Starting with strategy

While the use of immersive technologies is growing, it is important to determine whether it is the right solution for the company.

To start, businesses should evaluate their target demographics and goals before investing in new technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality or animation. When taking all possible stakeholders into account, it will then be easier to shape the experience for maximum engagement and connection with target audiences. For example, in our work at VISION, we once worked with a client whose CEO had told their marketing team that they wanted Google Glass AR for a tradeshow.

The marketing team said they wanted to create an immersive experience and invite existing customers and potential new customers to a private experience using this innovative new technology. However, they did not have a plan for what the experience would be or why the customers were experiencing it. They just wanted to use word of mouth to talk about how cool it was.

Our team came in and listened to the event goals, gave our recommendations, and the client then realized they needed to determine who the customer was and what they wanted to say to the customer from a sales perspective.

That same client came back with a strategy behind the tradeshow experience and ultimately realized they actually did not want an AR experience, but that they wanted a complete immersive experience. From there, this client instead chose a 3D Interactive experience that they could deliver virtually online directly to their clients, and they didn't even use it for the tradeshow. It turned out to be the most successful sales tool they had ever produced.

What tech can do for strategy

Once brands have a broader idea for their strategy and marketing goals, they also need to understand what new immersive technologies are used to accomplish. Beyond creating "buzz," how does each technology actually drive the customer experience and end action desired?

Interactive media—Interactive media is a method of communication in which a program's outputs depend on the user's inputs, and the user's inputs, in turn, affect the program's outputs. Interactive media allows brands to connect with their audiences and making them active participants in the media they consume. Examples include digital graphics, interactive video or in-person touch screen activations.

There are a lot of different forms of interactive media, but at the heart, the goal of this tactic is to create something personalized to the user and establish a memorable connection.

Consider that people remember very little of what they read. They are likely to remember more if they view it in a video format – but they are most likely to remember something they have had a role in themselves. This makes it a particularly compelling technology if the ultimate goal is around education or awareness of a new topic.

Augmented reality – Augmented reality is the overlaying of digitally-created content on top of the real world. AR allows the user to interact with both the real world and digital elements or augmentations. AR can be offered to users via headsets like Microsoft's HoloLens, or through the video camera of a smartphone.

In both practical and experimental implementations, augmented reality can also replace or diminish the user's perception of reality. This altered perception could include simulation of an ocular condition for medical training purposes, or gradual obstruction of reality to introduce a game world. It is worth noting that there is a point when augmented reality and virtual reality likely merge, or overlap. See also, mixed reality.

Particularly in a post-COVID world, AR's applications can meet goals such as facilitating a try-on experience that can lead to direct sales or telling a brand story without the need for an in-person activation or event. We're also seeing AR being used to replace the exhibitor experiences at would-be in-person events, where AR allows the demonstration to come to the user. Now with social distancing mandates restricting in-person presentations, AR is proving even more valuable than ever before as more people begin to see the practical values beyond entertainment.

Virtual reality — A high level of VR immersion is achieved by engaging your two most prominent senses, vision and hearing, by using a VR headset and headphones. The VR headset wraps the virtual world or experience nearly to the edge of your natural vision field of view. When you look around, you experience the environment the same as you do when you look around in real life. Headphones amplify the experience by blocking the noise around you, while allowing you to hear the sounds within the VR experience. When you move your head, the sounds within the VR environment move around you like they would in real life. The user becomes immersed within the virtual environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.

Virtual Reality has some great applications for training, particularly in healthcare fields or for active shooter preparation. In marketing, companies are implementing VR to enable the consumer to interact with products without having it in their hands — this is particularly applicable for selling luxury properties or furniture that consumers like to touch and feel prior to purchase.

The caveat with virtual reality is consumers cannot typically access this reality without VR goggles, and it is not conducive for a shareable experience that the audience can relive. So, particularly with this tactic, it's crucial to make sure that the "wow-factor" isn't the only goal.