Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

There’s no question that many marketers are thinking about virtual reality (VR).

At a time when it’s harder than ever to capture users’ attention, VR gives brands the ability to create truly immersive experiences. Through 360-degree and VR films, marketers can whisk viewers away to Thailand, take them on the open road in New Zealand, or drop them in the middle of a house party.It’s no wonder that VR has been named one of the top trends that will affect digital marketing in 2017. Yet, VR requires a big investment. And a company must align on goals, strategy, distribution, and measurement plans before launching any VR initiative. 

If you’re among the many brands considering VR as part of your 2017 content marketing strategy, here are helpful data points to keep in mind and possibly build your business case, via this infographic from Marketo and Column Five..

Forget trying to design your deck, patio or porch with a drawing. Wayfair LLC is setting up outdoor furniture in another dimension.

The home furnishings retailer launched a virtual reality app to let consumers design an outdoor patio area. Wayfair debuted the app, Patio Playground, last week for consumers with the Oculus Rift 3-D gaming headset.In the app consumers can arrange patio furniture in a virtual setting, see how it looks from different angles and in various types of daylight. Wayfair has 85 products for consumers to place in the patio scene, and they can place up to 15 items in the setting at one time, says Mike Festa, head of Wayfair's research and development lab.

Consumers wearing an Oculus Rift headset can select a pre-configured patio, such as two chairs and a table with an umbrella, and then switch out the products, or they can build their patio layout from scratch, Festa says. ...

One day, we’ll have an entire Tumblr account for hilarious VR accidents, but until then, George Takei’s Facebook account will have to do. Takei, the Star Trek alum and current boss of sharing things on Facebook, recently shared a video of a man attempting to conquer a virtual cliff while inside an Oculus headset; it didn’t go well.

While climbing up a virtual mountain, the unnamed user had an unexpected fall — both in-game and in real life. The fall was a minor one, and it seems nothing is hurt but his pride.

The spill does outline a significant danger for virtual reality in that it might sometimes be too immersive. An immersive experience is what it’s all about, so it’s hard to suggest companies dial it back. Instead, maybe some genius out there can come up with a way to keep headset-wearers safe while they’re saving the world from pixelated zombies, or viewing some VR porn....

Second Life is a online game that immerses players in a virtual world. For the past thirteen years, more than 90,000 players have entered the online community. Now, Linden Labs, the company behind the unique game is looking to enter the realm of virtual reality.

With the popularity of virtual reality headsets, there is an important need for companies to create software to go along with the new technology. That’s where Linden Labs comes in.

Creating software for VR is a hefty task and is pretty much impossible for small companies or organizations. Linden Labs is hoping to help those little guys out by creating what they call a ‘WordPress for Social VR’.