Marketers who play with the idea of engaging customers through augmented or virtual reality can find an issue with justifying an investment into these novelties, not to mention ignoring its possibilities entirely and risk getting left as a zero.
As augmented and virtual reality progressively improves in accessibility, usability, and price, it will become far more feasible for brands looking to take their innovation and creativity up a step. As Gen Z, the first digital-native generation matures, not forgetting adoption by third-party markets, we’ll see increasing demand for more immersive experiences.|
A Little Lesson in Altered Realities
In virtual reality (VR), you can do dangerous things like swimming with sharks in the comfort of your own home. While in augmented reality (AR), you can watch a shark pop out of your wall.
The term virtual reality implies an entirely immersive experience that blocks out the physical world. VR devices such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive allows users to be transported into real-world and wholly imaginary environments such as the middle of Antarctica or in a castle surrounded by a fire breathing dragon.
On the other hand, AR adds digital elements to the real world, most often by using the camera on your smartphone or another device. A couple of examples would be Pokémon GO and Snapchat lenses.
How is it Useful in Marketing?
In the vast world of marketing, VR experiences are likely to be much more immersive for all of your customers. They also have a small area needed to showcase the products, making them perfect for smaller businesses and pop-ups. The opportunity for kinaesthetic learning dramatically lowers recall, so virtual reality is beneficial to educate and train staff and customers alike on how to do something with it. Customers are also able to experience a product in an entirely virtual environment to try out a different style or color combinations.
The Best in Class
Ikea’s Place app is an excellent example of a massive international brand embracing augmented reality to expand engagement and influence beyond physical outlets and stepping into the digital world. Far away from the constraints of a cramped and busy warehouse and far more interactive than any website available, users can ‘sample’ a large variety of products in the comfort of their own home. From a practical standpoint, tools such as this can almost altogether eliminate any concerns about style or space, helping to avoid choice rejection. The best part is that many people already have this technology readily available in their pockets at any time in the form of a smartphone.
AR, on the other hand, is significantly less intimidating to the user and provides a lot more freedom as well. More possibilities for marketers as well, because augmented reality does not need a head-mounted display. It’s cheaper and requires minimal setup and zero training.
Horizon Marketing can design AR and VR solutions for your brand. We specialize in delivering big agency services to small and medium-sized businesses, Call (310) 734-1493 Ext. 1 Now and request your free consultation for how AR and VR can benefit your product or service.