What is the state of AR and VR technology in advertising?

In the modern day and age, customers are looking for authentic, personal and immersiveadvertising experiences. Many people have confessed their dislike for pop-up ads, banner ads, pre-videos, modals, scroll-throughs, and other forms of marketing techniques that have been in use inthe past decade. Advertisers have witnessed a persistent rise of ad blockers, and it is for thisreason that they are looking to evolve and enter into the world of virtual reality and augmentedreality advertising.

As technology changes and advances, advertisers must adapt to these changes and prepare for thefuture to remain relevant. VR and AR have become some of the most powerful marketing tools thatadvertisers can now use to create authentic ad experiences and become more relevant than theyhave been in the past decade.

What is AR & VR marketing and how is it being used?

VR and AR technology in advertising entails giving customers an immersive experience of brief adswhich are included in videos or games. With this technology, advertisers create short 5 to 10-second ads which are relevant to whatever they are playing or watching, and the VR user almosthas to view them during their VR session. Marketers have a unique opportunity of developing adsthat people don’t mind seeing, and most big companies are already undertaking this.

Youtube and Facebook are some of the big companies experimenting with 360-degree ads whichare being placed both on the desktop and app versions of their sites. The great thing about theseads is that they are really engaging and therefore users don’t mind watching them.

Companies such as Virtual Sky are currently dedicating their efforts to create virtual realityadvertisements. They offer two types of ads namely: sponsor ads and experience ads. Sponsor adsare short 5-10 second adverts that play when a VR user launches an app or opens certain VRcontent. Experience ads are 10-30 second ads that play at breaks, such as in between one gamelevel and the next one. These ads are beautifully done and load fast. They are also short,immersive, and excellent in passing the ad message.

Advertisers are also considering less intrusive marketing ways similar to what is commonly done inmovies. A good example is subtle product placement right in the middle of VR content, withouttaking the user away from the immersion at all. A good example is when you are watchingsomething related to office layout, and then right on the office desk, an NZ Herald newspapercatches your attention.

VR and AR can be used in many ways by advertisers to drive ads. However, marketers have to bekeen and do it right at all times. Stakes are higher with VR technology than un-enticing mobile adswhich users can easily jump/click out of.