Dive Brief:
- Virtual reality is elbowing its way into focus as a new marketing avenue.
- Technology such as Samsung Gear and Facebook's Oculus Rift give B2B marketers a venue to show off large equipment to audiences.
- It’s expected VR tech will allow marketers to tell more complete stories to prospective customers, which is especially helpful for B2B where telling the 'story' of a complex sale is a content challenge.
Dive Insight:
Virtual reality has come a long a way recently with the advent of Samsung Gear, Facebook’s Oculus Rift and other devices, and B2B marketers are understanding this new marketing channel might have a major impact in the complex B2B sale process.
"Virtual reality is another part of the puzzle for us in terms of opening up the world of GE and doing it through visual storytelling," Katrina Craigwell, director-global content and programming at GE, told Ad Age. "The more we can show rather than tell, the better we do."
VR tech gives B2B marketers a strong content story-telling tool. Gary Koepke, chief creative officer for SapientNitro, shared his view of VR and marketing at this summer’s Cannes Lions event, saying the real potential is in building engaging experiences. He explained, “You can create a story around your brand that you can't do on a laptop."
It's expected that for B2B marketers, lower cost display devices will allow them to use virtual reality to showcase big-ticket items in a 3D environment, giving buyers a chance to virtually "try before you buy" larger purchases.
