Inspiration, engagement, impact – just some of the reasons why the world’s leading brands are creating amazing VR marketing experiences.
You might have already checked our video showcasing some of the best VR marketing experiences out there, or maybe read our article on inspiring uses of VR in marketing and just want to know more… So here are more case studies we’ve found.
How brands are engaging customers using VR
We wanted to showcase some of the creative ways brands are taking VR marketing to the next level. Not seen your favourite here? We’d love to hear what makes your top list. Drop us a line and let us know!
We regularly update this page, so make sure to bookmark it and come back to it for your research.
These are listed in no particular order. Hope you enjoy them!
Progressive Insurance – Lake Dash VR Experience
Progressive Insurance approached Next Now agency and Match MG to create ‘The Progressive Lake dash VR experience’- an immersive centrepiece to their boat-themed exhibit. This fun experience included a steering wheel, throttle and sensors that mapped and digitised the users hands into the game. Users put on an Oculus headset and race to get the fastest score. They sail through checkpoints, collect power boosts and avoid obstacles.
In our article “How to Use Virtual Reality at Your Next Exhibition or Trade Show” we talk about the classic acronym AIDA in marketing – attention, interest, desire and action. The first thing you want to do is stand out from the crowd, and this is exactly what the VR game does! It was proven to be a success for Progressive Insurance at their trade show, with their stand catching everyone’s attention!
All Nippon Airways – ‘The Room’ VR Tour
VR is popularly being used by the aviation industry and All Nippon Airways (ANA) joined the trend. To help market their 777-300ER cabins, we, at Mbryonic worked with Acumen to create a virtual reality tour of ‘The Room’, ANA’s new business class cabin.
It’s been rolled out at global launch events for press and industry in Tokyo and London, where attendees can virtually enter one of the largest business class seating environments in the world and experience the unique features and comfort of the cabin first hand. Users wearing the headset find themselves in ANA’s futuristic holodeck in front of a 777 aircraft. They are then transported into the business class cabin where they are able to experience the new seat’s features focused around the themes of work, meals and relaxation. Headset-wearers can open and close cabin doors, order food, change lighting conditions and watch an inflight movie.
This is a very innovative and practical marketing tool for ANA, as not everyone can take a plane journey to experience the new cabin elements. Letting users experience features of the seating through VR is quick, effective and most importantly, memorable.
Samsung VR – A Moon For All Mankind VR
Have you ever wanted to do the moonwalk on the actual moon? Well, you’re in luck! Samsung in collaboration with NASA created an immersive 4D lunar gravity VR experience to make this possible. Users step into a flight suit and harness whilst wearing a Gear VR headset. They then immerse themselves in a visual and physical experience that recreates a moon mission.
This is the probably the most realistic moon walking experience out there! Samsung’s design team and NASA’s Active Response Gravity Offload system (ARGOS) team worked to make this sensation as accurate as possible by mapping to the actual partial gravity experience of walking on the moon.
Oreo – The World of a Flavoured Cookie 360°
Explore a 360° interactive world filled with rich, cocoa treats by Oreo. This is a fun VR marketing campaign created by digital agency 360i. It takes curious confectioners on a whimsical journey through a ‘wonder vault’. After being transported through a life size Oreo cookie portal, you move into a magical land filled with milk rivers and the brands latest creation, Filled Cupcake flavoured Oreos.
Oreo is definitely ahead of the marketing game, capturing audience’s attention with the fun graphics in this experience. This video marks Oreo’s first foray into VR and it probably wont be the last!
New York Times – Displaced
War has driven 30 million children from their homes. The New York Times detailed their tragic stories in an immersive documentary that was available to download for mobile app and Google Cardboard. This wasn’t a marketing campaign but the publicity of generated by distributing a million free Google Cardboards to their readers grabbed headlines. The VR studio vrse.works developed Displaced for the NYTVR app.
Distributed to over 1 million New York Time subscribers. The film did an excellent job at showing the devastating effects of war, putting you in the heart of the story. A worthy story and a great marketing move by the NY Times.
Boursin – Sensorium VR
The soft cheese supplier Boursin created a virtual reality experience that takes you on a journey through a fridge full of delightful treats. They hired the agency BecauseXM and Hammerhead VR to deliver the project. Boursin exhibited this VR marketing experience in various malls and events around the United Kingdom.
It’s quite extravagant for a cheese company and we like it because it sets the bar high. Their installation also includes wind jets so you can feel truly immersed in this adventure.
TopShop – Catwalk Experience VR
A bit older this one, but still worthy. Fashion retailer TopShop offered members of the public a unique front-row view of their exclusive fashion runway show during London Fashion Week using a 360 panoramic video stream. Lucky competition winners got to experience this in a special pop-up space in TopShop’s flagship London store, providing great visibility. Additionally, as a bonus, the user could find behind the scene footage from within the experience. This experience was created by the London VR studio Inition.
This is a great use of the technology. It is well executed and one of the very first of these types of experiences for the Oculus.
Volvo – XC90 Test Drive VR
Furthermore, test driving a car through virtual reality makes a lot of sense if you don’t have a car dealer close by. It is great to see Volvo make an app to support the launch of their XC90 SUV. It puts you in the cockpit and takes you on an idyllic ride through the country. The verge wrote that although the experience was a little fuzzy and inaccurate they did think it was a clever use of VR marketing. This was also done by Framestore VR Studio and you can read their case study for more info here.
We think this is a great move by Volvo – a company that has struggled perhaps to appear modern and relevant compared to their competitors. By adopting VR in this way they’ve made the public look at their brand in a new light. It also might become the standard by which future test driving apps are compared to, giving Volvo a first mover advantage in the VR marketing industry.
Patron – The Art of Patron VR
A Tequila company might not be an obvious beneficiary of a VR marketing strategy, but Patron used the power of VR to tell a compelling story around the companies product. Using a mix of live action and computer graphics, they created a 360 journey following the product lifecycle from an agave field to being served at a glamorous party. The entire production took six months and was developed by creative agency Firstborn, post-production agency Legend and sound design agency Antfood. When Patron does events, they’ll bring a virtual reality set up to show audiences their process.
This was good because it gives the user an inside look at the process of creating Patron’s Tequila. It’s both entertaining and educational.
Merrell – Trailscape VR
To support the launch of a new hiking boot, the Capra, Merrell created a VR experience called Trailscape that takes you on a dangerous mountain hike. Participants walk along a stage set that is mapped to the virtual experience to create a new level of immersion. The motion capture allowed adventurers to explore the mountainside. Tactile elements such as rope walkways and shaking wooden planks, makes this one of the most immersive VR experience to date. Showcased at 2015 Sundance Film Festival, it was the brainchild of Merrell, agency Hill Holliday and Framestore VR Studio. You can read more here.
Trailscape does a good job of integrating the brand in a powerful user experience. Also we like the fact you can walk around in this demo. This is not something we see often in VR experiences. From the reaction of the users they had a memorable time too!
Want To Learn More About VR Marketing?
Mbryonic are one of the world’s leading authorities on the use of virtual and augmented reality in marketing. We don’t just talk about it, we make it! If you want to explore how this technology could be used to help your brand, Why not check out our latest work and get in touch for a free consultation.