Virtual Reality (VR) Marketing | Gimmick or Game Changer?

(Article originally published on LinkedIn)

As we come close to entering the year 2018, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are increasing in popularity day by day — even finding their way into the field of marketing.

VR is engineered as an immersive, multimedia or computer-simulated reality that simulates physical presence in either a real or imagined world and allows users to interact with it. Among the best known examples of VR in the consumer world is Samsung's Gear VR, which was widely advertised through popular online video and TV commercials.

On the other hand, AR integrates a computer-generated sensory input, such as sound, video, or graphics into the physical world. In many ways, AR is viewed as the technology that will be more popular in the future as it does not require the user to become fully immersed in a virtual environment and 'leave' the real world.

Although Google Glass was a disastrous attempt at bringing wearable AR tech to consumers, AR is still becoming very prevalent in the consumer world and Apple is even working hard on bringing their own AR glasses tech to the market. Who knows? AR may one day even find itself in the world of high fashion.

With popular apps like Pokemon Go, there's a good chance that you have experienced AR yourself, or know someone who has.

Okay, VR and AR might make for nice party gimmicks or fads that come and go over a single summer, but do they actually have any meaningful use in the world of marketing? The answer to that question is yes; these examples of VR and AR in the consumer world are only the tip of the iceberg.

Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality in Marketing

Between 2016 and 2020, the number of mobile VR users is projected to increase from 18 million to 135 million worldwide. As Virtual Reality devices become more and more popular at the consumer level, VR and AR are quickly becoming new mediums that companies should incorporate into their marketing efforts — just as was required with the birth of smartphones in the past decade that has now turned marketing into a very mobile-centric world.

By the end of 2017, it's expected that 30% of Forbes Global 2000 consumer-facing companies will experiment with augmented reality and VR marketing.

Marketing applications of Virtual and Augmented Reality can be divided into three broad categories: Customer acquisition, Brand Affinity, and Point of Sale.

Customer Acquisition

Thus far, Customer Acquisition tends to be the most popular goal for VR and AR marketing efforts. In this category, the goal of the VR and AR technology is intended as a way to build brand awareness and familiarize consumers with their product, often with the goal of entertainment coming first and foremost.

This approach to VR marketing has been embraced by the travel industry, with Marriott Hotels running an award-winning ad campaign that allowed users to travel the world through the use of a 4D VR experience.

Australian-based Qantas Airlines has also embraced this technology in a manner that is even more accessible to a mass audience, posting immersive 360° videos of travel locations on YouTube.

Brand Affinity

Brand Affinity is another area of virtual reality marketing in which companies aim to bolster their relationship with customers by providing an immersive experience to familiarize customers with their company. Popular examples of this include Tom's virtual reality experience that took users on one of the Giving Trips to Peru, and tequila-brand Patrón's virtual tour and story-telling journey of their factory.

Point of Sale

Perhaps one of the most effective VR Marketing tactics is with Point of Sale technology. Lowes has been an early adopter of this technology, implementing 'holorooms' into their stores that allow users to 'drag and drop' furniture and envision how it will look inside their own home. Many fashion retailers also have adopted AR technology, seeing it as an effective way for customers to virtually 'try on' their clothing.

Although Point of Sale technology is a great example of how brick and mortar retail stores can user VR and AR to supplement their business, there may soon come a day when the quality of VR is so good that consumers will never have to leave their couch.