Steven Spielberg’s sci-fi movie “Ready Player One,” based on the bestselling book by Ernest Kline, tells the story of a dystopian future where nearly everything is done in a virtual reality world called the “Oasis.” This includes schooling, banking, and even shopping.
In other words, virtual reality is the true reality for most people.
How about our real-world reality? Truth be told, brands have been playing with virtual worlds for years. In 2003, Phillip Rosedale launched a virtual world called Second Life. In this Sims-like environment, people could re-create themselves as a digital avatar that could interact with brands such as Toyota, Coca-Cola, and Adidas. Avatars, for instance, could purchase virtual shoes from Adidas that allowed them to fly.
Fast-forward to today. It has been almost two years since Oculus Rift launched its VR headset, the first device that enabled users to enter virtual reality. To date, almost 7 million virtual reality headsets have been sold worldwide. IDC Research predicts that 50 million headsets will be sold by 2021. This means that wide-scale adoption of VR is less about if it will happen and more about when.
This is why brands must ask themselves about VR’s business implications and how they can use it to further their corporate objectives. (A host of brands already are.)
Here are three use cases for when brands might want to take advantage of virtual reality.
1. A better brand representation: We’ve all struggled with how to project our brand vision into the real world. With most aspirational brands, making a literal interpretation of this vision is difficult. Well, with virtual reality, the impossible becomes possible. Imagine a Skechers site that looks like a giant skate park. Or a Long John Silver’s restaurant that is entirely underwater.
What if Coca-Cola could give you a tour through a perfect re-creation of its bottling plant? Or Mondavi could walk you through its acres of wine-ripe grapes? Whatever brand experience you want, you can create in virtual reality.
National Geographic does this well today. Fans of the network can enter an immersive nature experience that is iconic to the brand. Last month it even created this VR video from space
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3. A better way to listen to your customers: Brands succeed when they listen to the their customers and deliver on their needs. But how do you cost-effectively reach them for feedback? Focus groups are expensive to conduct and difficult to administer. Surveys are largely ignored.
Virtual reality can change all of this. Imagine joining your customers in a virtual chat room where they can speak freely and even anonymously about your brand. Customers can come from anywhere in the world to be a part of this group and share their opinions, and it doesn’t cost you a dime. And after the event, a full transcript of each conversation can be captured and studied for the future.
Best Western Hotels does this today by offering hotel guests a chance to view and comment on the room before they book.
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Source: Cmo