Roll up, roll up. Grab some popcorn, pull up a chair and prepare to be entertained like never before.
Okay, admittedly we are being slightly dramatic. But here at Pebble, we love Virtual Reality. With more brands than ever before using it to market their products, it’s safe to say we are struggling to play it cool.
It’s clear that VR has huge scope as a branding tool, so let’s take a look at five of our virtual faves that have us all a flutter.
McLaren & DETC (Digital Engineering and Test Centre)
The future of the automotive industry was on display earlier this year at the Virtual Reality Show London 20-22 April 2017. McLaren and DETC teamed up to showcase what the factories of the not so distant future may look like. Viewers can don a headset and dive into a space age AI dreamland.
Audi: Sandbox 2.0
McLaren aren’t alone in the car industry when it comes to VR. Take a trip to Oslo and you can experience Audi’s Sandbox 2.0. This brilliant VR experience allows its viewers to build a unique race track. Once happy with their very own Silverstone, consumers can hop into a VR driving chair, pull on the Oculus rift and drive off into their own virtual sunset.
This virtual experience is designed to feel and sound the same as driving an Audi Q5. But, don’t worry you don’t have to hop over to Norway, Sandbox is set to go on tour to the UK later this year.
Disney & Dali: Architects of the Imagination
An eerie world dotted with fallen Angels, ringing alarm clocks and spider legged elephants awaited visitors to the Salvador Dali museum last June.
Disney teamed up with the museum to create a truly stunning 360 experience. As part of the Disney & Dali: Architects of the imagination exhibit, viewers could take a surrealist trip into Dali’s 1935 painting – ‘Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s “Angelus’. The chiming of haunting sounds suitably provides the soundtrack to the audience’s immersion into the work of one of the most creative artists of the twentieth century.
Would you like fries with that?
Last year Virtual Reality got to bathe in the glow of the golden arches and we are still lovin’ it. McDonalds stores across Sweden joined forces with Sportslov to bring a ski themed VR game to their customers. Once in a post burger or nugget state of bliss, consumers could transform their empty Happy Meal boxes in to Google Cardboard headsets. Dubbed “Happy Goggles”, it’s safe to say this beats a plastic toy any day. VR with a side of fries, anyone?
Samsung throws millennials off skyscrapers
Samsung recently took it upon themselves to chuck some millennials off a very high building. Well, not really, in fact it was all just a branding exercise. Even the creators of VR headsets need to advertise their products and unsurprisingly they use VR experiences to do just this.
27 victims, sorry participants, were invited by Samsung to take part in a 4-week VR training course. Aiming to help their guests overcome their fear of heights, among other things like public speaking and bungee jumping, Samsung devised immersive VR experiences. After pulling on the Samsung Gear VR headset, the fearful few were confronted with hanging off the top of a skyscraper. Flash forward 4 weeks and the acrophobic members of the group found that they were much better at coping with heights in real life situations.
Airbnb
Looking further ahead into the VR future and where the face of marketing could be heading, Airbnb may be leading the virtual way. They’re no stranger to doing things a little differently. Having already brought a greater level of personalisation to the way we book accommodation, they are now seeking to push this further. The techies over at the Airbnb headquarters are set to introduce Virtual Reality to this process.
The idea that potential renters can have a cheeky wander around Airbnb’s locations will hopefully increase trust, interactivity and ultimately bookings.
Expedia too are working on the possibility of letting people view hotel rooms or resorts in VR before they book. This may be a slight change of tune for Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who when asked about VR in 2016 said, “I hope that VR in travel fails miserably because I want people to go places”. Perhaps, Mr Khosrowshahi has seen the huge potential VR has as a branding tool.
Whatever your preference, be it racing round your very own track, to taking up residence in a swish pad, the adoption of VR in branding may have something for you. As growth in this tech continues to develop we are likely to see it used in brilliant and innovative ways. If you too want to help pave the way for VR, then drop us a line and we can help you in creating your very own branded VR experience.