What Happened
Film technology company IMAX Corp. announced its partnership with Acer and Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to invest $50 million into developing 25 interactive VR experiences over the next three years. Other fund investors include China Media Capital, China’s Enlight Media, Studio City, and WPP. The fund will be used for partnerships with video game publishers and 360-degree filmmakers, and IMAX plans to build StarVR-based IMAX VR centers to bring high-quality VR entertainment to consumers.
Why Brands Should Care
This initiative should help further push virtual reality content into the mainstream consumer market. The VR centers IMAX plans to build should provide a good channel for brands to distribute their VR content, and WPP’s involvement certainly signals ad opportunities. As more and more brand marketers rush into VR to capitalize on the booming popularity of the emerging medium, bands should take a cue and start developing VR content that truly enhances brand messaging and contributes to the campaign objectives.
The Lab currently has five VR headsets — a PlayStation VR, an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, and two Samsung Gear VRs — ready for demos. Virtual reality is something that has to be experienced to be understood, so come by the Lab and ask for a VR demo to get a hands-on experience and figure out how your brand can use it to excite and engage with consumers.
Source: VentureBeat