AdWeek Europe: The Year Of VR (From A Technology Perspective)

VR experience retains the wow factor. It has advanced technologically but is not that widespread yet. Virgin Media has recently launched its VIVID 360 project in stores with the aim to increase dwell time and footfall.

This is the year VR technology becomes good enough to start meeting marketing and business challenges, even if mass consumer uptake is some way off.

That was the view expressed by Natalie Bell, MD of media agency Manning Gottlieb OMD, in a session at Advertising Week Europe entitled “New Realities for Marketing.”

“New realities is one of the trends we focus on. It’s the merging of digital and physical worlds,” she explained. “The technology is now good enough, but it’s not yet normal. It’s still able to deliver that ‘Wow!’ moment.

“This is the year of VR from a technology perspective, although not from an adoption perspective.”

One brand that agrees with this analysis is UK telecoms company Virgin Media. Its digital marketing manager Gill Worby joined the session to discuss VIVID 360, the live-action VR experience the brand created to complement the House Party TV ad for its Vivid broadband service.

“The VR experience is not just a product demo, but about emotion,” Worby said. “We wanted it to feel very natural, like a party you’d want to be at, and to bring the Vivid experience to life.

“We launched it in stores two weeks ago and we want it to increase dwell time and footfall. So far we’ve seen three years of time spent with the brand through the experience.”