A couple of years ago, the general consensus surrounding virtual reality is that it was a technological façade way ahead of its time and that it would die out in a couple of years’ time. Fast forward to today, social media giants Facebook is rumoured to be announcing two new virtual reality headsets on top of their incredibly successful Oculus Quest 2 headset while Apple is racing around the clock to put out a pair of brand new augmented reality glasses before Facebook beats them to the punch.

Long story short, virtual reality is here to stay and many companies have already taken notice of this trend and are pushing the boundaries with marketing using this new technology. However, before we get started on our list of awesome implementations of VR in marketing, we first need to break down the three different types out there.

• Virtual Reality – full virtual reality where the user is completely surrounded and immersed in a virtual environment using a VR headset (like the aforementioned Oculus Quest 2, HTC Vive, Valve Index).
• Augmented Reality – similar to what we see in Pokemon Go, augmented reality places virtual objects in real life environments that is captured using a camera on your smart device, requiring no VR headset for the most part.
• Mixed Reality – a 50/50 combination of both virtual and augmented reality, mixed reality layers both real world footage and virtual footage on top of one another, allowing both to seemingly interact with one another using a VR headset.

IKEA PLACE

Let’s face it, we’ve all spent long hours pondering in some furniture shop or IKEA on whether or not this one sofa, dining set or bed frame would fit our home décor.

Thankfully, IKEA knows this as well and thanks to their IKEA Place AR App, customers can preview how a particular piece of furniture will look in their home thanks to the augmented reality, all from the comfort of their home.

GUCCI TRY-ON

Besides furniture, finding the right pair of shoes can also be a struggle but thanks to Gucci’s new try-on AR App, customers can also have a live preview what Gucci’s brand new line-up of shoes will look like directly on their own feet using their smartphone camera app.

That way, customers can not only see how the shoes will fit on their own feet but also match them with their favourite clothes to see if the style is the right fit.

VOLVO TEST DRIVE

Sure, furniture and shoes are not cheap but cars are an even bigger investment. In an attempt to show off the safety features and driving capabilities of their latest cars, Volvo has partnered with Finnish mixed reality company Varjo to come up with their mixed reality test drive experience.

Using both a VR headset and a makeshift car, Volvo can go beyond just allowing drivers to experience the car’s internals and simulate a driving experience in a controlled environment but also introduce sudden moments like pedestrians or animals crossing the road which allows the car to flex its safety capabilities.

McDonalds Happy Goggles

Who said you need expensive thousand dollar headsets to experience with VR? Evidently not McDonald’s in Sweden as they introduced their Happy Goggles back in 2016 where the cost of entry is an iconic Happy Meal Box and your own smartphone.

Inspired by Google’s own Google Cardboard concept, McDonalds Sweden customers only need to make certain cuts to the Happy Meal Box which can be folded into a makeshift VR headset. From there, it is just a small matter of sliding in your own smartphone into the VR headset and from there, children can experience a simplified VR experience which not only shows off the company’s ingenuity but also a creative take on recycling and repurposing otherwise wasted material.

Where to? 

While still relatively infantile when compared to other mainstream technologies like TV, radio and billboards, virtual reality offers something that other mediums simply cannot which is unparalleled interactivity and connectivity with the company’s brand or products.

Be it trying on the latest clothes from the comfort of your home, pushing the vehicles to absolute and daring limits on a test drive, or transporting people to another country or world even, the possibilities for immersive marketing are endless.

Plus, with the latest tech giants still racing with one another to release an upcoming headset that will hopefully bring the technology to the mainstream, now would be a better time than any to think about VR when it comes to your next big marketing campaign. Be it something bold or simple, there is no better way to give off a solid first impression like when you put a headset on a potential customer or show them something on their smartphone camera which isn’t quite there in real life.