The virtual reality space is changing everything for sponsors and advertisers, since it is increasing in demand in almost every sector. As the landscape changes, brands need to change with it, or risk being left behind their competitors. It may seem scary at first, but if used correctly, VR marketing could be a sponsor’s dream. Read on to find out how VR can benefit you and how to make the most of it.
THE BENEFITS OF VR MARKETING
One of the biggest benefits to sponsors (especially when it comes to hybrid or virtual events, tradeshows and in-store promotions) is that you will get to see the space beforehand and plan your campaign accordingly. While this alone may inspire some serious creative thinking, the VR itself also lends a lot more scope for activations to enhance the experience of your customers even more, really bringing your products or services to life, and allowing you to reach long-distance customers. Taking a step back, VR can also be used to effect in sales pitches and brainstorms, where you can better communicate your ideas to your team or potential investors.
HOW TO DO IT RIGHT
1. Don’t leave your existing customers out
If you already have a large customer base, the last thing you want to do is alienate them by disappearing into a medium they may not understand yet. Analytics are useful here. Do your research to find out if your audience is in-person only, on social media (and which social media platforms specifically), or on your website or app. Once you know where the bulk of your customers are engaging, you can begin using that platform to run VR advertising campaigns to see how they go. Keep it basic at the beginning, branching out ambitiously as your customers and clients get more and more familiar with your style of VR marketing. Once your customers are happy, it will be easy to use what you have created to engage new leads.
2. Don’t change your message
Virtual reality is new, exciting and evolving quickly. This can make it easy to be tempted to make the fact that you use VR as your marketing message to keep your audience interested. It is important to remember that VR is nothing but the medium for your messaging, not the message itself. Moving to new platforms and incorporating new technologies isn’t enough for a brand and shouldn’t count as a marketing strategy. Take some time to think about what your business and sales goals are, and how you can use virtual reality to get your audience to learn about or experience your products and services.
3. Make it an experience
Once you have decided on what your messaging will be, you can work on how to add this content strategy into the world of VR advertising in a way that will really matter to your customers. This technology can give you the opportunity to create fully-immersive experiences. Use this to your advantage to blow your customers away with an experience that will positively reinforce your brand and make an impact.
4. Use compelling storytelling
Up until now, film and gaming have been our most immersive experiences, both mediums that have mastered storytelling. VR marketing has been promising the same, with the added value of feeling like you’re actually there experiencing a product or service. Make sure the narrative for your customer journey is a strong one, by using quality visuals and audio, with interactivity where possible.
Will you be exhibiting your product or services at a virtual event or have plans to take your marketing into the VR space soon? Get in touch with The Virtulab to let us know how we can help, or take a look at our Virtuservices to get started.