For many marketers, Fall is conference season. It’s a time when some of the largest conferences in the industry occur and businesses everywhere scramble to show off their brands with elaborate booths, sponsored events, and networking opportunities. If you have been among the myriad attendees to one of these conferences recently, you probably noticed that the use of virtual reality at exhibit booths has nearly tripled in just one year. Virtual reality is the new popular kid in class and everyone wants to be his friend.
There’s one large problem though: while everyone is rushing to reveal their VR experience, few are developing solid strategies that will ensure a good return on investment. And because VR is so prevalent throughout expo halls, it’s beginning to feel like a gimmick versus a sustainable content solution. Rather than just creating VR for the sake of proving that you too can be friends with Mr. Popular, it’s important to take a step back to determine if your visual content strategy truly needs VR in the first place.
Virtual Reality and The General Consumer
According to Marketing Week, 60 percent of consumers feel that virtual reality is just for gamers. This misconception suggests that we still have an uphill battle before the Everyman will hop on this new bandwagon. At the same time, Nielson suggests that 50 percent of consumers will change their opinion of virtual reality after just 2 minutes of use. This is the true battle that VR faces: it requires use in a physical space to fully understand its power and purpose…
