How Virtual Reality Could Change Content Marketing. More consumers are expecting to see the power of virtual reality too. Hill: Today we are in the “brick-cell-phone phase” of VR. Virtual reality is no longer just about video and audio anymore. Hill: How many experiences have they created? Not every 360-degree story has to have 3D or depth. The viewer is perceiving depth, but doesn’t always know how to process that kind of content. CCO: You’re immersed in the world of VR. CCO: Examples and explanations Hill: Monoscopic VR content is a 360 video presented in 2D. Stereoscopic VR content is 360 video presented in 3D, meaning the images before you can be much more life-like and immersive.
No longer the domains of ultra-early adopters and video gamers, virtual reality and augmented reality are poised to take off in the coming 24 months.
“We see qualities in VR/AR technology that can take this from niche-use case to a device as ubiquitous as the smartphone,” Goldman Sachs Research wrote in its Virtual and Augmented Reality report.
More consumers are expecting to see the power of virtual reality too. According to Greenlight Insights 62% of consumers say they would feel more engaged with a brand that sponsors a VR experience and 71% of consumers think a brand is forward-thinking if it uses virtual reality.
Expert insight
Sarah Hill is the CEO and chief storyteller for StoryUP, one of the early pioneers in virtual reality for brands. She explains why VR is finally gaining a foothold, and what marketers should understand before they dive in.
CCO: Describe what virtual reality applications look like today versus what they’ll look like in the future? Where is the technology headed?
Hill: Today we are in the “brick-cell-phone phase” of VR. Mobile VR is taking off – by that I mean you don’t need a heavy-gaming PC to view VR; all you need is your mobile device and Google Cardboard. Yet most VR experiences are seated right now.
The future is walk-around VR or what’s called “room-scale VR,” where you can move around a virtual room. Imagine walking around a Walmart virtual showroom in your bedroom and using hand controllers to add items to a virtual shopping cart or browsing virtual clothing racks at Target.
VR is predicted to disrupt nearly every industry, but in particular education, travel, journalism, health care, architecture, and yes, even marketing. The world is no longer flat. The internet is fast-becoming a place you step inside. Just as you had to make your site responsive for mobile, so too will you have to make it responsive for VR.
CCO: Marketers sometimes get excited about a new technology or new channel, and race to use it before figuring out fit or strategy. Can you offer pointers for those considering undertaking a virtual reality project?
Hill: There are certain kinds of stories that naturally lend themselves to virtual reality. First and foremost, in VR location is a character so you want to choose stories that have immersive environments or create one.
You also want to choose a storyteller who’s experienced with crafting non-linear story arcs with immersive media. In an immersive story, the viewer is in control of the frame, not the storyteller – which means you need to use subtle techniques (e.g., visual cues and positional audio) to direct the audience where to look. It can be incredibly frustrating to the viewer if it’s not clear where they should be directing their attention.
Be wary of including camera movements in your VR story. Movement in VR is something that can make the audience feel sick. Hire a professional company that’s completed a lot of VR experiences, as hiring inexperienced people might result in something that could put your customers on the vomit train.
Also, make sure to pair your VR experience with a Facebook 360, Littlstar, or YouTube 360 campaign; without at least one of those, a limited number of people will see your content because not everyone owns a VR…
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