Chapter 1 VR Technology

The Concept of VR

With the buzz around the concept of the metaverse on the rise, marketers might find themselves contemplating the benefits of VR for their brands. This is not an easy undertaking: the multitude of technologies, hardware, and software solutions dubbed “VR” makes decision-making overwhelming. What exactly constitutes VR – and perhaps as importantly, what does not?

Imagine a continuum from the real to fully virtual world. Metaverse-related technologies are usually said to exist on this continuum. For example, augmented reality (AR) represents a set of technologies where some elements of the virtual world are overlaid on top of the real world. In AR, one can place a virtual sofa in a real living room or see a virtual Pokémon on a real street. In contrast with that, VR seeks to entirely replace real with virtual. Its goal is to take the participant to a completely different time and place, defying reality. For example, a potential car buyer can “test drive” a vehicle on a racetrack in the virtual world, all while sitting in the middle of a shopping mall in the real world.

If you search for “VR” online, you are likely to find images of people wearing HMDs, like Oculus or HTC VIVE (see Figure 1). However, many other solutions exist to “transport” participants into a virtual world. These solutions differ on their technical features.

Figure 1: VR Head-Mounted Display.

First, consider the field of view – in other words, the portion of the total participant’s view where the virtual world exists. For example, HMDs (e.g., helmets, goggles, or glasses) typically fully block out the real world, with the virtual environment encompassing the entire field of view. Such output devices do not need to be advanced: a simple Google Cardboard or an analogous plastic headset can accomplish the same effect by having participants insert their smartphone with VR content into a “box” that limits their field of view to that of the VR (see Figure 2). On the more sophisticated end of the spectrum, brands can use floor-supported displays or panoramic projections. In this case, the virtual world is depicted all around the participant, on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Parisian brand Atelier des Lumières (Studio of Lights), for instance, uses 140 projectors to immerse visitors in the artwork by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Kandinsky, and other artists.

Figure 2: Smartphone Viewers for VR.

However, not all VR applications take up the whole field of view. Instead, the virtual world might be presented on a computer or smartphone screen. For example, real estate agencies can generate a compelling customer experience by presenting their listings in VR, which is particularly relevant given the high level of competition in the real estate industry. As it would be unreasonable to expect all prospective clients to own and use a VR headset, the listings would likely be available to “visit” virtually using a simple computer or smartphone screen. In this case, screen size matters – the larger the screen and the associated field of view taken by the virtual environment, the more transported to the virtual place the participants are likely to be.

Next, VR solutions differ on their movement tracking, which varies by degrees of freedom. Virtual environments with 3 degrees of freedom can track all neck movements in VR (e.g., a user looking up or down, left or right, or tilting their head). Virtual environments with 6 degrees of freedom can do the same, plus track all positions of the body in space (one can move forward and backward, turn, duck, etc.). For example, VR CAVEs – Cave Automatic Virtual Environments – project the virtual world around the viewer and use sophisticated sensors to track participants’ movements within the room (see Figure 3). Through the use of these sensors, the virtual environment can continuously adapt and adjust to the participant’s perspective.

Figure 3: Under Armour “ice gym” CAVE.

Third, VR applications can feature different types of interactive control features. For example, advanced VR headsets (e.g., Samsung Galaxy Gear or Oculus) can be paired with hand-held controllers (see Figure 1) to allow user interaction with virtual objects (e.g., holding the objects, moving and rotating them). Typically, users increasingly feel like they really ARE in the virtual world when interactive control features are incorporated. In other types of VR, participants can interact using traditional controls such as computer keyboard or mouse. For example, a VR video displayed on a computer screen allows users to “look around” by dragging their mouse cursor. When a VR experience is viewed on a smartphone, simply moving and tilting the screen can enable participants to “explore” the virtual world.

Finally, virtual environments can be stereoscopic (vs. monoscopic) – that is, similar to human vision, such that the objects appear three-dimensional (3D). Creating 3D VR requires special equipment such as, for instance, stereoscopic cameras. The content is later presented in such a way that there is a view for the right eye and left eye, rather than a single screen for both eyes. Further, to view the virtual world in 3D, participants might need specialized devices. For example, depicting a 3D world in a CAVE typically requires users to wear stereoscopic eyewear (i.e., 3D glasses). Stereoscopy brings additional realism to the virtual environment because this is how a typical viewer experiences the real world.

Practical Considerations

• What kind of resources are necessary for creating a VR experience?

Given the wide range of possible VR solutions, it is unsurprising that they pose different budgetary constraints. For instance, VR with 6 degrees of freedom requires more resources to produce, as opposed to simpler VR with only 3 degrees of freedom. The more advanced applications (e.g., a 3D VR CAVE) are usually more cumbersome to use and require more initial calibration to function properly (e.g., to track movements correctly given the height of a participant). For many brands, producing and maintaining “the best” VR for marketing purposes is not possible, as it requires an extensive investment of time and money.

As with all marketing investments, it is important that you consider the return on investment (ROI) of the VR initiative. For example, VR has great potential for wine producers, especially for their promotional activities that are geographically removed from the vineyard site. However, wine producers might want to prioritize VR development in the marketing programs of their higher-end wines rather than inexpensive ones with typically lower profit margins.

In good news, “the best” VR is not always necessary for accomplishing strategic marketing goals. Instead, technical features should be carefully selected based on the specific marketing objectives, so that they help achieve these objectives in the most efficient manner. For example, some studies found that providing an advanced and interactive VR experience for tourism brands dissuaded participants from future consumption. In other words, when the VR was “too good,” study participants felt that it sufficiently replaced the real experience and were consequently less interested in visiting the tourism site in reality. On the other hand, if a tourism brand aims to “whet the appetite” of its potential visitors, creating a simpler, less advanced VR (e.g., the one viewed on a computer screen) could be more beneficial.

• What objectives can be achieved via VR marketing?

Overall, VR marketing can be helpful in a number of ways. If a brand is struggling to get into customers’ consideration sets, VR can help (1) build brand awareness and (2) improve brand attitude. When marketers wish to improve customer evaluations of their offerings, VR can (3) influence judgments of product/service attributes and quality. Given common objectives for marketing activities, VR can (4) increase conversions, or (5) improve the customer experience....