An Orlando augmented reality-enhanced mural by Brand XR's Moody Mattan and several partners.

Moody Mattan of BrandXR, a newer augmented and virtual reality company, says he got into the business side of tech by breaking into VC to help small groups generate billion-dollar outcomes. He's from Michigan and went to Wayne State, but after graduating into a "terrible economy" in 2009, he moved overseas to work in logistics software in Malaysia and Jordan. He came back for an MBA and ended up in Silicon Valley in a firm working on augmented reality tech. He was interested in enterprise use for the technology, such as using augmented reality for virtual training or remote assistants.

"If the engine goes down on a plane," he says, "a technician puts on a headset to diagnose. I thought this tech had the potential to change a lot of things we do in business."

"I saw it was catching on--people using this as a business tool but having a hard time creating and distributing content. So we started BrandXR."

Mattan was called on to turn around a book binding business to retool for a second act. "I had this crazy idea to make VR headsets out of their tech," he says. "It worked." He repurposed the machines to create virtual reality tech and customize the headsets to sell to different brands.

"I got a chance to work on a ton of VR marketing campaigns," Mattan says, "from Huffpost to the Financial Times. I saw it was catching on--people using this as a business tool but having a hard time creating and distributing content. So we started BrandXR."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noy\_S6LIlSs&feature=youtu.be

What does content look like? "Sometimes it's retail product visualization," Mattan tells us. "For instance, for the furniture industry. You can see with an AR app when you place a 3D couch in your room how it looks and fits. Art.com has something similar (not from BrandXR) where you can put a piece of artwork on your wall."

BrandXR is working on a project for a major midwest furniture retailer, and also is developing virtual experiences for trying products on your body such as makeup. How does a foundation, lipstick, or eye shadow look? "It's integrated into a mobile shopping experience, so you can share a photo with friends and add the makeup to your cart," Mattan says. All of this runs on 3D game engines. "We use Unity," Mattan says. "It's the most powerful game engine in the world used for movies and games and has 60-70% market share for most mobile games. You can get hyper realistic features now."

BrandXR is working on a project for a major midwest furniture retailer, and also is developing virtual experiences for trying products on your body such as makeup. How does a foundation, lipstick, or eye shadow look?

"Not many companies have people who know C++, C#, and know how to work with 3D graphics, and we solve that problem," Mattan says. "It's kind of like companies not thinking they needed a website in the Nineties. You see that in mobile now. We see AR/VR as the next big platform shift. Companies who can use this tech and get good ROI out of it regardless of the install base, then it can work."

https://vimeo.com/310379678

What's next? Well, BrandXR is only just now launching services for creative agencies and also creating interactive AR murals and artwork for sale. Mattan says we were introduced to them just as they were getting ready to offer all kinds of new services, first to small businesses, then agencies, and then enterprise clients. "I’m happy to tell you that after two years of hustling as an XR Agency working on a variety of immersive projects from Virtual Reality (VR) astronaut simulations with NASA to Augmented Reality (AR) Bobbleheads for Pro Sports teams, we’re only a few weeks away from launching the BrandXR Studio," Mattan says.

"On the low-end, the cost of outsourcing an AR app is $50,000 with a 3-month development cycle, so we believe there’s tons of value in our no-code platform that gets you from Zero to AR App in just a few days."

"The BrandXR Studio is a no-code platform for building professional Augmented Reality apps. Shopify & Squarespace made making websites easy for everyone, we’re doing the same thing for 3D AR apps. With templates for popular AR use cases and drag & drop functionality, no prior 3D engine experience is needed and a full AR experience can be created and launched successfully in days. No development, engineering, or IT team required. On the low-end, the cost of outsourcing an AR app is $50,000 with a 3-month development cycle, so we believe there’s tons of value in our no-code platform that gets you from Zero to AR App in just a few days."

Mattan tells us AR app results are incredible:

• 11x conversions vs. website
• 3x product engagement vs. website
• Reduction in product return less than 2% 

Automotive companies are also using AR apps to create try before you buy shopping experiences for car buyers before they set foot in a car dealership. Mattan says that despite all this growth opportunity on the corporate side, what gets people most excited is the artwork they're creating to be interactive using AR.

Electrify Augmented Reality Arts & Goods was started by Moody Mattan and his younger brothers Malik (a supply chain manager at Wayne State) and Zach (digital marketing degree from the University of Michigan). Mattan says the pins especially are flying off the shelves. People love the interactive artwork. You can follow them on Instagram. Check out another AR interactive mural here.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxVf1mcgP-9/

BrandXR is looking for creative agencies to try out the Studio platform. Beta testers will get free unlimited access to the BrandXR Studio during testing and special perks once they launch publicly. You can APPLY FOR EARLY ACCESS to the BrandXR Studio. Check it out and tell us what you think.

Electrifly is also co-hosting the Detroit Art Emporium at the Tangent Gallery in Detroit featuring a live AR mural, art workshops, art vendors, and an interactive art gallery.