While it is becoming more commonplace in the gaming realm, the technology hasn’t quite hit the mainstream yet, so stills holds a certain wow factor for people as they see themselves transported into different realms by simply wearing a headset.
This can lead to immersive and memorable marketing experiences. Take a look at the top VR campaigns of the year so far…
1. Ocean Spray – The Most Beautiful Harvest
(Image via Wall Street Journal)
Do you know how cranberries are harvested? Cranberry bogs are flooded with water, creating a sea of bright red floating berries. Quite a sight; one that most people would never get to see.
But Ocean Spray have created a short film called The Most Beautiful Harvest. Using a custom camera rig with six GoPro camera and aerial drones, viewers are put right in the heart of the action when they watch the film through Oculus Rift headsets.
The cranberry company are currently touring the world with the headsets to show the film to influencers in a B2B round of marketing. According to The Wall Street Journal, consumers will be able to view the film using Google Cardboard from next year.
2. Volvo – Volvo Reality
With the help of Google Cardboard, Volvo can let customers to take a virtual test drive of their new XC90 car from the comfort of their own home. Users simply need to download the app to their phone and then attach Google Cardboard – a flat-pack viewer made from cardboard, two lenses and a magnet, for the 360° experience.
The magic of Google Cardboard is that it’s affordable and easy to use, and makes VR accessible to everone. The app works without the attachment, but not to the same immersive extent.
The programme was made in association with Oscar-winning digital content company Framestore, according to Digiday. Users are taken on drives through open fields, mountains and lakes, able to take in the interior of the car and feel the smoothness of the drive.
3. Dior – Dior Eyes
Being one of the world’s leading fashion houses, Dior has gone one step further than creating a film for VR and created its own super-click looking VR headset, Dior Eyes.
In June, Dior Eyes was sent to Dior stores around the world where consumers could be transported to the shop floor to the front row of a fashion show.
Dior fashion shows are highly exclusive events, but Dior Eyes allows consumers to get a front row seat and even get a behind the scenes glimpse at the models being made up and getting ready to take to the stage.
LVMH reports that the headset, made in partnership with DigitasLBi Labs, is equipped with “high-definiton image resolution and integrated holophonic audio, creating a 3D immersion, including the sensation of 360° vision.”
4. HBO – Game of Thrones – Ascend The Wall
To launch Season 5 of Game of Thrones, the GoT Exhibit came to the O2 Arena in London where fans could visit the fantasy world of Westeros thanks to VR.
Wearing Oculus Rift headsets, fans took a journey in a lift up the 700-foot Wall from the television series, through programming developed using the Unity game engine. Wind machines and rumble packs added that extra dimension to the experience to make it truly immersive.
Once fans had ‘ascended’ The Wall, they could then explore the area and get a view out over the desolate North and even experience some plot twist interactions with characters.
5. Thomas Cook – Take a trip abroad
It’s nice to try before you buy. Thomas Cook is bringing this retail concept to holidays with Samsung Gear VR headsets.
Customers get a 360° view of Thomas Cook destinations through Oculus Rift headsets. The destinations available for exploration include a helicopter tour of Manhattan, a poolside lounge at a Thomas Cook resort in Rhodes and the SunConnect restaurant at their resort in Cyprus.
Chief executive Peter Frankhauser sees the in-store experience going even further in the future. He told Marketing Magazine, “Even today, virtual reality technology is available on a regular smartphone. We believe that as it becomes more widespread, we will be well positioned to deliver 3D hotel and destination experiences via our website to customers in their homes.”
For more information on how new technology could enhance your marketing campaigns, contact us at [email protected] or visit www.digitalradish.co.uk
