VR & AR: Why Investing in the Future Will Significantly Influence Today's Consumers

A little less than a year ago, on Christmas morning, my mother and brother had the biggest smiles on their faces—the ones that almost looked creepy because you could tell how excited they were to give me my present.

To my surprise, it was not something that could be wrapped. Instead, they blindfolded me, led me up to what was my brother’s room (my best guess in terms of trusting my sense of direction rather than my sight), and made me put on an enormous headset that completely covered any and all of my vision. They then handed me two odd-shaped controllers, and, as the big “Google Earth” icon popped up on this headset covering my face, asked me, “So, where do you want to go?”.

I was then transported—what felt like quite literally—into the place I had just spent the last five months of my life living and exploring in: Paris. I took "walks" down the street where my university was located, visited my favorite hole-in-the-wall British Pub on Avenue Charles de Gaulle, and even took a stroll to the front entrance of my student residence. To say it was a “moving experience” would be both figuratively and literally an understatement.

I actually had giant crocodile tears in my eyes, which eventually streamed down my face once I took the somewhat constricting but incredibly fascinating headset off.

And how amazing is that…that a pair of glasses and the Google Earth app could have that much of an impact on me. In fact, it had so much of an impact on me that, after recovering from my emotional experience, I went straight online and looked up plane tickets back to Paris for the next summer. What’s more, I now consider myself a lifelong supporter of Vive, the brand of the VR headset that my brother had shared with me.

While it may surprise some people, Virtual reality is quickly becoming one of the most popular new ways to advertise to consumers digitally. According to Omnivirt, "There are more than 190 different VR headsets currently available on Amazon".

This article by Search Engine Journal describes the journey of digital marketing perfectly:

 "We went from:

1) Reading text: You must imagine the scene for yourself.

2) Seeing images: You can view the scene but you are separate.

3) Watching videos: You can see and hear but you are separate.

4) Immersion in virtual realities: You feel part of the world."

So what will happen another decade from now?

Currently, the projected growth of active VR users from 2017 (which is now at 90 million) to 2018 is over 91 million new active users. That means that in 2018, people are expecting there to be over 181 million active VR users. What!

Mobile apps are already incorporating VR into their platforms, allowing users to experience VR on-the-go and at a relatively low cost. While phones are not headsets, they still allow enough for VR and even AR, or Augmented Reality, to exist. And, because VR has such a strong effect on people’s emotions (just think back to my experience with my brother’s Vive), it is going to make an incredible impact on digital marketing that mobile and desktop have never done or seen before.

Virtual Reality—as well as AR—gives consumers the ability to test out a product or decision before they even officially make it. It triggers the emotions and parts of our brain that influence our decisions, and ultimately, our buying behavior.

VR is also usable at really any stage in the buyer’s journey. Some companies—such as HBO’s Game of Thrones—have been using VR to mainly increase brand awareness by allowing users to get a feel for what it would be like to “ascend the wall”. Meanwhile, others, such as Lowes, are using it to secure conversions by creating a room in which potential consumers can test out wall color options, different sized furniture pieces in different areas, etc.

Because consumers can now try out how the product would actually feel via VR marketing, interaction with VR marketing has skyrocketed, and so have the conversions following these interactions.

 Why wouldn’t a company eager for success start getting its hands into VR marketing?

In your free time, take a look at this awesome “gifographic” a friend sent me that Marketo created about Virtual Reality taking over the marketing world. There are a lot of great statistics on here that tell you more about the predictions for the future of both VR and AR.

But wait—what does this mean for traditional marketing?

For starters—as most people have been saying for quite some time now—yes, print is still dying. I don’t believe it will go away completely, as many people still rely entirely on reading the newspaper everyday to get their updates. The main point here, however, is that print is becoming a last resort as a medium for marketers to get their messages across and conversion rates met.

Scarily enough, desktop marketing may not be far behind. According to this infographic from a Search Engine Journal article, ad success rate using desktop marketing is only 0.4 % (CTR), while VR advertising has a whopping 29.8% success rate (GTR).

People are spending less time on desktops and much more time on their mobile phones, as well as taking a chance to have a go at any VR experiences they come across. Already we’ve learned that over 50% of internet usage happens on mobile, rather than desktop. And while the next person would tend to jump towards the statement that VR will make mobile obsolete next, its important to keep in mind how many companies are incorporating VR into their downloadable apps, as we discussed earlier. If marketers can find a way to still reach their customers in an affordable and easily accessible way using the newest technology, then by gosh, they are going to do it!

While desktop may suffer quite a bit from this new era of VR and AR, mobile will stay on its feet, only a few steps behind VR, AR, and MR (Mixed Reality, or the combination of both VR and AR).

Speaking of mixing VR and AR—have a look at this article I found while doing some research on VRScout, an online virtual reality newsroom.

Apparently, there are new ways being found to turn a VR headset into an AR headset. The article describes it like this:

“…the Mini provides close-up AR by attaching securely to the front of an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset and captures the real world in stereoscopic video via the camera’s two “eyes.” The device then maps the captured data in real-time in order to track its position as well as the surrounding 3D space.” -Kyle Melnick, VRScout Reporter

While I’m already scheming as to how I can steal my brother’s Vive headset away long enough to test this out, I’m also really looking forward to seeing the new devices that will come out now that the mixing of these two types of reality has already begun.

Another article that I actually stumbled across while also poking around VRScout was one about how a Dutch swimming club is actually using VR to help “people with conditions ranging from insomnia to arm pain.”

The non-profit used some grant money it received to have professional divers get recordings of swimming with dolphins, and then turned that into footage available for use using waterproof virtual reality headsets.

The coolness factor of virtual reality just keeps multiplying.

So with all of this being said, my main point is this: Virtual reality has already become a large part of the new technological marketing era, and as digital marketers we should absolutely be turning our focus towards figuring out how to make the most of the opportunities VR, AR and MR can give us, especially when it comes to mobile. Virtual reality is something that many companies are already investing in because it is the next up and coming platform that will undoubtedly turn their leads into consumers by playing upon their emotions and virtual experiences. As we learn with every new technological innovation, you never really know what seemingly impossible thing now will be possible next!

As always, please feel free to share any interesting articles on VR, AR and MR with me that you might find interesting, as well as any stories or experiences you might have had with in the comment section below!

Cheers,

Aubrey McNeil