Tag: vr

London Bar Offers VR Tour Of Distillery To Accompany Your Drink

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
The Lobby Bar at the One Aldwych Hotel in London is using virtual reality to enhance how its patrons experience one particular drink. The bar’s special whiskey-based “Origin” cocktail comes with a virtual reality headset that transports you to the Scottish distillery where the whiskey is made. The drink is made with 12-year-old Dalmore whisky, and the accompanying virtual reality experience aims to showcase the origin of its ingredients, as well as the beautiful scenery of the Scottish Highlands where the distillery is located at.  

What Brands Need To Do
This is a pretty cool on-site activation for a spirit brand to leverage VR technology to showcase their brand identity and enhance the product experience in bars. Other brands should start to explore similar ways to use VR for this type of experiential marketing that truly engages with your target audiences through the immersive storytelling that VR content provides.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Barrett ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Quartz

Medical Device Maker Taps VR To Showcase Products and Services

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Zimmer Biomet, a company that specializes in manufacturing orthopedic medical devices, used a custom VR experience to showcase their Signature Solutions products at the AAOS Conference (American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons), which is billed as the world’s largest exhibition of orthopedic products. The company set up a VR lounge at its exhibition booth outfitted with six Samsung Gear VR headsets. Each headset was preloaded with a custom application that allows attendees to view the product demo focusing in on the various stages of a surgery experience.

What Brands Need To Do
This is the latest example of the ongoing diversification of use cases as virtual reality continues to gain momentum in marketing. VR’s immersive power makes it a powerful tool for brands to sell prospective customers on the experience they offer. It is particularly a great tool for on-site activations and product demos, and this VR initiative from Zimmer Biomet cleverly combines both to grab the attention of its key industry audience. Previously, beverage brands Peroni and Mountain Dew used virtual reality to create unique on-site experiences and spice up their respective promotional events. As VR technology continues to mature, it is time for brands to start creating VR content to engage the target audience.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Groove Jones

 

Expedia Plans To Use VR To Let Customers Tour Hotel Rooms Before Booking

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Popular travel booking site Expedia is testing a new VR initiative to allow customers to take a tour of the hotel rooms they are interested in before booking. Designed to be an interactive experience, users will be able to slide open a room door or step out onto the balcony to get a full 360-degree view of their prospective accommodations.

Details are scarce on when and how Expedia is planning to roll out this VR feature, but the company has long history of experimenting with virtual reality in its marketing efforts, including a campaign last year that uses a room-scale VR installation to transport sick kids to exotic locales and one launched this January that takes viewers on a mesmerizing VR train ride through rural Norway.

What Brands Need To Do
This is the latest example of the diversification of VR content as virtual reality gadgets start to percolate into the consumer market. VR’s immersive power makes it a powerful tool for travel and hospitality brands to sell prospective customers on the experience they offer. Hotel chains such as Marriott and St. Giles have been experimenting with VR and 360-degree content to attract consumer attention As mainstream adoption picks up, immersive content is emerging as a medium that brand marketers can capitalize on.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Mashable

HTC Debuts VR Ad Service That Tracks Head Movements To Count Views

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
If an ad is placed nearby but no one actually turned around to see it, does it still count? HTC aims to solve this good ol’ ad visibility issue in virtual reality with a new VR ad service it introduced at the 2017 VIVE Ecosystem Conference. The VR Ad Service will make it easier for developers to integrate a number of ad styles into their games hosted on Viveport, the company’s digital distribution platform. It uses the headset’s integrated head tracking technology to track whether the users have actually seen them or turned away their gaze, and therefore determining ad revenues based on verified impressions.

What Brands Need To Do
This new ad product for HTC’s platform points to the future of accountable VR advertising, incentivizing VR developers with a solid monetization tool to produce engaging content and games for its Viveport platform. For brands, this opens up a valuable channel that they can leverage to explore immersive ads in virtual reality and start figuring out what kind of creatives draws most eyeballs.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Barrett ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: RoadtoVR

How Peroni And Mountain Dew Used VR To Spice Up Branded Events

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Two beverage brands are using virtual reality to create unique on-site experiences and spice up their respective promotional events. Peroni is opening an experimental pop-up bar in London, where the Italian lager brewers invited attendees to try drawing in 3-dimension with Google’s VR app Tilt Brush after a drink or two. Similarly, Mountain Dew is putting together a free, two-day music festival called “Label Motel” in the Musicland Hotel in Palm Springs next week to promote its new Mtn Dew products. The event includes a VR experience that puts participants in a lounge party on an airplane, who will then be dropped out of the VR plane “as the beat drops.”

What Brands Need To Do
Those two brands are the latest examples in the growing list of brands that are starting to incorporate it into the production of branded content and events to deliver engaging and immersive customer experiences. As more mainstream tech and media companies rush into VR to capitalize on the booming popularity of the emerging medium, brands that wish to stay ahead of the curve should start developing VR content that truly enhances brand messaging and contributes to the campaign objectives.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

The Lab currently has several VR headsets, including a PlayStation VR, an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, and a Google Daydream, all 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: Marketing Dive & PSFK

Header image courtesy of  Mountain Dew’s YouTube

Now You Can Live Stream March Madness Matches In VR

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
As we get deeper into the NCAA March Madness games, viewer enthusiasm is running high and the NCAA is set to capitalize on the fervor with VR live streams. Six games including the Final Four national semifinals and National Championship game — will be available for immersive viewing via the new NCAA March Madness Live VR App available on the Oculus Store.

Unlike previous sports VR streams that networks like NBC or Fox Sports have offered, which were accessible once viewers authenticate with their cable TV account to access a single-POV from a single courtside 360-degree camera, these six VR games will require viewers to pony up a few extra dollars on a tiered, pay-per-view basis. A higher-priced gold tier access will come with multiple camera angles, as well as dedicated in-game commentary and analysis from three analysts, providing viewers with a holistic VR viewing experience.

What Brands Need To Do
By combining the immersive power of VR and the immediacy of live streaming, sports events are a particularly good match for creating live VR content that more media owners should explore to fully engage their audience. This new NCAA VR initiative went one step further by creating a powerful viewing experience for the fans, representing a step in the right direction in terms of how media companies can work with content creators to fully unlock the potential of VR storytelling.

With the quickening pace of VR content development and the increasing number of platforms supporting VR content, virtual reality is fast becoming the next frontier for content creators and media owners to explore. As the audience size for VR content continues to grow, it is important for brands to follow the good examples set by early adopters like Marriott Hotels and JCPenney, and start developing branded VR content in order to capitalize on the growing consumer interest in immersive experiences.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: TechCrunch

 

SXSW 2017: All The Cool VR Experiences To Try Out

Posted on by Lab Team

As with the last few years, it wouldn’t be South by Southwest without all the virtual reality experiences. Here’s a selection of the noteworthy immersive experiences that brands and VR players brought to Austin this year.

• Sony’s Future Lab division created a multi-person VR experience called Superception that allows up to four players to share their perspectives with each other in real time. Built with a network of interconnected VR headsets, the game is to figure out where the other players may be by analyzing the others’ perspectives.

• Sony is also showcasing several other PlayStation VR experiences at its “Wow Factory” activation site, among which is space shooter game called Rez Infinite that comes with a “synesthesia suit” that adds haptic feedback to the gaming experience.

• Famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin also came to SXSW to educate event goers about the space. They will also get to try some VR space travel and learn about how humans may one day colonize Mars by putting on a headset to watch a 360-degree video called “Buzz Aldrin: Cycling Pathways to Mars” created by experiential agency 8i.

• AOL’s VR production unit RYOT set up a pop-up space at SXSW to showcase some of their latest VR and AR work. On the VR front, they produced short films on refugees that aim to evoke empathy and emotions, showcasing VR’s great storytelling potentials. On the AR front, it is working with magazine publishers to make print covers and ads come to life.

If you missed out on going to SXSW this year, and want to try some of latest VR experiences, come to the Lab and see for yourself what powerful marketing tools they can be. We here at the Lab are always looking out for new developments in the VR space, and currently we five VR headsets — an Oculus Rift, a PlayStation VR, an HTC Vive, and two Samsung Gear VRs — all ready for demos. Virtual reality is something that has to be experienced to be understood, so come by the Lab and figure out how your brand can use it to excite and engage with consumers.

 

A Roundup Of This Week’s Biggest News In VR

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
This past week has been a busy week for VR announcements, with Facebook, Vimeo, and CNN all announced noteworthy VR initiatives. Let’s take a look one by one.

On Wednesday, Facebook debuted its first dedicated virtual reality app, Facebook 360. As its first dedicated VR app, the app will serve as a hub for the 360 video and photo content posted to the site. At launch, the Facebook 360 app will be available only for the Gear VR mobile headset.

Also on Wednesday, popular online video site Vimeo announced it has added support for 360-degree videos. 360-degree playback is now integrated into the Vimeo website as well as the iOS and Android apps. At launch, you can view Vimeo’s 360-degree videos in select mobile-powered VR headsets, including Google Daydream, Samsung’s Gear VR, and the Zeiss VR One. Vimeo says support for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive is coming soon.

Earlier this week, CNN launched of CNNVR, a new immersive journalism unit that will put a virtual spin on cable news. The dedicated team will produce videos and live streams of major news events, along with a weekly virtual reality experience that viewers can access via CNNVR on the Samsung VR app, the Oculus Video app on Rift, or on the CNNVR app on Google Daydream.

What Brands Need To Do
This initiative should help further push virtual reality content into the mainstream consumer market. Facebook 360 and the VR support on Vimeo should provide two new valuable channes for brands to distribute their VR content, and CNN’s VR content unit could potentially spell marketing opportunities. As more mainstream tech and media companies 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.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

The Lab currently has several VR headsets, including a PlayStation VR, an Oculus Rift, an HTC Vive, and a Google Daydream, all 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.

 

Sources: as linked in the article

Lowe’s Uses VR To Teach Customers How To Tile A Bathroom Wall

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Home improvement brand Lowe’s is leveraging VR experience to offer customers a hands-on practice of tiling a bathroom wall. The company is currently running this VR learning initiative, dubbed “the Holoroom How To experience,” at select store locations in Boston and Canada, where a customer enters a virtual room, put on an HTC Vive headset, and uses the Vive controller to simulate mixing mortar and placing tile. Lowe’s says it is planning to offer a broader range of tutorials in more stores to help boost Millennial consumers’ confidence in taking on DIY home improvement projects.

What Brands Need To Do
VR can be a powerful learning tool for educating customers and for demonstrating new products. According to Lowe’s, customers in a trial run scored a 36% better recall on how to complete the tiling project when compared to those who watched a tutorial video on YouTube. This initiative also goes beyond simple 360-degree video content to engage customers with an interactive experience, which more brands should start doing if they wish to fully explore the potential of VR

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

Source: CNN Money

Header image courtesy of Lowe’s press release

Honda Experiments With Spatial Audio In New Multi-Scenario 360 Video

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Honda is spicing up its latest 360-degree video effort with the help of spatial audio. The auto maker worked with the agency RPA to create a new 360-degree video Facebook ad for its CR-V model, which features three “sets” of scenarios, each with different audio backgrounds, that users can pan to, including a campfire, children playing in a park with a water hose, and a man doing some handy work in the yard of a suburban home. Honda leverages viewers’ Facebook data determines which of the three scenes will be the starting scenes to play.

What Brands Need To Do
The audio VR mixing feature is a relatively new capability from Facebook, and Honda is commendable for finding a clever way to use it to demonstrate the versatility of its vehicle. Spatial audio can contribute greatly to building a truly immersive experience and more brands developing branded VR experiences and 360-degree videos should consider using it to expand the perspectives of their content.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: AdWeek

Header image courtesy of Honda’s Facebook Video