Virtual reality (VR) has been promised as one of the most revolutionary technology of the 2010s, and its implications for marketing and advertising are supposed to be enormous. By 2018, it’s projected that there will be 171 million active VR users, which is an impressive figure, and as the technology grows more advanced, that number is only going to develop further.
But here’s the thing—marketers have been looking forward to the VR revolution for years now. The release of Oculus Rift last year was thought to herald the tipping point for the technology—yet sales are lagging far behind expectations, with fewer than a million units sold (as of March). Think of your own friends and family members; how many of them have invested in VR technology? How many companies do you know that are producing and releasing integrated VR advertising?
The answer is “not many.” VR hasn’t taken over the world yet, so marketers are still speculative about its potential value. But why is this the case? And when will it become common in the marketing world?
The Gaming Niche
Part of the problem is the perception of what VR is used for. According to Marketing Week, 60 percent of consumers believe that VR is strictly for gamers. On some level that makes sense, as most of the content being produced for VR headsets is related to gaming. However, this creates a self-perpetuating cycle; more content creators steer toward game-related content, which prompts more gamers to invest in the technology, further adding to public perceptions of its content exclusivity.
Before marketers think about approaching the tech, it needs to expand to more areas.
Cost
Marketers know that the attractiveness of a campaign is dependent on the number and diversity of people able to view it; that’s why Facebook’s massive one-billion-member audience makes it one of the best online advertising platforms in the world. But the adoption numbers for VR simply aren’t there to justify the cost of investing in a VR content strategy.
One of the biggest factors for this is the prohibitive cost of a VR system. For a full-scale headset, you’ll need to spend a few hundred dollars—but you’ll also need to invest in the right kind of computer, which could cost you $1,000 or more.
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Source: Forbes