What Happened
USA Today Network announced on Thursday the release of its weekly virtual reality news show, VRtually There, for which the publisher has inked partnerships with YouTube and Toyota as the distribution channel and brand sponsor, respectively. Each episode of VRtually There will be around six minutes long and include segments for original editorial content, branded VR content, as well as a VR ad unit that USA Today calls a “cubemercial.” Toyota is the first brand to pilot the cubemercial to promote its 2017 Toyota Camry.
What Brands Should Do
This launch serves as another example for VR content development as media companies race to capitalize on the VR boom. As content creators improve their skills in producing immersive content, they offer brands opportunities to create new types of branded content to engage their audiences with. Although virtual reality may still be a few years away from mass adoption (as we predicted in the 2020 section in our Outlook 2016), brands looking to stay ahead of the innovation curve would be smart to work with content creators and start developing their own branded VR content today.
Source: Ad Exchanger