Don’t just sit back and enjoy the show, folks…sit up and interact with it!
Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulation that allows viewers to interact with a three-dimensional image or environment as if it were real life. Just imagine being able to explore any place on the planet, in outer space, or miles below the ocean deep. It’s no wonder everyone is captivated!
Behold — 360-degree videos!
This new-age video technology allows audiences to interact with footage by clicking and moving their view in all directions or tilting their mobile device to navigate the environment or image. Some 360 videos even present parallel narratives that encourage audiences to move from one storyline to another, like a choose your own adventure book. It’s clear that video is moving away from its traditional boundaries and becoming more like virtual reality. But is it paying off?
In early March, Liberty Mutual collaborated with Facebook to create the first-ever 360-degree multi-narrative advertisement video quiz, and the results it got were staggering. 5 million views poured in over the course of about one month as the responsive experience completely enchanted audiences.
In this particular application, viewers are presented with a scenario; your car breaks down in the woods. Three different 2-minute stories provide the courses of action that can be taken to resolve the situation. Viewers can click and drag around the spherical realm and watch as each option plays out.
How Else Is 360-Degree Video Being Used?
Since the debut of this video, others have been quick to adopt the technology. This documentary takes you inside a volcano. Or you can ride a rollercoaster from the comfort of your couch. Tour the inside of the human body. It’s all possible today with advancing 360-degree video technology. From a marketing and advertising perspective, this means an infinite number of doors just opened.
Mercedes used 360-degree videos to showcase their concept cars and other models. Tomorrowland (one of the largest electronic music festivals in the world) shared what their event looks like from the crowd’s vantage. One of the best applications thus far is the use of 360-degree videos in the tourism and hospitality industries. The possibilities are literally endless.
What do Marketers Need to Know About 360-Degree Video?
Here’s the scoop. 360-degree videos are advancing at a stunningly fast pace. In March of 2015, YouTube first released pre-recorded 360-degree videos, but they were expensive for marketers to make in-house: you had to have 360-degree capable cameras that cost tens of thousands of dollars, a 360-degree imaging system, and specialized software.
Just one year later, and (thanks to the pioneers at YouTube) we already have platforms emerging that will be more compatible with consumer-grade cameras as cheap as $350 (See Kodak, the Alliecam, 360fly). YouTube also unveiled Live 360-degree streaming and launched an API so all hardware makers can integrate Live 360 into their product.
These videos are hugely popular with audiences, which makes them worth every penny. The novelty alone is enough to garner attention because they are unlike anything your audiences have seen before. And 360-degree videos are extremely engaging. Instead of sitting back and watching, this technology encourages your audience to click (or tilt), explore and most importantly — stick around for a while. It puts your audience in control of how they receive their information, and this is exactly what they want.
360-degree technology also allows marketers to take their viewers on a journey or adventure wherein the message, product, or service being featured is lifelike. In doing so, the experience is more memorable, and (because the interaction is involved) audiences retain and recall the information better than ever before.
Don’t sit back and enjoy this show, folks…sit up and interact with it! We predict some seriously amazing campaigns will crop up over the next couple of years as 360-degree video technology continues to advance.
Back in the ’90s, big brands like SEGA and Nintendo attempted to make virtual reality a household technology, but the cost and quality didn’t stand up to consumer standards — until now. Virtual reality has finally made its way back to the top of the hot topic list, and this time it’s definitely here to stay.
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