Virtual reality burst into our society in 2015, with the global release of the Oculus Rift goggles.
These glasses were a revolution, and as is always the case when a new technology is marketed, at first it aroused many expectations and, why not say it, some skepticism. However, the vast majority of the public welcomed virtual reality with open arms. Brands quickly detected the hype generated among the general public by the Oculus Rift, and many of them did not hesitate to implement this new technology in various campaigns. However, technology is advancing at a dizzying pace. It has been three years since the famous virtual reality glasses became part of our daily lives. After the initial hype, the big brands have been leaving behind the experimentation phase, and over time they have become more results-oriented.
Virtual reality has become yet another engagement tool.
And as such, developers have to demonstrate to managers how and (above all) how much it will benefit them to invest in VR. If measuring the return on investment (ROI) in digital marketing campaigns is not always easy, assessing results in a technology as recent as virtual reality complicates things even more. However, there are many brands that have jumped into the pool and have opted for VR marketing campaigns. Although the sample is not excessively extensive, there have already been many campaigns with virtual reality that have offered positive results. During the 2016 LA Auto Show, for the promotion of the I-Pace, Jaguar’s electric SUV, an event was held for users who were both in London and Los Angeles. Up to 300 participants were able to inspect the revolutionary vehicle in a first-person VR environment, and even sit in the driver’s seat of the luxury SUV as they took a virtual drive around Venice Beach.
This experience helped greatly in the promotion of the vehicle, as it generated a total of 25,000 reservations for a car that would not be released until two years later, in 2018. On the other hand, it is worth mentioning the successful virtual reality Kickstarter The Apollo 11 Virtual Reality Experience. This is a virtual reality simulation that, using real documents of the time, immerses us in the journey of the Apollo 11 spacecraft until its landing on the moon.
For the realization of this project, financed through crowdfunding, a total of 36,000 euros was obtained. That is, 6,000 euros more than the 30,000 euros initially requested for the initiative to go ahead.
Virtual reality campaigns have also proven to be effective in other sectors.
In 2015, the UN launched Clouds over Sidra, a film shot in 360º that tells the story of a Jordanian girl in a refugee camp. The film grossed $1 billion more than expected.
In view of the success, UNICEF also used the virtual reality film in another campaign and its donation rates doubled, while the average amount per donation increased by 18%.
Key elements to measure in a digital marketing campaign
Virtual reality campaigns are three years old. The existing sample is not very large. Therefore, it is difficult to know what are the indicators to take into account to measure their success. The website Webpage FX, specialized in digital marketing, conducted a comprehensive study on the use of virtual reality in marketing campaigns. This report states that virtual reality campaigns have a CTR of 29.8% and an installation rate of 12.5%. These results are much higher than those obtained by traditional digital marketing campaigns, which in the best of cases reach 1%.
Source: Webpage FX
Over time, experts seem to have found three criteria particularly useful for measuring the effectiveness of virtual reality marketing:
1. Measure how long the user interacts with the advertisement.
2. Measure sales generated directly through the campaign.
3. Evaluate user interaction analytics
Knowing where we need to focus, observing user behavior can be very beneficial in gathering data on user behavior. This is where the CognitiveVR and Virtualitics services operate. The latter maps and analyzes, through machine learning, data on the experience offered by a multitude of devices, both virtual reality and augmented reality. There are other tools to measure how users interact with the virtual reality device. This is the example of Ghostline, a plugin that allows developers of virtual reality video games to see how the end user moves through the virtual reality environment. Like a Big Brother, thanks to this software, content creators can observe the player from almost any angle.
This allows us to analyze how the player’s body language reacts to the different stimuli and challenges posed by the game.
Other systems, such as Retinadvr or InstaVR, generate heat maps to analyze the eye movement of users wearing VR glasses. Using this technology, developers can learn the behavioral patterns of VR users to determine the best distribution of objects (such as advertisements) within the virtual environment. We find ourselves in a context in which brands are trying to get closer than ever to consumers. The emergence of social networks has broken down all the barriers that have traditionally separated the two. For this reason, immersive experiences in virtual reality offer a unique opportunity for users to relate to brands in an even more intense way. And, given the potential of virtual reality in this sense, it only remains for brands that have not yet done so to dare to take the step to immerse the general public in their product idea.
From TwoReality we continue to create the best content and applications for different devices. Tell us about your project.
