Virtual Reality- The Next Big Opportunity Already Here?

Thanks to the constantly changing digital landscape, advertisers have been forced to get more and more creative with their advertisements, all while looking for the next great advertising idea.

Virtual Reality (VR) — you’ve probably heard this phrase a lot recently and you’re going to hear this term floating around more and more in the near future.

Source: Google

In between technology making great strides and ease of accessibility, more brands are now shifting to using Virtual Reality in their marketing campaigns. While consumers are becoming more and more sophisticated, marketers have to employ heightened interactivity and increasingly personalized communications to impress their customers.

What Is Virtual Reality And How Does It Work?

In simple words Virtual Reality is the term for placing a user “in” the experience, whether that’s another world or dimension. Ideally, VR allows people to simulate the experience in 360 degrees.

Further, thanks to technological development and lower production costs, virtual reality marketing has become more available for advertisers. It will continue to create the disruption in business models becoming the next major platform shift after the web and mobile devices. VR helps bring immersion that allows an emotional intensity far greater than traditional media.

What Intrigues Me About VR?

I love how VR in marketing allows people to fully immerse themselves in an experience that may be funny, emotional or intriguing. Most important, however, is that it’s engaging. VR helps brands connect with people in a way that brings them closer together because of a shared experience. With VR brands can help visualize how their products and services to customers and how it will work after purchase or to immerse users in an environment that communicates their company’s values with emotion and honesty.

Pro’s and Cons of VR-

The Pro’s of VR-

1. Brands have unlimited room for creativity when it comes to VR.
2. VR can be an invaluable asset for integrating an immersive education component into brand experiences.
3. VR offers the ability to take the experience one step further by adding environmental and control elements such as motion seats or effects that simulate wind, water, vibration, etc. These touches help brands ‘sell’ an experience to their audience.

The Cons of VR-

1. Technology is still experimental — Though the virtual reality technology is used in various fields but is still experimental. It is not being accepted or fully developed.
2. Virtual reality increases the risk of cybersecurity. Like any other technology that goes online, virtual reality is also susceptible to cyber threats.

The Future of VR-

For marketers today, it’s a great way to engage customers with your brand. It’s more important than ever to keep your finger on the trends pulse. In this situation of Covid-19 with everything online, VR is a good technique to make the user feel emotionally connected with your brand. Customers are always looking for authentic experiences that are engaging, interactive and personal. Hence, implementing VR with your brand is the best way to stay forward and in conclusion VR is here to stay and if you manage to play your cards right and think outside the box, no doubt it will help you stand out from competitors.

“VR is a way to escape the real world into something more fantastic. It has the potential to be the most social technology of all time.” — Palmer Luckey

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

See you next week :)