The impact of virtual reality in experiential marketing

The XC90 SUV which was targeted for the young generation willing to purchase their first car required a different and intelligent marketing campaign approach by the organisation. The car needed to be discovered and introduced to the public before it reached its dealership in order for it to be able to compete with other already established brands (Gilliland, 2016). The best way to do this was to launch the first test drive through VR technology in the market and allow the target consumers to have an exclusive experience which normally is impossible to drive a car during an auto show as well as permitting customers to trial the car months before it was accessible for the market. Volvo came up with a brilliant plan through the Framestore Company that made it work through the excellent results presented (Framestore VR Studio, 2015).

2 Strategy Buying a luxurious car is a personal experience that every individual want to be a part of. It presented a beautiful drive, a unique mark and even a description that permitted the customers to escape from the experience ((Mobile Marketing Association, 2014), (Framestore VR Studio, 2015)). This was challenging given the fact that this was the first time that Volvo was venturing in the luxury buyer segment and it needed to begin from the first step that is from creating frontrunners and structuring demands and pleasure around their new SUV XC90. 3 Target audience Volvo Reality campaign primary goal was to get frontrunners who would be engaged by the luxury vehicle merchants once the SUV was introduced in the market. These are people who truly understand the meaning of luxury and what it truly means to purchase a luxurious car.

The aim was identify at least 100,000 frontrunners within the first six months across a multi-phased campaign (Mobile Marketing Association, 2014). 5 Execution 3. 1General campaign implementation A sequence of direct communications to the highly targeted influencers helped take-off the campaign. The app was fist launched to about fifteen journalists who covered the intersections of the design as well as the technology. The journalists were contacted through direct mail packages where an explanation about the product and the campaign was offered (Mobile Marketing Association, 2014). The application was also written about by great magazines such as Fast Company, Digiday and Mashable; a sequence of distinct invite only events at the L. Communication was made possible with the Forty thousand users through the on-going content in the application’s feed and through the iOS notification (Mobile Marketing Association, 2014).

Paid user adverts through the social media helped to tailor audiences and to drive them to local events and at the same time border them with mails during key publicity stages. The Volvo reality application basically denoted a new unswerving promotion plan where the first promotion formed a new preserved network that is perfect for a one on one communication (Mobile Marketing Association, 2014). 7 Assessment The Volvo Reality campaign basically surpassed all the prospects with it reaping two hundred and thirty eight million PR sways, one hundred and fifty nine million paid media sways and other nineteen million social media sways (Bair, 2017). There were about four million video views and about twenty four news stories not forgetting half million web page views (Mobile Marketing Association, 2014).

1 The experience The concept of virtual reality has been interpreted in a number of ways by practitioners and academics, they however all agree that virtual reality incorporates a series of technologies; which allow real time mix between what is real and the digitally generated layers of information and imagery that enhance the specific reality. This is further confirmed through the results from the case study of Volvo XC90 VR test drive. Virtual Reality (VR) research studies such as (Datta, 2017; Schmitt, 2010; Kotler, 2014) show that the use of virtual reality as a form of experiential marketing has been raising a number of controversies in regard to its long term benefits with the fact that it is only used as a promotional tool. The results from the literature review show some concern in regard to customer satisfaction through the creation of the perceived experiential value.

The manner in which VR is been used in marketing campaigns judging from the case of Volvo XC90 can be viewed as a form of experiential marketing mainly because it focuses on both the product and the whole customer experience. Experiential marketing as is illustrated in many studies treats consumption as a holistic experience and this recognizes both the emotional and rational drivers of consumption (Schmitt, 2010; Schmitt, 2000; Bhattacharjee, et al. VR has a great influence on the pre-purchase stage because of the fact that it has the power to place the product or even the service at the hands of the users (Hekkert , 2006). This gives the users the opportunity to test the product that they are interested in as if they already own it and this entices the prospect to commit to buying the product and even trigger the purchase.

Experiential marketing creates value in that it refers to customer perceptions of the services and products through direct use and indirect observations (Same & Larimo, 2012). This fact is illustrated by the case of Volvo XC90; the case study shows that experiential value created can induce the satisfaction of the customers. 4 Social dimension One key component that is missing in the literature definitions of virtual reality is the social dimension, the feeling of socialness that stems from the perception of and interaction with others. Various contributory factors from the VR delivery system, social influences and psychological drivers will influence the feeling of socialness in virtual environment (Ashley & Tuten, 2015). People encounter social cues within the virtual reality experiences that contribute to the feeling of socialness as is evidenced by the responses of the participants of Volvo Reality experience.

Virtual reality gives the marketers the chance to offer prospective customers a convincing experience of a produce, service and place without having them essentially having a physical location or even product (Elgan, 2015). This is effective because it provides progressive, rich and immersive standard that has the aptitude to convey unique, high influence and unforgettable messages while at the same time engaging both the audience and potential consumers. These types of applications have invaded the marketing world because of what is known as virtual reality (VR). Experiences have become the eventual phase for delivering value to the consumers. When most economies sere still focused on being agrarian, the concept of product in itself began by only including raw produces, turning into goods with the coming of the industrial revolution.

This concept further grew where services and intangibility were included with the moving of the working force into the third sector (Manoukian, 2017). Consumers in today’s era seek personal, memorable and meaningful experiences in the course of the purchasing and people do not mind paying extra for a meaningful and tailored experience. org/agenda/2017/09/augmented-and-virtual-reality-will-change-how-we-create-and-consume-and-bring-new-risks/) 5. 3 Immerse Experience of VR for Consumers Virtual Reality is an immersive experience for the consumers especially in the digital error, it is millennia driven approach to digesting and interacting with content. The consumer populace today is addicted to technology which makes it very hard for them to be easily impressed, VR however creates the wow factor that helps to impress and at the same time keep them engaged (Hall & Takahashi, 2017).

VR does not just show or say something; it creates a wholly new practice that people can participate with. It lets people create a comprehensive world through the use of a pair of glasses; the consumers get the chance to look at the virtual space like they are actually there which brings immersive experiences (Manoukian, 2017). A key element that should be focused on by the marketers is ensuring that high quality customer experience through the provision of environmental cues. The development of such cues in the delivery of VR content must attempt to accentuate positive experiences through use of positive cues and also reduce the prevalence of any possible negative cues. Positive environmental cues act to affirm a positive experience, creating stronger more memorable impressions on the consumers; for instance visual and aural cues can provide information about what the VR consumer will experience next and hence act as a priming tool (Ashley & Tuten, 2015).

Such cues can also act to encourage certain types of in world behaviour such as arrows or other signage to help encourage a consumer to press a button to activate a module of experience content. The consistency of design of environmental cues is paramount; if they are properly designed or utilized it can create an unpleasant experience for the consumers who follow the wrong path. Social capital and social interactions are key elements in encouraging consumer engagements, from a marketing perspective; social networking provides an important medium that enables the world of mouth communications (Ashley &Tuten, 2015). Word of mouth has over the years been recognized as a significant element in dispensing product and market information. Such information has a tendency to be more reliable and also have more reliability and plausibility for the customers than formal promotion.

Recommendations through the word of mouth via the social media can have more commercial value than traditional marketing methods which can affect purchase behaviour through embedded information and persuasion (Hung & Li, 2007). The elasticity of word of mouth on social media appears to be high on privately consumed products that are suitable for VR experiences. These analyses help the brands to change the experiences in regard to the data retrieved from the consumers which basically improves the overall VR experiences and benefits. Staying ahead of the curve and knowing all the latest trends within the market always means being effective and making great profits and it requires a different dimension of doing things. Virtual reality is that difference that helps brands stay ahead of the curve and it is should be the goal of every brand to adopt this in their marketing.

VR is the best marketing strategy and every brand should strive to incorporate it in their marketing, it not only provides a unique, engaging consumer experience but also encourages social media sharing and it is easy to integrate. Virtual reality provides the effective platform for experience marketing where most industries focus on evolving and providing outstanding dealings for the customers with financial values in the transformational aids presented by the experience. The technology powered marketing innovation can hypothetically transmute marketing by joining the emotional influences of experiential marketing with the pathological scalability of web promotions. There is concern when it comes to thinking about successful VR adoptions in the future especially with the possible matters of cost and inadequate appeal to the audience.

The earliest adopters of VR are undoubtedly mobile and gaming fans and the industry has grown and it continues to grow with the continued use of VR for their marketing. This means that there is hope that these concept of VR as a marketing tool will continue to grow and help brands generate more profits in their products. With increased adoption of VR by various brands, the accessibility of VR is becoming easier. , Mattsson, J. , & Hartley, N. Virtual experience services: Assessing the value of real-life brands in virtual worlds. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 92, 12-24. Bair, D. Volvo Reality. [online] Available at: http://framestorevr. com/volvo2/ [Accessed 3 Sep. Gilliland, N 2016, 'How automotive brands are blurring the lines between digital & reality', Marketing Week (Online Edition), p.