Dive Brief:
- Hormel, the brand behind Black Label bacon, launched a virtual reality shopping experience called The Black Market, according to a press release.
- The technology powering the campaign is notable in that is does not require a special app or headset to access, and can facilitate the purchase of Hormel products.
- In order to enter The Black Market, Hormel shoppers need only navigate to www.BlackLabelBacon.com on a smartphone and have a mobile-ready headset. Hormel is producing special 'bacon-scented' Google Cardboards in limited quantity.
Dive Insight:
The Black Market is an example of how VR can be used to create innovative marketing campaigns that go beyond simple 'wow' factor immersion. The ability to facilitate purchases through The Black Market in particular suggests that VR could be more than a marketing gimmick, and can be used to build a virtual marketplace, something valuable not just to food brands, but potentially retailers.
The challenge will be in delivering a purchase experience that is intuitive and seamless — if not, consumers could be turned off, hurting the brand as well as interest in VR.
Hormel touts that its latest effort is "the first ever mobile virtual reality shopping experience available to consumers via a smart phone that does not require using an application or headset." Making The Black Market app and device agnostic is a smart move, allowing a broader range of consumers access to the campaign.
As more mid-range, affordable VR devices emerge in the mainstream — such as the upcoming Daydream View headset for Google Pixel — marketers should be looking to develop fun campaigns like The Black Market that capitalize on the immersive and interactive potential of the technology.
While VR can be expensive to develop for, analysts say that early investments can pay off further down the line, and tech titans like Google appear to be investing more resources into understanding VR data like eye tracking movements, meaning that better understanding of consumer behavior could be coming soon.
