The reality of VR in marketing

So today we were all shocked to learn that industry pioneers Oculus Studio has been closed by Facebook. They created some truly groundbreaking work, which is always gutting to hear that corporate minds have deemed unfit for business. Job losses aside, on the plus side, Oculus are investing in other studios to carry on the torch. But it's a massive loss not just for the VR industry but for the whole entertainment & technologies industries too as it will inevitably cause a few shockwaves of unease to ripple out. 

With this in forefront of mind, I've been having increasing thoughts of VR (in marketing) for a while and today seemed like an appropriate time to lay them out... so I'll bite the bullet. And This isn't a kneejerk reaction to today's news, just a poignant time for a much-needed brain dump.

For context, at Blue Zoo we've dabbled in a few VR animated projects from 360 video to GearVR & VIVE projects, so have firsthand experience of the business models, creative and technical challenges. But at the same time, our business model does not rely on VR, which I think makes my opinion somewhat unbiased and free from paycheck reliant spin.

So the biggest issue with VR is the cost. This is born from multiple factors. Opposed to HD video projects, VR projects demand much bigger development resources. This is because of the moving variables that's inescapable in interactive game engines - you don't need to debug MP4 animations for a certain type of graphics card or mobile device or a certain combination of user input, that is proving difficult to replicate in debug mode. Do not underestimate how much this sucks up budget. The other reason for costs is the time and QC involved with building 360 environments which need to look great from 32 angles, not just through one lens the director has chosen. This can mean multiple times the amount of set build needed, same goes for animation. Further costs come into play for hosted pop-up experiences, which need expensive kit installed and then supported by experienced staff on site for the duration. If the project fails to run smoothly when live and turns out to be an unstable, underwhelming experience due to budgetary reasons, this can backfire for a brand and kill the technology's future chances.

 This cost is a problem. It makes creating high-quality VR projects very expensive. This would not be an issue if the audience was big, but the accessibility of VR is minuscule compared to other mediums. Over the last few years, VR projects seem to have found their place in games or pop up experiential demos, at events or retail locations. This works great as a marketing tool at these locations, but in reality, only a few hundred can experience them, which is hard to justify spending five or six figure sums on if only a few hundred people will ever see it. So the budgets are justified with the halo effect around the project, where the experience (and brand) gets press without needing physical eyeballs on site. But the halo effect only works whilst the experience is newsworthy and that won't last forever. To get good press to justify cost you need headline-grabbing hooks or innovation. That oil supply will get harder to mine as time goes on. I say harder, but not impossible; some really studios excel at this without relying on tech gimmicks.

Is there a cheap way of doing VR? Well there's always mono 360 video but let's be honest, I've never seen one I've wanted to re-watch, that doesn't feel like you're trapped inside a sphere watching a video mapped onto it.... "reality" is somewhat stretching the definition. Stereo 360 is much more immersive but current technology struggles to cope with the resolution that needs. 4K Stereo 360 is still way too blurry for mainstream success. And I could write a whole post on the downsides of mobile VR.

I'm trying not to be too negative as there are some outstanding projects out there, primarily on VIVE due to its immersive nature. But there is a ticking time bomb for VR, where agencies will find it trickier to exploit the halo effect of marketing reach that they demand to justify high budgets.  

But perhaps a new technology will come along a blow my current concerns out of that water, I really hope it does as my heart lies in combing exciting tech with beautifully animated stories - so if you know what that technology is the please do share!