EQ : Living in a VR World

If you've ever played with a VR headset, you'd understand just how impressive virtual reality can be.

At one moment you're riding the waves in Tahiti - then with the click of a button, you're transported into your favorite Netflix show, on the set of The Hunger Games, or escaping The First Order in the latest Star Wars movie.

Virtual Reality is today's hottest digital trend. With it comes a whole slew of tech giants trying to tame the beast and claim superior such as Samsung, Microsoft and HTC.

Social media ringleader Facebook gained the current advantage on the quest to virtual-reality-domination when the mega-corp scooped up Oculus VR in 2014, the first ever successful consumer-targeted VR Company (which also happened to raise over $2 million of public funding).

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So, why VR? And what does this mean for marketers and advertisers?

Virtual reality is not a new concept and its origins can be traced as far back back as the 1920s. However, consumers today are more open to the idea of virtual reality than ever before.

Recent studies show that 64% of smartphone owners want to use VR to 'see items in real size and form' when they shop online. Additionally, 57% like the idea of watching a fully immersive movie and 52% of smartphone owners want an interactive video call in a real-time environment. Viewers are looking for captivating experiences that allow them to step into a new world or improve their own. This has inspired brands to experiment with a variety of immersive videos such as augmented reality and 360* videos.

As for marketers and advertisers, they will need to find a new approach to integrating and monetizing ads. Just as a hashtag is not social media marketing but merely re-purposed advertising on a social media platform, the same will apply for ads in virtual reality. Marketers and advertisers will only be successful in the world of VR if they are able to seamlessly integrate ads into the viewers` surrounding and perhaps, create a tangible experience for users and brands.

Here at EQ, we question how Virtual Reality will affect programmatic ad buying.

Robert Bruza, CEO of Outlyer believes that VR will give brands and advertisers more data prospects and in turn - more buying opportunities, 'To get programmatic to grow, it needs more data. With VR, qualitatively, you have more real estate.'

Virtual reality is unlike anything users have ever experienced before and marketers will need to treat it the same way.

via GIPHY