virtual reality in marketing and pr - what you should know and why you should care

VIRTUAL REALITYIN MARKETING

What you should know Why you should care

WHAT IS VIRTUAL REALITY?

Keanu Reeves in Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

PICK ONE EXPERIENCE AND IMAGINEHAVING TO SELL IT TO YOUR CONSUMERS

TRADITIONAL MEDIA = COMMUNICATING IN 2D

• Traditionally we would produce multimedia content that our consumers will watch on some form of display – phone, tablet or computer.

• We are forced to shrink down a 3D experience to fit on a 2D display.• A small 2D display is our only window to connect to our customers’ minds

and hearts and sell them the experience. It is a bottleneck we had to accept until now.

Consumer Display Experience

VIRTUAL REALITY = COMMUNICATING IN 3D

• Virtual Reality goes beyond the limited 2D displays of traditional media. It lets us transport our customers right into these experiences.

• They can look around, move around and interact. It feels real.• As with any piece of content marketing, when we create a high-quality

experience, our consumers will pay more attention and feel moreemotionally connected.

Consumer transported inside the experience

TWO BASIC TYPES OF VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES

• 360 degree videos in 2D and 3D: A camera rig is placed in the center of the scene, shooting in 360 degrees. Consumers watching these videos can look around by moving their heads, but are otherwise passive, not able to move in or interact with the scene.

• Real-time rendered content: The experience is fully rendered by a computer. Consumers can look around, move around and interact with the virtual environment. Graphics can be almost photorealistic, depending on the performance of the VR system.

Camera rig with 9 GoProsfor shooting 360 degreevideos

RISE OF VIRTUAL REALITY: MOBILE VR ALREADY HERE

• In Mobile VR smartphones are used together with dedicated head mounts. You are basically strapping your phone to your face.

• There is a wide range of head mounts at every price point. With hundreds of millions of VR-capable phones on the market, most consumers get their first taste of Virtual Reality with Mobile VR.

• Smartphone’s relative lack of horsepower limits graphical fidelity.

Samsung Gear VR Google Cardboard(consumer launch 2015) (consumer launch 2014)

RISE OF VIRTUAL REALITY: TETHERED VR COMING SOON

• Tethered VR systems are powered by computers not smartphones.• Their more powerful hardware allows for a higher-quality virtual reality

experience with better graphics, positional tracking and controllers. • This comes at the cost of mobility since these systems require a

dedicated computer to which they are tethered via cable.

Oculus Rift HTC Vive Sony Playstation VR(consumer launch 2016) (consumer launch 2016) (consumer launch 2016)

WHY USE VIRTUAL REALITYFOR MARKETING?

EXPANDING OUR TOOLBOX

• The goal of marketing and PR is to engage, entertain and educate consumers.

• Any technology which helps us tell our stories and connect with consumers in a more effective way has to be explored.

• Virtual Reality is a powerful new medium that is being shaped right now, with people from all backgrounds and disciplines collaborating. Do you really want to sit on the sidelines?

BOOSTING OUR CONTENT MARKETING

• The marketing reality of tomorrow – preferably even today – is creating branded content that is as good as the best traditional media in its field.

• Going into Virtual Reality today gets us more than early-adopter prestige. It also boosts our content marketing.

• Defining core values and messages, crafting stories and experiencesand setting up an internal content production system further preparesus for the marketing landscape ahead.

START EXPLORING

Virtual Reality is a highly experiental medium: Try it and you will understand it.

COMING SOON

Virtual Reality Playbook

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