Bridget Dolan and her team at Sephora’s Innovation Lab, based in San Francisco, were a year into developing a new virtual reality tool for the retailer’s mobile app when the technology used to power the experience saw a breakthrough.
“When it comes to augmented and virtual reality, it can only be successful if it’s truly useful,” said Dolan, Sephora’s head of innovation. “We weren’t interested in just buzzy. A lot of things like technical accuracy and timing had to come together, and there was a time last year when, during testing, we hit a tipping point.”
Sephora’s team and its technology provider, augmented reality platform ModiFace, had pushed facial recognition technology to a new point of sophistication. After months of development, the technology can break down one virtual makeup application into a step-by-step layering process, while maintaining critical accuracy and reaching mass scale.
More in Marketing
Cannes Briefing: Optimism in the margins
After a week defined by contradictions — lavish $10 million beachfront activations against a backdrop of economy anxiety, AI buzz alongside quiet budget cuts — the industry seemed to settle on an unexpected but familiar note: optimism.
Sprite’s heat-activated digital billboards suggest a future spot for OOH in the media mix
Brands like Arla and Sprite are investing in dynamic digital out-of-home work, due to its efficiency and proximity to purchase.
Digiday Podcast at Cannes: AI hype, data overload and other takeaways from Cannes Lions 2025
Marketers came to Cannes this year looking for answers. Here are three takeaways from PMG’s head of integrated media.