Why marketers are actively using oculus rift and virtual reality at events

The most recent development in the domain of experiential is American Express announcing its partnership with the tennis sensation Maria Sharapova for a virtual reality game. The game will now allow the U.S. Open fans to return the tennis legend’s serves with their own moves, A strategic move to capitalize on the frenzy of the U.S Open, this particular experiential campaign by American Express is being lauded by critics and fans alike.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that the multinational financial services company has used the technology of virtual reality to create customer experiences. Previously during the N.B.A. All-Star weekend in New York, American Express had invited basketball fans to engage in a digital video experience called Pivot. And it is not just American Express, most brands across the world today are actively using oculus rift and virtual reality at events.

So what makes technologies like oculus rift and virtual reality tick for marketers? Well for those who do not know about it The Rift is a virtual reality head-mounted display developed by Oculus VR and is mainly used for gaming purposes and Virtual Reality (VR) replicates an environment that simulates physical presence in places in the real world or imagined worlds and lets the user interact in that world.

Marketing experts believe that solely on the fact that oculus rift and virtual reality can provide tangible experiences to target audiences of a brand makes it a must use for marketers. How does a hotel or holiday company convince someone that it can offer an amazing experience when the person has never tried it in the first place?

A brochure or website has their own limitations but actually taking them to the destination and allowing them to walk around the accommodation, to look at the views, to be in the experiences, that’s the sort of tangible experience that gives a real sense of what it would be like and sells it like no other medium. As an example, Marriott Hotels internationally has been offering newly married couples VR honeymoon experiences for quite some time now and they are a big hit.

Also streaming content in a manner in which it appears absolutely live and directly in person has also become a possibility today. Thanks to the technologies in subject people anywhere in the world can have access to what it feels like to be at the event even if they are thousands of miles away. NBA currently is collaborating with Samsung to bring live basketball experiences to their global fan base.

Another impressive use of oculus rifts and virtual reality is being done by online hiring companies and multinationals that is providing their prospective employees a real time experience of what would it be like when they join the job? Can experiences for people be any better? So basically these technologies are bringing the unthinkable and unimaginable to reality and that too without costing the time, efforts and monetary value of creating something real from scratch.

Majority of brands in the country today who are willing to spend on BTL engagements opt for associations with large scale events. However, the current times call for a more dynamic and intimate relationships with customers. Something is which registers more to consumers apart from the logo pasted on every event branding. Oculus rifts and virtual reality serves this purpose as it helps brand customers develop a strong connect with the brand, an experience that they would always thank the brand for.