Tag: vr

Honda Partners With Gannett For Its First VR Content

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Honda is teaming up with media company Gannett to create and distribute its first virtual reality video content. Designed to let viewers experience the thrill of driving a Honda-powered, Dallara race car, the VR experience will be released on May 29 on both Honda’s own digital properties, as well as some major publisher sites in Gannett’s network, including USA Today and 92 local newspaper sites. The branded experience will also be available via USA Today’s VR Stories app.

What Brands Need To Do
While it’s not the first brand to develop a branded VR experience to engage with consumers, Honda’s initiative is notable for its deep collaboration with a major publisher to distribute its content. Previously, brands experimenting with VR content have mostly reserved their work for social channels or special events activations. As mainstream consumers become familiarized with VR and 360-degree content, thanks to the rapid development in both VR software and hardware, we expect more brands to start working closely with media partners to develop and distribute VR content.

 

Source: DIgiday

IKEA Pilots VR Showroom Experience

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Yesterday, IKEA made its foray into virtual reality with a pilot program for a branded VR showroom experience. Designed for HTC’s Vive headset and available on Steam, the experience will allow consumers to step into a highly customizable virtual IKEA kitchen, where they can, for example, change the cabinet and drawer colors and view the room from the height of a child or adult. The pilot is scheduled to run through the end of August.

What Brands Need To Do
As a nascent medium, virtual reality holds great potential in marketing for it enables brands to engage consumers with immersive experiences and offer customers a well-rounded look at their products, services, or stores. IKEA’s VR experience makes virtual showrooming an interactive and customizable experience, something that all brands can learn a thing or two from when developing branded VR content.

Source: Engadget

Google Makes It Easier To Embed 360-Degree Content For Cardboard Viewing

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Google launched a new VR embedding tool called VR View to make 360-degree content more accessible. VR View allows developers to embed 360-degree photos and videos in their websites or apps to be viewed on Google’s Cardboard viewers or with a single-lens “Magic Window” viewer. The company also debuted an iOS version of its Cardboard SDK, which enables developers and brands to use Cardboard-compatible VR content in apps for Apple’s mobile devices.

What Brands Need To Do
360-degree content offers an immersive experience that brands should use to engage with customers. For example, hotels and realtors can use 360-degree photos to offer potential buyers virtual tours of their properties. With the new VR View and Cardboard iOS SDK, Google is making it easier for brands to incorporate 360-degree content into their sites and apps. For brands looking to stay ahead of the curve, now would be the time to start developing branded 360-degree content and make it easily accessible.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Aflac Insurance Creates A 360 Video Ad For Facebook

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Aflac Insurance is the latest brand to try out Facebook’s 360-degree video ads. Working with VaynerMedia, the insurer cast its brand mascot the Aflac Duck as a superhero coming to the rescue of customers rescue in an animated spherical video spot, which debuted on Facebook on Tuesday. The ad marks Aflac’s first entry into 360-degree videos and will run on Facebook for six weeks. The company is supporting the new digital effort with an additional social media push on Instagram and Twitter.

What Brands Need To Do
Facebook leveraged Oculus’s VR technology to bring 360-degree video support to the News Feed on the desktop web and its Android app last September, and later extending support to its iOS app in November. Around the same time, Facebook started to test 360-degree video ads with select brands, including AT&T, Samsung, and Walt Disney World. For brands wishing to engage consumers with immersive narratives, Facebook provides a good platform to promote branded 360-degree video content.

 

Source: AdAge

Header image courtesy of Aflac’s Facebook Page

Sony Sets Release Time And Pricing For PlayStation VR

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Tuesday, Sony announced during Game Developers Conference 2016 that its long-awaited PlayStation VR headset will be available in October for $399, which is significantly lower than Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, respectively priced at $599 and $799. Sony also revealed some upcoming video game titles that will be available for PlayStation VR, including an exclusive release of Star Wars: Battlefront VR Experience.

What Brands Need To Do
With the low entry price and the number of game titles available, PlayStation VR may just have a shot at conquering part of the burgeoning consumer VR market, especially considering that Sony has sold over 36 million PS4s that are ready for VR. While virtual reality may still be a few years away from mass adoption (as we predicted in the 2020 section in our Outlook 2016), companies like Sony and Facebook are laying the groundwork for that to happen. Therefore, brands looking to engage consumers with immersive experiences would be smart to start developing their own branded VR content today.

 

Source: TechCrunch

VR Is Becoming More Interactive And Social

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Oculus rolled out social features and games to the Samsung Gear VR on Thursday, marking a great advance in VR development. Users can now create a profile and then easily search for friends by their Oculus username. Support for new multiplayer VR games such as Social Trivia and Herobound are being added to the platform as well, allowing users to play alongside each other in virtual reality. Moreover, Oculus will also be adding 360 video content from Facebook to its video section next week, allowing users to pull in the spherical videos from their News Feed to watch in Gear VR.

What Brands Need To Do
As virtual reality technologies continue to grow in capabilities, brands are also starting to experiment with some more sophisticated forms of VR content. One recent example in this regard is insurance firm Liberty Mutual, who launched its first VR campaign this week on Facebook. Created with Havas and Facebook’s Creative Shop, the brand’s VR spot is designed to promote Liberty Mutual’s 24/7 roadside assistance service through a choose-your-own-adventure style interactive experience. As Facebook makes a strong push for VR and 360-degree videos, brands would be smart to seize the opportunity and work closely with content creators to craft interactive VR experiences to intrigue and engage consumers.

 

Source: VentureBeat & AdWeek

Header image courtesy of Oculus Blog

Coca-Cola And McDonald’s Test Makeshift VR Viewers

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Two of the most well-known brands on the planet have coincidently started to offer makeshift virtual reality viewers made from their product packaging this week. Coca-Cola shared in a YouTube video how to make VR viewers out of its cardboard boxes in three different ways. And McDonald’s launched a promotion in Sweden where it invites kids to turn Happy Meal boxes into VR viewers. Dubbed Happy Goggles, some 3,500 of those boxes will be available at 14 McDonald’s stores over the next two weekends. The fast-food chain also created a ski-themed VR game, “Slope Stars,” for use with the goggles.

What Brands Need To Do
Still a nascent medium, virtual reality holds great potential in helping brands engage consumers with immersive experiences. But the high price and limited availability of VR headsets hinder mass adoption. Both brands took inspiration from Google’s low-cost VR viewer Cardboard and made their own branded versions via innovative packaging design. For brands seeking to stay ahead of the digital curve, these two examples make a good case for experimenting with VR devices and content to provide customers with added value.

 

Sources: Geek & AdWeek

Mobile World Congress 2016: Virtual Reality Becomes A Step Closer To Reality

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On the first day of the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, several brands eagerly shared news about their latest development in virtual reality.

The HTC Vive, which made its big debut at MWC last year, returns with an official $799 price tag,a preorder date of February 29th, and an early April ship date. HTC also announced that its Vive headset will integrate some phone functions on both iOS and Android to allow users to answer calls, check text messages, and view calendar reminders without removing the headset. Similarly, LG is also making its entry into the burgeoning VR market with a pair of new products: the lightweight and compact LG 360 VR headset and the LG 360 CAM for capturing spherical photos and video. LG partnered with Google for easy sharing of videos to YouTube 360 and photos can even be uploaded right to Google Street View.

Samsung also returned to Barcelona with an aggressive push for its Gear VR headsets. The company made the consumer version of Gear VR available for $99.99 in November last year, and now it is giving out the VR headset for free with the purchase of its new Galaxy 7 phone for a limited time period. Samsung also brought in Mark Zuckerberg for its press event to talk up Facebook’s partnership with Samsung to support 360-degree videos on Facebook and working to make the VR experience more social. Moreover, Samsung also unveiled the Gear 360 camera that is just smaller than a baseball and aims to make shooting and sharing 360-degree photos and videos easier.

What Brands Need To Do
In line with what we saw at CES earlier this year, the news from MWC shows that virtual reality is quickly gaining momentum as a nascent medium, as more and more companies start developing affordable, consumer-facing VR headsets, as well as the tools for capturing, creating, and sharing 360-degree content. While virtual reality technologies may still be a few years away from mass adoption, as we predicted in the 2020 section in our Outlook 2016, companies like Samsung and Facebook are laying the groundwork for that to happen. For brands, this means that it is time to start exploring what VR technologies have to offer and consider developing branded VR content to excite and engage consumers with immersive experiences.

 

Header image courtesy of mluxurystyle.com

Fox Sports Inks 5-Year Virtual Reality Content Deal With NextVR

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
More sports content will soon be available in virtual reality, thanks to a new multi-year content deal that Fox Sports struck with NextVR, a leading VR content platform. Under the 5-year deal, Fox Sports will make a range of top sporting events for which it holds broadcast rights, such as this Sunday’s Daytona 500 NASCAR event, available for immersive viewing through NextVR. Owners of Samsung Gear VR headsets can watch VR live streams for free via the NextVR app. Previously, Fox Sports has worked with NextVR to test live VR broadcasts at the Auto Club 400 NASCAR race and the U.S. Open Golf Championship event last year.

What Brands Need To Do
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.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Header image courtesy of NextVR

YouTube To Combine Live Streaming With 360-Degree Videos

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
You will soon be able to live stream 360-degree videos on YouTube, as the digital video platform looks to push deeper into virtual reality content with immersive live broadcasts. YouTube added live-streaming capability back in 2010, and introduced support for 360-degree videos in July last year. The Alphabet-owned company has been reportedly meeting with multiple 360-degree camera makers to discuss possible partnerships and integrations. Previously, YouTube has worked with GoPro to create The GoPro Odyssey, a 16-camera rig developed by Google’s JUMP program, which allows for real-time stitching of 360-degree videos while shooting.

What Brands Need To Do
Both virtual reality and live streaming provide new platforms for brands to connect with their audiences in innovative, exciting ways. By combining the two, YouTube may provide brands with a killer tool to amplify the reach of their sponsored events and engage with online consumers in real time, and that is something all brands with branded events planned should pay heed to.

 

Source: Buzzfeed