When we think about Virtual Reality (VR), we tend to think of video games with a huge helmet that covers our entire face and head in order to lift us into another world. While gaming has had its part in the VR world, that world is expanding at a fast rate. Now that Google has given us a cheaper way to experience VR, marketers and advertisers need to get on this new trend.
In the beginning there was Oculus.The high-priced Oculus Rift offers users a unique VR experience:
Whether you’re stepping into your favorite game, watching an immersive VR movie, jumping to a destination on the other side of the world, or just spending time with friends in VR, you’ll feel like you’re really there.
While the technology offers a highly unique experience, the price tag is high — $350 makes the technology not available to the general public. Enter: Google’s Cardboard.
Google now gives the VR experience to anyone who has a smartphone, wants to spend about $10, or who has the supplies and is willing to make the Cardboard VR themselves. Now that smartphones have saturated the market completely — this is essentially giving the VR experience to everyone.
And many people are taking note. An early adopter of this technology is Vrtify, an app that will animate your Spotify playlist. When a song comes on, the listener can select from a variety of animated environments to complement the music. The company also provides a 360-degree video experience:
Why is this Important for Marketers and Advertisers?
With VR coming on the scene, it provides 360-degree storytelling that completely enthralls the viewer. Marketing and advertising will become an active experience, instead of a passive experience (watching a video, reading text). If, for example, your company provides baking supplies, you can put together an active cooking class where your participant actually mixes the batter until it’s ready. They will experience baking a cake and using your baking tools, instead of just passively watching a video about it.
We will also begin to expect more and more from marketers and advertisers in terms of the VR experience. This industry is only set to grow, especially since VR is now at the fingertips of anyone with a smartphone. The bar to the creative element will begin to be set higher and higher as brands get more and more creative in what they can showcase via VR technology. If your brand hasn’t started thinking about how to utilize this technology, now is the time to start.