visitor points their phone at it. The painting stays exactly as it is — but through the screen, it animates: water rises, characters move, stories unfold, hidden layers appear. It's a digital experience layered over real, physical art. The same technique works on a billboard, a poster, a transit shelter or a carton — anything printed or painted with enough detail for a camera to lock onto.

No. We build with WebAR, so the experience opens right in the phone's browser. A visitor scans a QR code on the wall — or taps a link — and the augmented reality loads instantly. No app store, no account, no friction. That zero-download step is the single biggest reason people actually engage.

Virtually any modern smartphone — both iPhone and Android — using the camera and a standard browser like Safari or Chrome. There's nothing for your visitors to install or configure. If they can scan a QR code, they can see the experience.

We design the on-site cue alongside the experience — typically a branded QR code and a short 'Scan to bring this to life' prompt on the signage, the plaque or the creative itself. The goal is that anyone walking past understands in two seconds that there's more to see.

Murals and public art, billboards and wallscapes, transit and street furniture, retail windows and point of sale, packaging, print and direct mail. The only real requirement is a stable visual surface with enough contrast and detail for the camera to lock onto — send us the artwork and we'll tell you honestly whether it will track.

Both. Most of our work is layered over murals, art and placements that already exist — that's the whole idea of a 'digital renovation.' We can also collaborate from scratch with a muralist or a creative team so the physical and digital are designed together from day one.

The physical piece always stands on its own, so nothing is lost for someone who doesn't scan. For the AR layer, we follow accessibility best practices — readable prompts, captions on audio, and reasonable performance on older devices — so the experience is welcoming to as many visitors as possible.

Two kinds of client. Municipalities, tourism boards, museums, galleries and heritage sites with public art programs — organisations that want their murals, exhibits and installations to drive foot traffic, press, and repeat visits. And brands, agencies and media buyers running out-of-home, retail or packaging campaigns who want a printed placement to be measurable and clickable instead of estimated.

Projects start at $9,900 CAD for a single activation. A multi-site flight or trail with custom builds typically runs $18,000+, and flagship multi-channel campaigns are quoted per project. Final pricing depends on scope, number of locations, and how custom the experience needs to be — we'll scope it precisely on a call.

Most activations go from kickoff to live in 4–6 weeks. Larger multi-location campaigns take longer. We'll give you a firm timeline once we understand the scope, and we plan around your unveiling or event date.

Access to the piece (or high-quality photos of it), any existing artwork files and brand assets, and a point of contact for approvals. If there's a story or a campaign behind it, that helps us shape the experience. We handle all of the technical and creative production from there.

You receive full rights to use the finished experience for your location, marketing, and tourism promotion. ARify retains the right to feature the work in our own portfolio and case studies. Exact terms are confirmed in your project agreement — we keep this clear and simple up front.

Four stages: (1) a discovery call to understand the piece, the audience, and the goal; (2) concept and creative direction you sign off on; (3) production — we build, test, and refine the AR; and (4) launch, where we deliver the QR code, signage guidance, and everything you need to go live. You review and approve at each stage.

We host it, maintain it and report on it for as long as it's live — included, with no annual fee. It's built to run for years. If you ever want it moved, it's a static web build and we hand it over.

Yes. One of the biggest advantages of AR over a static plaque or a printed placement is that it's editable. We offer seasonal content swaps and refreshes as a simple add-on — so the same surface can tell a new story for a festival, an anniversary, or a new campaign without repainting or reprinting anything.

We track real engagement — scans, time spent in the experience, and tap-throughs — and report it back to you. For municipal and tourism clients, that turns an unmeasured asset into a campaign with hard numbers you can show stakeholders, councils, and funders. For brands and media buyers, it replaces a modelled impression estimate with counted events, per site, per day.