How Implementing VR Can Elevate Businesses To New Heights

Virtual reality has been synonymous with the entertainment and gaming industry for some time now, but as the technology continues to mature and develop, it is becoming clear that VR has potential applications in a wide range of different sectors. In terms of business applications, virtual reality can help companies raise awareness, promote new services or features, and enrich their overall consumer experience.

Throughout the past few years, businesses have started to make a conscious effort to integrate VR into their marketing operations, providing unique consumer experiences whilst effectively marketing their services and products. Marriott Hotels have been incredibly innovative with their integration of VR thus far, starting with their advertising campaign named “The Teleporter” in 2015, where guests were given the opportunity to explore the beaches of Hawaii and London’s Tower 42 in a custom-made special effects booth, the campaign was the first ever-virtual reality travel experience to be introduced.

Guests were provided with a virtual headset that took them to their desired destination for 100 seconds. The 4D technology meant that users were not only able to see but also feel the environment around them, allowing holiday-goers to explore different locations before making a booking. Marriott has more than 500 hotels and resorts in more than 50 countries and in an effort to promote their different destinations and to innovate the travel industry, they have managed to creatively integrate VR into their marketing campaigns.

Marriott followed up that campaign with the launch of their “VRoom Service”, a service in collaboration with Samsung that allowed its hotel guests to order virtual reality experiences on demand, along with the launch of their own virtual travel content platform “VR postcards” — designed to be used by guests participating in the VRoom Service, allowing them to explore immersive travel stories in VR while following three travellers in three different destinations around the world.

Marriott’s multiple campaigns are a testament to the unlimited opportunities that VR can offer businesses to boost their marketing efforts. VR allows for businesses to make a much deeper emotional impact amongst consumers than any regular advertisement would be capable of, lending itself to a much higher level of engagement and in doing so making a long-lasting impression.

The strong attraction that VR holds towards businesses and advertising is its ability to completely immerse its audience into an experience, that when presented effectively, allowing brands to emphasise a specific message. Tom’s flagship store in Venice, California, sells a range of products including footwear, coffee, glasses and baked goods. Through customer purchases, Tom’s is able to enrich the lives of people of people in need by providing them with shoes, eyesight treatment, improved access to water, safe birth and bully prevention services.

Tom’s includes a virtual reality section at their store, where visitors experienced a “virtual giving trip”, taking them to a remote village in Peru where users get to meet the actual kids that Tom’s is helping as they swivel around in immersive 360. This experience utilises VR to emphasise the importance of Tom’s mission to the viewers and will undoubtedly have a lasting emotional impact on them.

The Conjuring 2 also utilised VR in their marketing campaign, with an immersive trailer starring the director James Wan, whom viewers are momentarily greeted by before being transported into the haunted house at Enfield in 360-degree video, famous for being home to a collection of terrifying demons.

VR has the potential to dramatically enrich the cinematic experience for audiences everywhere, which is what the Conjuring 2 has done with their VR trailer. Thrusting them directly into the midst of the action, allowing the viewers to feel the essence of the movie and to exist outside of their personal realities. VR allows viewers to experience the story from the perspective of a character within the film, instead of simply feeling like an observer in a dark theatre or room.

As VR continues to mature and grow, as will the creative methods in which it can be used as a marketing tool. Though many companies remain sceptical about the effectiveness of VR in marketing, the ones who are willing to take risks and experiment with it are likely to make a lasting impression on their consumers and will ultimately reap the benefits.

ImmVRse, a blockchain-based platform, will allow businesses to transparently and directly hire VR content creators on our platform without the need for an arbitrary third party. The platform will provide businesses with instant access to a wide range of VR content creators from all types of creative backgrounds, which they can hire quickly and efficiently based on their needs and budget.

Marriott News Center. (2015). Marriott Hotels Introduces The First Ever In-Room Virtual Reality Travel Experience — Marriott News Center. [online] Available at: http://news.marriott.com/2015/09/marriott-hotels-introduces-the-first-ever-in-room-virtual-reality-travel-experience/ [Accessed 20 Oct. 2017].

Greenwald, M. (2016). 6 Of The Best Marketing Uses Of Virtual Reality. [online] Forbes. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michellegreenwald/2016/06/15/6-of-the-best-marketing-uses-of-virtual-reality/#68b6e85065cf [Accessed 20 Oct. 2017].

Warner Bros. (2016). Experience “The Conjuring 2” Virtual Reality. [online] Available at: https://www.warnerbros.com/blogs/2016/05/23/experience-conjuring-2-virtual-reality [Accessed 20 Oct. 2017].