1 Big Reason to Invest in Virtual Reality Marketing in 2017

The world is becoming increasingly experiential. Marketers spent so many years pushing bad products on good customers, that we've all become weary of marketing messages that come directly from brands. With such consumer trepidation, people are left to trust their own instincts - and what better to trust than something we can see and experience with our own eyes?

Enter virtual reality. I could go to my nearest automotive dealership and test drive a car, or I could sit at home and test drive ten of them within a half hour. What else could I do? Go on a roller coaster ride at Six Flags; check out a new concert series presented by Live Nation; see a tour of the Twix factory; check out the new America Airlines lounge in Seattle; see the wine-making process in the Bordeaux region of France; and the list goes on. If transparency and authenticity are the currencies of millennials, virtual reality is the bank.

By 2017, the cost of producing VR videos will be accessible to everyone (as low as $15,000 with the GoPro rig and some editing time). In addition, many more customers are viewing virtual reality videos regularly, with the medium literally reaching tens of millions and projected into the hundreds of millions within the next few years. With such access, every brand should at least consider investing in VR for 2017 as part of an overall marketing strategy, for one main reason:

Brands should invest in virtual reality marketing because no matter what your organization says or does, no matter how good your sales people are and no matter how brilliant your website is, a virtual reality experience will always show your product, service and brand better than you ever could.

It's quite simple: You could tell a friend about a new Mercedes, or you could put them in the car on a mountain road. When selling your product or service, would you rather leave a purchasing decision up to the prospect's imagination, or make sure that your prospect receives exactly the experience you've expertly designed?

The best part is that every brand can use VR. For the automotive, manufacturing, food+beverage industries and more, the uses are obvious. But, take my marketing agency as an example. How might we use VR to illustrate the conceptual, intangible work that we do? Perhaps we want to highlight the experience we designed for a client. Or, we could assemble a VR video that "walks" viewers through our process. How about joining our team for an outing, so you can get to know us? The opportunities are nearly boundless, no matter what industry you're in.

Finally, just having a VR presence now, in the infancy of virtual reality, is buzz-worthy, and your investment may still give you a first-mover advantage in your industry. So, if you believe in providing your prospects the best experience possible, invest in virtual reality in 2017. It might virtually be the best real-life decision you make for your brand.

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