I've had a lot of people ask how can VR be used other than gaming? Obviously people are starting to experiment with immersive movies, both fiction and documentary, and that's very exciting. But I think the biggest opportunity right now is actually marketing. Even many of the movie VR experiences that have come out are really being used as a marketing tool for the traditional flat-screen feature-length movies still in theaters. So why would a brand want to use VR if they're not promoting a movie?
Creating a VR experience for your brand is unique and memorable. It will really get people's attention and stick with them because so few people are doing it and many people still haven't experienced VR for themselves yet. That means your brand could literally be the first VR experience people have - and that's something they'll probably remember for their entire lives. In the future, when VR is mainstream, they'll say "I remember the first time I tried this - it was a mountain climbing experience by North Face," or "I was in the recording studio with the band Such and Such," etc. Even if they've tried it before, there's not much content out there and those early adopters - the ones often most likely to buy new things - are hungry to consume any good VR content they can find right now.
In addition to the actual VR experience, you can sell (or giveaway) branded Google Cardboard, to really keep your brand in people's minds. And you can bet that the people with your branded Google Cardboard will show it off to others. People can't wait to share VR with people who haven't tried it!
In the future, more people will be aware of VR and will own VR devices. As the adoption increases, the novelty effect may wear off but there will be plenty of opportunities for VR commercials. Now, normally people do everything in their power to skip commercials, even if they're good commercials. But with VR, if you're immersed in an awesome experience, you won't want to skip the commercials. And on a technical note, people often literally can't look away (headsets other than Google Cardboard know when they've been taken off and stop playback). With VR, the commercial is an attraction itself. Immersing people in great experiences will get them talking about it to their friends and the days of skipping commercials will be history.
So how can you get started using VR to promote your business? Give me a call and I'll help you figure that out!
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