The two newest forms of interactive digital media, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are no less than something straight out of a science-fiction flick. They have changed the way people market products, offer services and entertain themselves. According to Statista, the global VR software and hardware market size is expected to reach $40.4 billion by 2020. Owing to the high degree of immersiveness and realism in these forms of media, diverse industries have started using them as a functional tool.
How can brand marketing benefit from AR and VR content?
Interactive media is changing the very essence of digital marketing by making brand engagement with consumers more realistic. Tech-savvy digital marketers can leverage the power of interactive marketing to reach out to customers and immerse them in their offerings. This isn’t just a new platform feature or algorithm update, it’s a digital transformation!
According to a research conducted by Content Marketing Institute, about 46 percent of brand marketers surveyed use interactive media. If you as a brand owner seek to embrace the technology, be prepared for a complete digital transformation. Here are a few ways in which you can begin using interactive media in your brand marketing:
Create interactive reality!
With the help of AR and VR software and hardware, you can showcase your brand in a much more realistic way. For example, you have a travel agency providing trips to different destinations. Using virtual reality, you can showcase these places to your customers, who would be immersed completely into the destination. You can show hotel facilities, sites and activities by giving your customers the feeling of actually being in that place.
The importance of personalized, interactive media
Recent studies have shown that AR and VR will be a digital disruption in business models because they would be the fourth major shift in platform after personal computers, internet and mobile devices. These technologies allow you to create interactive media that suits your customers’ personal needs, increasing value by providing your customers the brand engagement they actually need.
Driving brand engagement
AR media, for example, has the power to engage customers in your brand’s digital marketing campaigns. Through mobile devices, AR can offer when, where and how consumers can engage with your digital campaign, product, packaging and branded collateral. It also paves the way for visual search options and provides a comfortable experience to consumers by relying on their mobile behaviors. You can also combine interactive digital content and social media to drive greater engagement.
Measuring results
Last but certainly not the least, you can use virtual reality as an insight tool for your brand marketing. These digital analytics are particularly useful when combined with ethnography for informing communications and product development. You can measure the performance of your campaigns and efforts in real-time by using their smart software features. VR content helps you to better understand user behavior and take corrective actions to close loopholes in your marketing efforts.
Both augmented reality and virtual reality as a part of interactive media marketing are changing brand engagement with consumers and vice versa – it’s a new level of communication. As such, it would be a cherry on the cake if you are able to leverage it along with other marketing tools.
