Buyers walking into a Cadillac dealer in the near future could find an interesting thing on the car lot: nothing. A portion of stores will be converting into virtual dealerships in an effort to eliminate overhead and introduce sophisticated technology. However, driving off immediately with a new vehicle will be impossible because these stores won’t have inventory. So long, traditional selling model.
Loneliness keeps increasing, but new research suggests that electronic ways of keeping in touch do little compared with in-person contact. Research indicated people who had face-to-face contact with children, friends and family as infrequently as every few months had the highest rates of depression. Those who connected with people in person, at least three times a week, had the lowest. Human interaction requires face-to-face contact.
As marketing professionals in the experiential world, we have become accustomed to the idea of an ever evolving industry. Brands today are moving away from purely face to face physical experiences, and bringing their essence to life, not only through digital immersion creativity but through new technology as well including Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). Now, you may ask yourself, “what is the difference between VR and AR, and how are brands utilizing these technologies?” Well, I’m here to tell you… Virtual Reality is a computer technology that replicates an environment (real or imagined) and simulates a user's physical presence in a way that allows the user to interact with that environment. Virtual reality can create an artificial sensory experience, which can include sight, touch, hearing, and smell. VR is usually simulated through a headset or goggles. Augmented Reality is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are “augmented” by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. To translate: VR can transport a user into an imaginary reality for gaming, entertainment, and play to give them a brand new experience outside of their live reality. AR simulates the physical world around the user but implements computer generated objects in order to transcend your experience. Big brands are using these technologies to transform their experiential activations and increase interaction time between the consumer and the brand. For example, have you ever wanted to transport to another location? Travel companies such as Marriott are using VR to transport their consumer to exotic destinations in order for them to experience the location without ever having been there, however enticing for visits in the future with stays at Marriott hotels. This tactic not only helped Marriott to drive sales but also drove brand loyalty and engagement. Other brands, like Sephora, are using AR in-store to directly drive sales. Sephora enables the consumer to apply their makeup virtually through a touch screen, so they can visualize what the makeup will look like on before purchasing. This allows consumers to verify their confidence in the products prior to purchase, leading to higher satisfaction, engagement and loyalty rates, all thanks to AR, a win-win for both the brand and the consumer. Now that we know the difference between VR and AR, what can we expect in the future? You will see an increase in brands using these technologies in-store, on-site and on mobile devices given the creative freedom you can have with each. There is so much room to customize and tailor experiences directly to not only broader target audience groups, but individuals as well, offering a lot of benefits to brands trying to connect with their consumer in a fun and unique way. As experiential continues to evolve, it’s important to stay relevant in the space and understand the implications technology can have in these experiences, specifically how they can transform current reality. To read more about innovations, technologies, and where experiential is heading in 2016, visit our slide share ‘Experiential Insight’ here.
Technologies like virtual reality, multi-user environments, and real-time gameplay are immersing gamers in war zones or distant planets today, but they will be used by organizations to build a more collaborative workforce tomorrow. Imagine joining a meeting that exists in virtual space – a conference room rendered in 3-D, complete with chairs, a table, a whiteboard, and coffee. Will there still be a mute button?
True to the essence of their business model and following past successes with open source crowdsourcing for advancing technology and design products, Facebook has publicly released a 360-dgree camera made from off-the-shelf hardware. At the moment the Surround360 is a camera for professionals and serious hobbyists, but because the device is open source Facebook hopes that camera makers will grab bits and pieces from the company’s design in an effort to improve and streamline design for broader use. Although similar to competitor 360-degree cameras already in market, Facebook designed the hardware and the software in the Surround360 as a single system that performs a single task. The user can treat the camera just like a standard camera today: plug it in, record, and enjoy seamless video without extensive post-production. Let the games begin.
Researchers at the University of Houston are hoping they can use virtual reality to help patients deal with drug abuse. They’ve created a VR “heroin cave” that helps patients and therapists learn to identify and resist the things that trigger cravings. While traditionally this is done in the safety of a therapist’s office, it’s hard to actually create those triggers, until VR. VR therapy has real potential.
Unlike the slow, quiet dawn of smartphone gaming, the hype around VR has been building to a relentless, deafening pitch for years. Yet despite this hype, the industry and those watching it seem relatively split on the eventual impact of VR gaming. The DICE Summit and Awards ceremony show just how unsettled, and unsettling, the fate of the latest virtual reality boom really is. The future, in some form
When motion pictures first arrived in the 1890s, their subjects were simple: men boxing, a man sneezing, a couple kissing. Most of these short films were recorded in Thomas Edison’s New Jersey laboratory, and it’s obvious that the people making them knew they had something special on their hands, even if they weren’t exactly sure what it was. It’s simple to us today, but 120 years ago, it was an entirely new way of looking at the world. Virtual reality will start impacting our lives on a meaningful scale, when it can codify a coherent visual language. An entirely new way of looking at the world
Wired magazine evaluates Virtual Reality headsets based on cost, wow factor, and comfort - including options that are already in the market and a few you might want to wait for. Find your VR headset match.
Companies like AT&T, Restoration Hardware and Lowes are embracing the potential of virtual reality and augmented reality to transform the retail customer experience. VR has huge potential to create a more emotional ecommerce experience at home and to allow customers opportunities for trial – like seeing if that mid-century modern chair really goes well in your living room. In case you needed another reason to go shopping.
