Virtual Reality: The New Sheriff In Live Event Marketing
Virtual Reality has been filling the headlines in the last few years. And for good reasons. Studies show virtual reality attracts visitor’s attention at live events and gives them an unforgettable experience at a company’s booth. This results in 33% more leads generated from gaming expos, 27% higher user engagement, improved Brand recognition, and higher customer loyalty. Is it time to put aside traditional advertising and improve marketing with this interactive medium?
In the last few years, Virtual Reality has slowly emerged as the next big thing in the entertainment industry. With a slow decline of mobile apps and chatbots, it is — after all — time for a new sheriff in town. And what a sheriff it is.
The Age of Impossible Possibilities
We have come a long way in our digital age. We are able to look through the phone’s camera and see things in front of us that are not there in reality, we are able to watch movies that we do not own in physical shape and we are able to put on VR glasses and experience a different world.
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A Virtual World.
How amazing this possibility actually is, is shown by the fact that everybody wants to try it; Simply put on glasses and travel to an imaginary world. And when people get the opportunity to try this new technology out for themselves, they do. Who wouldn’t?
Perhaps that is why VR has been stealing all the headlines at trade shows and Expos.
We recently had a client who presented a VR Experience Creative Solutions made for them at a local live event in Norway. After the first day, he was ecstatic:
»The VR Experience has been a success, thank you so much for the great work. We have had 180 people trying it, and that´s really good on an event with 600 people! And the feedback was very good.« -Ola Martin Fjeld, Kollisjon
Other clients report 29–33% additional leads generated from live events when using VR Experience at their booth.
There are people claiming that Virtual Reality will become the next marketing chieftain. And there are skeptics, who say that VR will always remain a lone wolf in the marketing industry. A lot has been written about VR, even more, has been said, but one thing is certain:
Virtual Reality is a fun and unforgettable experience for the user.
When a user puts on a VR headset, is transported into a virtual world, where he can enjoy an amazing experience. And who do people love? Brands who allowed them this opportunity; The opportunity to have fun.
We Want More
Yes, the digital age has brought significant changes to our lives. It changed how we think about products, how we choose them and how we order them. But there is one thing the digital age did not change. Basic human nature.
Even though we have everything we might possibly need, people still want more. More content, faster delivery, a better experience. And this is where Virtual Reality really shines.
A study made by YuMe and Nielsen shows, that VR elicits 27% higher emotional engagement than any 2d environment, such as an image or a video.
And this is not the only advantage that Virtual Reality has over other advertising content. Because the user puts on a VR headset to enter a virtual world, he enters a distraction-free environment. And while the trade show itself is all about glitz and glamour, the virtual environment only consists of the user himself, your product and the message you want to deliver. This results in 34% longer focus on your product — the same study shows.
What can I do with all that attention?
To have all that focus in the digital age is like holding a pair of Aces at a poker table. But it is all about exploiting that monster hand to perfection. And again, this is one point, where Virtual Reality really comes to life.
A VR Experience is extremely flexible. At Creative Solutions, we have made it our mission, to customize our projects based on our client’s needs. That is why we offer high-quality VR Experiences, tailor-made for your products.
- Are you looking to amaze visitors and potential clients by presenting your products in different environments and in different combinations? You can do that with a VR Experience.
- Are you thinking about changing the design of one of your products? Test the design on those whose opinion really matters. Bring a VR Experience with the new design to the trade show and show it to your potential clients. Are they amazed? Launch the product with the new design. Don’t get that wow reaction? It’s back to the drawing board.
- Are you planning a new product that you really wanted to show off at the trade show, but the development ran long and it wasn’t prepared in time for the show? That’s ok, present the product in the virtual world and show your client what they will be getting from you in the next months!
The possibilities are limitless.
Long-Term Benefits
It is these unlimited possibilities that make Virtual Reality perhaps the best marketing medium at the moment.
While standard advertisements such as TV ads and online newspaper ads produce dubious long-term results at best, Virtual Reality is proving that a positive return on investment is achievable in today’s crowded market
In a recent research, done by Rui Biscaia of Coventry University, only between 0(!) and 21.9% of Brands, advertising in football were recollected correctly by fans, visiting the matches.
In comparison, Virtual Reality users in a research, done by Osnabrűck’s Institute of Psychology, performed much better. VR users recollected twice as much data (!) as users who were watching the same data on video.
Why is this important? Correct recollection of a Brand leads to improved brand recognition, increases customer loyalty and presents the Brand as modern and forward-thinking. All this in the long term leads to an improved Brand image, helps with the marketing efforts and smoothes the sales process.
But Virtual Reality doesn’t trump standard advertisement only in the performance sector. It wins in the financial aspect as well. While standard ads are paid for based on time or usage — i.e. yearly subscriptions for website ad banners — the development for a VR Experience is only paid once. The VR Experience can then be used on several trade shows, from ICE London to Macau and Las Vegas, which in turn, helps keep the cost of a VR Experience manageable and improves long-term return on investment.
To Sum Up
With times changing, marketing has changed as well. And while traditional advertising might be in decline, there are new, digital alternatives that produce better results and provide a higher return on investment.
I think it is safe to say we have entered a new era. An experiential era, that will see a continuous rise of immersive marketing and new marketing mediums.
It is time for us to re-think marketing.
It is time to embrace the new medium.
It is time to embrace the new sheriff in town.
Keywords: #VR #VirtualReality #VRMarketing #ExperientialMarketing #DigitalMarketing #ContentMarketing
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Andrej Persolja is a VR artist and a co-founder of Creative Solutions. Creative Solutions partners with creative agencies to help their clients raise the presentation of their products to the next level. Contact: andrej.persolja@creativesolutions.si
