AR & VR: The future for marketing and journalism?
Whether it's artifacts in your own living room or a makeover via an app, journalism and marketing are already benefiting enormously from AR & VR!
An entry by Sinja Schmidt und Sophia Huebl
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Media, Technology and Society
Augmented and Virtual Reality have become increasingly popular over the past five years. The study by Splendid Research, which looked at the extent to which Germans are interested in VR glasses, makes the significant increase from 2018 to 2020 visible. While there were only 17% in 2018, the interest in VR glasses has risen to 37% in 2020. More than one in five Germans would like to see VR used on the job and 60% of brand and marketing executives from Germany believe that VR and AR will be an integral part of our daily lives within a few years.
… first of all – Definitions!
But before we are starting to go in great more detail into the topic, let’s clear up some important definitions!
Since the launch of Pokémon Go in summer 2016 at the latest, the term augmented reality has been very popular. Augmented reality (in short AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information. On the other hand there is also the term of virtual reality (in short VR). In this case, unlike traditional user interfaces, VR places the user inside an experience. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds. With the terms AR & VR you can also read very often in context with these the term ‘immersion’. The term immersion refers to the feeling of being plunged into a virtual world. In contrast to experiences on the monitor, which we only experience through a more or less distant window, things happen around us in Virtual Reality. They seem close and immediate, sometimes realistic, especially when your own body is fully involved in the interaction.
AR & VR in Journalism
Virtual reality and augmented reality are considered „the next big thing“ in human-machine interaction. The development of Google Glasses and the acquisition of Oculus Rift by Facebook mark the interest of major technology companies in this technology. While the public perception of „Pokémon Go,“ for example, focuses on the playful elements, there are increasingly and foreseeably journalistic applications. Video platforms such as Youtube are also systematically building up inventories of 360° films. Immersive journalism focuses on the subjective experience of journalism or the story, with the line between fact and fiction often being blurred. The role of the user/reader has changed completely compared to conventional journalism. Immersion strives to bring the previously passive reader into focus, to make him or her present and immersed in the stories reported on. The reader partly slips into the role of the protagonist and can even partly interact with the actors within the report. The goal is also to build empathy with the audience.
Nonny de la Peña, a journalist who is famous for her immersive storytelling by VR said in an interview with the Forbes Magazine: „As journalists, we work to generate critical engagement, but I wanted to go beyond the reporting and focus on the experience wherein people could virtually transport themselves.“ Amidst declining print sales, these technologies can also help keep titles fresh and relevant, appealing to new audiences and strengthening relationships with existing readers. In the press, this type of reporting is now both an accepted and established approach to journalistic work, but at the same time is still in the process of differentiation. Above all, however, the reduced distance of observation and experience, which is partly overplayed in the consciousness, raises problems and questions. This lack of distance is seen as particularly problematic in journalistic content, especially by critics.
Among the earliest adopters of AR in new papers are the New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and other leading news organizations such as the BBC internationally in 2012. The publisher use the technology to make the print medium more interactive and attractive for younger target groups & that’s the reason why we will see now two fitting examples of Augmented Reality in Journalism. In the following you can find two examples of AR & VR in Journalism.
AR in Journalism Example 1 – BBC Civilisation – 40 Artefacts in one App
The BBC Civilisation AR-App brings art and culture from across the world into your home. The final app features about 40 artefacts in total. You are invited to try the App at home by yourself! First of all it starts with a ‘Homescreen’ where you can decide which country and artefact you would like to see in more detail. After some seconds you have got the mummy in egyptian coffin with the whole sakopharg on your table in front of you. Every artefact had its own description and some features. In this case (Figure 2) it was possible to hear some information about the artefact and scan it with a X-Ray. All in all the App makes history and culture more immersive.
VR in Journalism Example 2 – Traveling while Black
Traveling While Black is a cinematic VR experience that immerses the viewer in the long history of restriction of movement for black Americans and the creation of safe spaces in our communities. The viewer shares an intimate series of moments with several witnesses which reflect on their experiences of restricted movement and race relations in the U.S. Due to the production in VR, the viewer has the feeling of sitting at the table during individual interviews. But to get a better feeling for this production let’s have a look at the trailer.
AR & VR in Marketing
As in journalism, VR & AR content has numerous opportunities for companies to revolutionise their marketing communication. Marketing using augmented and virtual reality allows brands to craft experiences, engage consumers and encourage conversions in interesting ways.
More than ever, marketing is being driven by the wants and needs of the customer. As new technology becomes available, customers want brands to deliver experiences that use it. This means it is important that marketers keep pace with new advances in order to meet customer expectations and deliver the best possible experiences. Immersive marketing is particularly suitable for this purpose.
AR in Marketing – Product trying with AR
Brands can use AR to allow consumers to try products before they buy them, with augmented shopping experiences becoming increasingly popular.
The fashion chain Zara, for example, tested augmented reality displays in 120 flagship shops in 2020. Using a smartphone, customers could have a virtual model show them the clothes on the rack or in the shop window. Other brands also use these AR displays in their shop windows and let customers try on new collections in the window.
Fashion retailer Gap even goes one step further and offers the option of creating a virtual avatar of oneself at home with the app „Dressing Room“, which can then be used like a dressing doll.
AR and VR, on the other hand, are almost routine in the beauty segment and can be used online and offline. The Make-up Genius app from L’Oréal, for example, turns your smartphone into a mirror, helps you try out looks and make-up colours or project new hairstyles onto your own head.
VR in Marketing – VR at POS
There is the option of using virtual reality as an additional attraction at the POS to lure more customers into the shop, or to integrate it directly into the sales talk.
VR measures at the POS can, for example, be used directly in the customer conversation to visualise products, present product features or demonstrate configurations. For the most realistic presentation possible, the communication object can be directly included in the measure. For example, Audi’s „Walking VR“ measure is used to virtually demonstrate the desired vehicle to potential buyers so that it can be viewed interactively from different perspectives, configurations are shown and the car can be directly adapted according to the customer’s wishes. These sales-supporting VR measures could be used at an advanced stage of the sales process to fulfil conative communication goals, as they are directly aimed at increasing sales through interactive information transfer.
Threats & Opportunities of the technology
Let’s take a look at the potential threats and opportunities about AR & VR. As with all computer and console games, researchers warn that virtual reality also has a certain addiction factor. The fact that the user escapes into a world that can be very similar to the real one – but is often a bit more perfect, exciting or easier to influence – can lead to an escape from reality or the connection to reality can be lost.
Another risk of virtual reality is motion sickness. Some people are more susceptible to this so-called gaming sickness. Motion sickness occurs when the eye sees something different than the inner ear senses. VR games therefore often offer many different locomotion options, such as teleportation.
In addition, immersive journalism has undoubtedly found its way into our media world in the form of a new and exciting way of reporting, which is still in the experimental phase and, like every media change, also presents us with challenges. Criticism of immersive journalism is particularly evident with regard to the blurring of fact and fiction. Critics see the lack of distance from journalistic content as particularly problematic.
Opportunities:
VR and AR in marketing
- innovative display experience for customers
- Virtual product presentation in 360 degrees contributes to better customer recall
- the consumer Feel of being actively involved with a product
- Appeal on an emotional level leads to higher customer loyalty
- Support for final purchase decision
AR & VR in journalism
- Journalistic work becomes more accessible for readers
- Users get deeply involved in events thanks to virtual reality
- it can have a positive Feeling of being part of the story
- and also Addressing the empathy & emotional level
In addition, virtual reality in journalism offers the chance to share special experiences with the audience.
- Experiences that are expensive and otherwise only available to a small audience,
- Experiences that are high-risk and dangerous, such as climbing Mount Everest.
- Extraordinary events that cannot be experienced in reality. Examples a flight to the moon with the original crew of the Apollo 11 mission.
- In addition, experiences that are rare and cannot be reproduced at will in reality, for example the surfacing of a blue whale in the sea.
2025: AR & VR industry an 85 billion dollar market?
Now the question is what will the market look like in the future? In terms of its market development, augmented reality is said to have the higher market potential. VR will probably not come close to reaching the scale of the smartphone market, because the technology is aimed at a more restricted group of people consisting of gamers and young, tech-savvy consumers. For AR, on the other hand, there are numerous other fields of activity due to the location-independent usage options as well as the simple integration possibilities into the everyday life of consumers.
Just as smartphones and tablets already enable the population to access information and useful functions at any time, the direct integration of virtual elements into the real environment could accelerate and intuitively absorb information and AR could thus exert a significant influence on information processing and media use behaviour.
In the future, it is to be expected that the technology and the advantages of augmented reality will be increasingly integrated into everyday life.
Especially in the economic sector, there is still a lot of potential that has not yet been exhausted. According to a study by Goldman Sachs, the AR/VR industry is expected to grow into an 85 billion dollar market by 2025. The lion’s share will certainly be concentrated on gaming and video, but a large chunk will also be moved in retail. The goal: to literally bring the shop to the couch, to make the products in the shop more tangible and to inform users in such a way that they can process the information properly. There is hardly a major player that is not involved in this.
Sources for this article:
Bardi, J. (2020, 21. September). What is Virtual Reality? [Definition and Examples]. Marxent. https://www.marxentlabs.com/what-is-virtual-reality/
Drees, C. (2019, 7. Juni). Circus Roncalli setzt auf Hologramme statt Tiere – sollten Zoos nachziehen? MobileGeeks Deutschland. https://www.mobilegeeks.de/artikel/circus-roncalli-setzt-auf-hologramme-statt-tiere-sollten-zoos-nachziehen/
Koch, M. (2020, 14. September). VR + AR – Marketing und Produktdarstellungen. TrendView Agentur für Online-Kommunikation. https://trendview.de/vr-ar-marketing-und-produktdarstellungen
Kolbrück, O. (2018, 21. März). Technologie: Wo der Handel schon auf virtuelles Shopping wettet. etailment.de. https://etailment.de/news/stories/virtual-augmented-shopping-21162
Lewinski, K. (2018). Immersiver Journalismus: Technik – Wirkung – Regulierung (Edition Medienwissenschaft, Bd. 60) (1. Aufl.). transcript Verlag.
Omnia360. (2019, 26. Oktober). VR-Marketing: 6 Beispiele für Virtual Reality im Marketing. https://omnia360.de/blog/5-beispiele-fuer-den-einsatz-von-virtual-reality-im-marketing/
Omnia360. (2020, 17. Dezember). AR-Marketing: 7 Beispiele für Augmented Reality im Marketing. https://omnia360.de/blog/7-beispiele-fuer-augmented-reality-marketing/
Omnia360. (2021a, 8. Januar). Immersives Marketing: Marken mit VR und AR erlebbar machen. https://omnia360.de/blog/immersives-marketing/
Omnia360. (2021b, 3. Februar). Der Unterschied zwischen Virtual Reality und Augmented Reality. https://omnia360.de/blog/der-unterschied-zwischen-vr-und-ar/
Rogers, S. (2020, 6. Februar). Is Immersive Technology The Future Of Journalism? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/solrogers/2020/02/06/is-immersive-technology-the-future-of-journalism/?sh=204357837e30