How to Use Virtual & Augmented Realities for Your Brand

It's safe to say that we all know and understand that tech is giving us incredible ways to promote organizations. Companies like OpenAI use language learning models (LLMs) to do some fascinating things. For example, recently, the company made news about its voice cloning technology , which isn’t available at this time as they assess the risk. Still, it’s yet another instance of technology doing much more–and fast.

But as a marketing professional, I’m always thinking about potent ways to tell a brand story. Many organizations haven't yet fully taken advantage of it, but it will come as more companies get on board. Virtual and augmented realities are the future, but they’re also very much the present. As we know, generative AI continues to change how we do business and communicate with each other.

So, have you ever considered virtual or augmented reality for your organization? It just may be about time to look into them because in the coming years, these platforms are going to change how things happen in a myriad of ways. For instance, more organizations are using immersive reality with headsets to give people a sensory experience. The fact is that any organization can brainstorm and use these tools now.

What Is Virtual Reality?

The easiest way to explain virtual reality is that you enter an entirely virtual experience. As a result of the headset you wear, including the biggest one on the market, Apple’s Vision Pro , the real world gets nearly blocked. Instead, your visual and auditory senses get immersed in a virtual experience that supplants the reality you just experienced.

Computer-generated images and sounds allow you to experience an alternate reality by wearing the headset. Moreover, because of technology, when you have a virtual reality experience, you truly feel the sensations and immersion because vibrations simulate touch and movement. In short, the idea is to make you think that you're experiencing whatever you're seeing and hearing in reality, which, of course, you are–in your brain!

What is Augmented Reality?

In contrast to virtual reality, augmented reality allows you to "augment" or enhance the experiences you have in the real world. So, your perception of what you see in the real world changes visually and auditorily. In 2016, Pokémon Go took the world by storm. Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game in which "trainers" catch Pokémon monsters.

Those characters could appear as dragons or even rats. The game's object is to capture the monsters as you walk around with your mobile, exploring your town. As with virtual reality, augmented reality seeks to make the experience wholly immersive from a sensory perspective. However, for something like Pokémon Go, the real world gets supplemented with another.

Virtual and Augmented Realities are an Opportunity

The best organizational leaders and marketers understand that technology brings with it new opportunities. Moreover, the chances are that your target audience either loves tech or wants to fool around with cool, new experience, including gaming (you would be surprised at how many people love to game). Gaming, where you go into a different reality and its audience, is one reason you have renowned nonprofits, such as St. Jude's Hospital, partnering with them for a good cause.

Still, there's an opportunity for any organization to use virtual and augmented realities. In the coming years, with the evolution of these tools, we could imagine the following scenarios:

·????? Someday soon, instead of attending virtual events through Zoom, everyone will participate as part of a team in a virtual reality environment where you see everyone around an office table. We already see that starting with Zoom views , but the brain knows it's not three-dimensional, and it does not feel as if you're in the same room with others.

·????? Marketers always love the idea of providing opportunities for people to experience things first-hand. Human-to-human is the best way to get people invested in products, services, or a good cause. Now, with the use of a headset people can experience your programs virtually.

·????? Finally, you could have a fun event and invite people into your space for an augmented reality event . For instance, platforms like Google’s ARCore, Tiltbrush, or Blocks allow for three-dimensional experiences that enable people to feel they're part of something different.

There are many other ways that your organization could use augmented or virtual realities. A simple search on Google is sure to give you more ideas. The point is that you could engage people who are now much more comfortable with technology in new and innovative ways to excite them about your good work!

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? 2024 Wayne Elsey . All Rights Reserved.