Director Of VR Reveals ‘Ideal Scenario’ For Immersive Ads

Here is where StartApp’s Ariel Shimoni says he wants to see most of his VR ads running.

Everyone’s carrying around a little virtual reality device in their pockets.

But it’s not enough to just have the app on your phone. You’ve got to carry around the glasses. You’ve got to be in a place where you won’t get robbed while you zone out. And you have to have an internet connection good enough to stream high-frame rate, 360-degree video without buffering.

What a hassle. So how do you make customers care?

Ariel Shimoni, StartApp’s director of VR, said you don’t need to, at least not at first. While some really compelling branded experiences are already out there, it might be better to think in terms of advertising when dealing with the nascent VR scene, he said during this episode of The CMO Show podcast.

“When you bundle your ad experience within an existing VR experience—so the user is already immersed in VR when the ad appears—that’s a more kind of ideal scenario,” he explained. “That’s where I want to see most of my ads running.”

Shimoni’s experience has shown that 360-degree video is VR’s current “leading ad unit,” offering the greatest cross-device compatibility and user accessibility, while still delivering “a pretty thrilling experience,” such as the Mini Cooper car chase spot Backwater.

For content creators, Shimoni argued that VR can offer the “evolution of video analytics” by tracking how long each user spends looking at a given product, call to action, or logo.

While there might be 15 to 20 million VR headsets in the market, Shimoni cautioned, brands shouldn’t branch out into the space expecting millions of views. Instead, they should view VR content as a future investment in their own capabilities, so that when VR does take off, they’ll be ready to provide amazing experiences.

Join hosts Mark Jones and Nicole Manktelow for a journey into the future of content creation, advertising, analytics, and awesome experiences during this week’s episode of The CMO Show.

The CMO Show is a podcast about brand storytelling and the future of marketing. To listen to previous episodes, visit the website or follow along on iTunes or SoundCloud.