i3 - November/December 2016 - 23

From Google Cardboard to the Oculus Rift,
virtual reality is actual reality
for a growing number of consumers. And
that means it's a real option for brands, too.
Travel companies can now give vacation
planners a preview of their final destination. Soda companies can create virtual
sleigh rides and auto races, making memories for their customers that are indelibly
linked with their drink of choice. And, of
course, media companies can immerse audiences in stories like never before.
Since virtual reality is still an emerging
technology, the brands that embrace it are
paving the way for future marketers and creators. We asked an experimental marketer,
an industry analyst and representatives
from major media companies to report their
findings from the VR frontier.

VR Could
Be Your
Brand's
Most
Powerful
Medium

STANISLAW PYTEL/GETTY IMAGES
CREDIT

Forging real connections
through virtual reality is
increasingly vital in an era
of advertising saturation.
Dylan Mortensen points
to the rise of ad-blocking
technology as evidence
that brands need better
ways to reach consumers.
VR could help forge deeper
connections between consumers and brands.
Users who see an ad by
a brand they've engaged
with, he says, can "bring
C TA . t e c h / i 3

Adam Simon
is head of strategy at IPG
Media Lab, part of marketing
agency IPG Mediabrands.

Ben Smith
is senior vice president,
head of experience at Hulu.

Dylan Mortensen
is a senior research analyst
at BI Intelligence, part of
Business Insider.

Nathan Brown
is senior vice president of
development and operations,
Discovery Digital Media.

back all those emotional
responses because
they're physically inside
of this brand now. It's not
them just strictly looking
through the TV glass.
They're able to interact
with this brand and really
get involved with it. "
In fact, VR can even
forge deeper connections
between humans and
sharks. Nathan Brown says
Discovery's Shark Week VR
experiences "broke down
some of the mysteries and

misconceptions about
sharks. Virtual reality
has a great proclivity for
creating empathy, which
we were able to use to
educate audiences and
drive awareness in support
of conservation efforts."
From a marketing
perspective, Adam Simon
points out another of
VR's major advantages:
focused and measurable
user attention.
"If somebody is looking
at your thing, they're
definitely looking at your
thing." he says. "They're
not looking at their phone,
or in the kitchen getting a
beer or something. One of
the benefits of VR is that
it's literally stuck on
their face."
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

23



i3 - November/December 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - November/December 2016

Contents
i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover1
i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover2
i3 - November/December 2016 - Contents
i3 - November/December 2016 - 2
i3 - November/December 2016 - 3
i3 - November/December 2016 - 4
i3 - November/December 2016 - 5
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 7
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 11
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i3 - November/December 2016 - 27
i3 - November/December 2016 - 28
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i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover3
i3 - November/December 2016 - Cover4
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