The Next Media Channel Is Taking Shape: 6 Lessons for Marketers Preparing for the AR Era
September 23, 2026 · By Paula Chiocchi · 4 min read
By Paula Chiocchi · September 23, 2026
Every major shift in technology eventually creates a shift in attention, and drives marketers to follow. We saw it with search, social media and mobile. Now another media environment is beginning to take shape: the digital layer being built over our physical world through augmented reality (AR), spatial computing and a new generation of AI-enabled glasses. On a recent episode of the Marketing Influence Podcast, I spoke with Peter Pinfold, CEO of Darabase, about what this evolution could mean for marketers. Darabase is building the infrastructure to manage the permissions and commercial rights associated with digital content placed over physical properties. It's a fascinating concept, and one that was relatively new to me when I first met Peter. But our conversation reinforced something I've learned throughout my career: marketers don't have to know exactly how an emerging channel will evolve to start preparing for it. Here are six takeaways that stood out to me.
1. The Physical World Is Becoming a Digital Media Channel
AR gives marketers the ability to overlay digital experiences onto physical locations. Think about a stadium, shopping district, office building or entertainment venue. Today, those locations may contain physical signs and digital screens. Tomorrow, someone wearing AR-enabled glasses could also encounter digital content connected directly to that location. Peter describes the outdoor world as a new canvas for digital content. For marketers, that creates an entirely new way to think about media. Instead of separating physical and digital experiences, we're moving toward an environment where the two can exist simultaneously.
2. New Media Channels Need Rules Before They Can Scale
One of Peter's most important points was that technology has moved faster than the rules governing it. If a brand wants to place a billboard on the side of a building, the property owner grants permission and receives compensation. But what happens when that billboard is digital and only visible through AR? For AR advertising to become a scalable media channel, marketers will need the same things they expect from established channels: standards, permissions, measurement, transparency and a brand-safe environment.
3. Location Could Become an Extremely Powerful Audience Signal
As a data marketer, this part of our conversation really caught my attention. Traditional audience strategies use demographic, firmographic, behavioral, and intent signals to understand who someone is and what they may be interested in. AR potentially introduces another valuable layer: what that person is doing and where they are doing it right now. Demographics tell us who someone is. Behavioral data tells us what they've done. Location can provide context around what they're doing in the moment. Imagine combining accurate identity with real-time location and context. Of course, accuracy, permission and privacy will be essential. But the potential for contextual marketing is significant.
4. The Best AR Advertising Won't Feel Like Advertising
No one wants to walk around looking at a stream of logos through a pair of glasses. The real opportunity will come when brands use immersive experiences to provide genuine value. Technology for technology's sake rarely creates lasting value. Technology that makes the customer's experience easier, better or more useful has a much stronger chance of becoming part of everyday behavior. When advertising contributes to experience instead of interrupting it, consumers feel motivation to engage.
5. AI And AR Could Make Personalization Far More Contextual
AI and AR are developing alongside each other, and Peter describes their relationship in a way I particularly like: AI is the brain and AR is the canvas. AI can help determine what experience is relevant. AR creates the environment in which that experience appears. Combine those capabilities with stronger identity and location signals, and the possibilities for personalization become much more sophisticated. But the underlying marketing objective doesn't change. That's an important distinction. New technology shouldn't distract marketers from the fundamentals that already work: we still need to reach the right person, with the right message, at the right time.
6. Learn Now So You Can Lead Later
This may have been my favorite takeaway from Peter to marketers: learn now to lead tomorrow. When mobile, search and social first emerged, plenty of organizations dismissed them as experimental or waited until they became mainstream before investing resources. By then, the early movers had already learned what worked. You don't need to take a huge swing on every new technology. But waiting until an emerging channel is fully established can leave your organization trying to catch competitors that have already spent years building experience.
Another Channel Is Coming
Peter believes immersive media will eventually become another part of the standard media mix, alongside search, social, outdoor and other channels. AI is changing search. Identity is becoming more important. Physical and digital experiences are converging. I think the bigger lesson for B2B marketers is that our media landscape isn't going to become simpler, and at the same time, our job isn't to chase every new channel. It's to understand where our audiences are going, determine whether the technology creates genuine value, and make sure we have the data, infrastructure and knowledge to reach them when they get there. That's why Peter's advice is worth remembering: learn now to lead tomorrow.
Listen to the full Marketing Influence Podcast conversation with Peter Pinfold for more on augmented reality, Property Digital Rights, programmatic advertising and what the next generation of media could mean for marketers.