The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

July 4, 2016 | 4 min read

Virtual reality (VR) is on the cusp of going mainstream, with brands and agencies alike experimenting with the technology as devices become more accessible.

For Samsung, mainstream adoption of VR will be driven by consumers creating their own content, rather than simply experiencing content fed to them by brands, according to senior product manager for VR, Jason Lovell.

Speaking at The Drum's Future of Marketing event, Lovell said: "The future of VR is more about recording your own life and playing it back on VR rather than going onto an app store. Allowing people to create their own content and view it; it's more bespoke to them and it's more relevant to their lives."

Samsung is releasing its Gear 360 camera later this year to allow people to record in 360 video, but Lovell acknowledges there's an onus on brands and VR companies to educate consumers about what they can do with the technology.

"Once that education piece has been done around telling people how they can capture those moments in 360 or whatever it may be, it becomes really exciting because they can then think about how to consume that media and share it in a different way.

"If you can communicate to the customer that they can purchase this device, they can record their content, they can stitch it, they can share it easily, that's the key because then word of mouth spreads."

Brands will see VR as a "compelling option" once consumer engagement levels go up, added Lovell. "We know people are experimenting with the technology and trying it but we need to work harder to get it as a mass adopted product."

For that to happen, it's key for content creators to showcase what the technology can do, as it's difficult for VR to be understood without being tried – something Samsung is attempting to address by making the technology available for people to experiment with at retail spaces. For example, a Galaxy studio at Westfield shopping centre allowed people to experience a VR rollercoaster.

"We're in a bit of a land grab at the moment where every company now involved in VR is trying to get people to use it. As a technology it's incredibly hard to articulate what VR can do without showing someone – it's almost impossible. It's so new and so different that people can't get their head around what it looks like and how it works as a content consumption medium – and then you show them and you start getting that cut through."

He added: "Over the next three to five years, as more and more people get on board and it becomes more popular, as it becomes more ubiquitous it will naturally be a platform for all sorts of advertising and marketing."

During a panel session at the event, Lovell discussed Samsung's approach to marketing new technologies such as Gear 360, using a group of focus testers to help the marketing team decide on the best use case for a product.

"There's a lot around how we tap into consumers' lives – is it capturing everyday events or is it strapping to their head and going down a ski slope?"

Lovell cautioned brands against launching in VR without first deciding on what they want to achieve and understanding the limitations of the technology.

"Start with the end goal. If you're going to do something in VR, work out what the output is – what do you want to get out of it? Do you want brand equity, is it more of just a PR shout? My advice would be: don't just jump in – research the benefits and limitations of the technology, then work out really what you can create that's best for the business."

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