There was a time when people didn't believe personal computers would become "a thing" - and then they did. VR, or Virtual Reality, is similar. As prices drop for AR and VR hardware its adoption will continue to increase.
Immersive technologies like VR are used by companies in the form of augmented or virtual reality. VR technology offers a completely new experience that will provide a different perspective to your business.
Before we begin, understand the differences between VR and AR:
- VR stands for Virtual Reality. VR is totally immersive.
- AR stands for Augmented Reality. AR can be thought of as reality with a graphic overlay.
Virtual reality marketing campaigns show that the most effective strategies today are those that offer consumers a unique, personal experience.
In this article, we'll share with you how to give your customers more than just another new product or service, but give them an experience as well.
Why are leading businesses creating AR/VR-based solutions?
VR can be a great marketing tool if implemented right. It's especially useful for "try before you buy" applications, virtual space presentations, and experiential selling. As the cost of VR comes down its usefulness goes up. In fact, it's possible to get a VR setup for less than twenty dollars with Googles "Cardboard" although you'll need a mobile phone too.
No other tool can yet create such a fast and powerful “wow effect” as VR does. It enables you to present a product or service that might be difficult to demonstrate in reality (especially during a pandemic).
There are several reasons why VR/AR can be used in business:
- Presence, not observation - we don't look at the image on the screen but are directly inside the virtual space.
- Focusing - Augmented reality overlays data over the real world, and can be used to focus attention. Imagine a red arrow superimposed over your vision showing you exactly where Waldo is.
- Immersive effect - in VR, many sensory systems are involved: head turns and the body moves. Thanks to it, a person is involved in the content deeper than when watching a 2D video. Interest is the most important characteristic that brings the consumer closer to a buying decision.
This level of involvement is difficult to compare with anything else. VR is a catalyst for experiences, where any fantasy can be realized. The creation of standard advertising materials for the VR development cost is not higher than the cost of shooting a regular advertising video, but it all depends on the purpose and direction of use.
What's virtual reality and how does it work?
Immersive technologies are solutions that blur the line between the real and the virtual world.
Today immersive technologies allow businesses to optimize several production processes, as well as to establish internal and external communication in the company.
Virtual reality is an artificially created world that moves a person into the digital space and affects his feelings and emotions. The picture can be drawn on a computer or recorded video with a 360-degree viewing angle.
To be in virtual reality, you need virtual reality software and special devices - glasses or a helmet. Such a VR development kit has a high cost but it will recoup itself if implemented properly.
5 ways a company can incorporate VR int a brand's marketing strategy
Photos and videos are a traditional way of influencing the emotions of the target audience, and it still works with essential goods. But it's often not effective enough to induce a person to give money for something abstract like an apartment under construction or an expensive car to order.
Virtual and augmented reality technologies have changed marketing already. We've put together 5 ways to help you incorporate VR into your marketing strategy.
VR is a platform for conveying your message
Creative and interactive content - this is what gets a brand to explore using VR. VR can have a significant impact on a marketing campaign. When creating your VR marketing strategy, constantly go back to the main message of it. This can help to generate high customer engagement.
Think about your target audience
Analyze how your audience is already consuming your content and what your target group is. Find out which channels consumers use to interact with your business, like YouTube, social media, or a website to gain a deeper understanding of their behavior. After this step, you can apply VR content appropriately.
Use immersion in a story
Until recently, a video was the most effective way to grab someone's attention. Virtual reality today creates a sense of presence, making it a useful tool for telling the unique story of your brand.
Interactive techniques, visuals, and audio effects can make the VR experience more fun than other traditional media methods. With this innovative platform, brands and advertisers can immerse their customers in a virtual world they have completely created - an effect no other marketing medium can provide.
Showcase your products
VR in marketing allows shoppers to explore their products without going out to a shop. IKEA virtual store has successfully implemented this immersive technology and so has Lowes Hardware. Their clients have an opportunity to experience what their space will look like, furnished with items from their brand. Lowes calls it the Holoroom.
Virtual and augmented reality can become part of an indirect sales strategy
This can be used to create information noise - and therefore increase brand awareness and brand status. For example, using augmented reality, Pepsi has improved bus stops. The company installed an AR screen - and while waiting for transport, people could see a digital tiger attack, the arrival of a UFO, or a robot uprising. This advertising campaign evoked emotions and was remembered by potential clients for a long time.
Final thoughts
As consumers’ needs evolve, marketing approaches must also change and adapt. Whenever implementing innovations, it is important to adhere to a pragmatic approach by not succumbing to the “wow effect,” but calculating the results and prospects that VR technologies will open.
Once your business has an idea as to how AR/VR can help drive sales, the services of a VR developer will be necessary. It's a growing field and certainly on the cutting edge.
VR helps enrich your business content strategy and helps you influence new and old customers in a fresh way. With this technology, marketing campaigns are now based on feelings, which can increase engagement. By using VR in marketing, businesses offer individual choices to consumers and raise brand awareness.
