I never deared
invest money on kickstarter, but the day I did it, it was in August 2012 and I
bought the Oculus. That thing came out of nowhere and heat earth like a
meteorite, an OVNI coming from the future. At that time, I was a pro gamer and
the oculus helmet allowing virtual reality apperead to me as the last part of
my armor to completely let myself enjoy gaming, and that was also the goal of
the firm, provide a better immersive gameplay. That was it and didn’t asked for
more.
But in 2014,
Facebook bought Oculus VR…..”ok but what’s the point” did I tell myself. Now we
are in 2016 and journalists are starting to make assessment about the full
potential of VR and I was quiet surprised to see that people are waiting fare
more from it than just a better gaming experience like me. In fact VR could be
the next revolution in marketing.
Let us just
imagine one second what could be for a French person to experience the live
final of Superbowl on the other side of Atlantic Ocean surrounded by 90
thousand people just waiting to see the next million budget ad proposed by
Doritos….You get it, not only customer will be thrilled to experience such
amazing event (I love American ads) but BRANDS will hit the jackpot. Last year
111,9 millions of American have seen the final. Then what could be the audience
if it was not only American people watching but the whole world? That could be
a good way for Brands to monetize the cost to advertise in such event
(130 000$ for 1 second) but that is at least the advantage of what VR
could bring.
VR is about
making an immersive experience, so as a Brand you do not expect a reaction to
your video, to your tweet or print campaign anymore, now Brands without talking
about the positive effect of using such technology, they can create an
environment/campaign where every bit of it is controlled and has the potential
to convey brand image to the people getting into it and right now where people
enter the most on the web is….Facebook.
Getting into it, that
is the obstacle to the miracle I am talking about. VR full potential is only
achievable if it gets massive but right now the technology cost too much and
the price won’t go down with the wireless headsets incoming.
My last job in an
advertising agency made me face that reality, as we worked for brands searching
for that ultimate customer experience. That was particularly relevant for
Dorcel, the French porn video leader producer. How make people understand the
advantage to pay 9,99 per month for VR porn instead of looking at free amateur
videos on the web ? The agency launched a campaign giving acces to the
catalogue for free at one condition I will let you discover (http://fr.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34514309/handsoff/marc-dorcel),
and the results were tremendous: 50x more time subscriptions. VR could make
that score looking weak.
From the start
with gaming to the end with porn industry I hope you get the limitless
possibility of VR to only boost marketing but give it a real new dimension.
David Migliacci & Paul Le Bris
Article by Rebecca Stewart, media reporter
