Can VR Move Beyond Content Marketing Into Ads And Loyalty?

Brand marketers are taking gradual steps in their experiments with virtual reality (VR), the computer-generated simulation of a fully immersive 3-D world. Only 8% of marketers have used VR in ads, while 35% say they have no intention to use it, according to a survey this year by consulting firm Yes Lifecycle Marketing. Many consumers aren’t quite ready to experience VR, with 46% of online adults saying they didn’t see a use for the technology in their lives, Forrester Research said in a February report. Still, a good many shoppers say they’re eager to try out the technology. According to a survey by L.E.K. Consulting, 70% to 80% of early technology-adopting consumers​ said they are eager to use virtual reality and augmented reality technology to design rooms, try on apparel and take virtual shopping trips. VR adoption tends to be more common among brands that seek to appeal to millennials, the generation of people born between 1980 and 2000. The demographic group has shown the most awareness of VR with about 80% of the group expressing a positive view of the technology, according to a study by researcher ReportLinker. “Brands seeking relevance with the millennial lifestyle have plenty of opportunities today, whether educating customers on products or suspending belief for entertainment customers,” Aaron Buchanan, vice president of emerging technology at ad agency HYFN, told Marketing Dive in an email. Read more at Retail Dive.