Right now, all the focus in the marketing world is on mobility, as the number of smartphones in use topped 1.4 billion in 2014. But everyone wants to know: What will come after mobile? This week, Facebook gave a strong indication of what’s coming down the pike next when it announced it acquired the Irvine, Calif.-based company Oculus Rift for $2 billion.
Oculus Rift, which makes an advanced virtual reality headset, is being hailed as the next major solution in the tech industry for its ability to literally transport users directly into a three-dimensionally rendered environment. Instead of staring at a screen, in other words, a user can be completely surrounded by it.
Right now, Oculus Rift is primarily a video game platform. But according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the platform has the potential to do a lot more than entertain. As Zuckerberg explained recently, Oculus Rift will transform the way that people learn, experience entertainment and communicate in the future.
It could also have quite an impact on your future marketing strategy, too. In fact, something like Oculus Rift could be just the thing to bring your customer interactions to the next level—or even further, as New York City-based television Editor Josh Luddeni explained after trying it out at a consumer technology event in November.
“Within moments of putting on the light headset, you knew that this was the next big thing,” Luddeni explained.
Just think of the possibilities that this could pose for your content. Imagine, for example, if someone could link directly to a virtual walkthrough of your product or service after reading a blog post or video. As Luddeni explained, absolutely anything can be achieved through virtual reality.
“No longer is your New York City apartment small and cozy,” Luddeni said. “You could sit on your couch and be in a whole other location, on a private island on your beach, or in that perfect penthouse you’ve always wanted.”
Investing in alternative forms of content delivery is a great strategy for reaching consumers and delivering an amazing online experience. Whether you take your customers on a tour through a virtual event, offer a cutting edge webinar or look forward into virtual reality, try differing from standard marketing delivery and think of the Internet as a launch pad that can create invaluable experiences with your customers.
Very interesting post… I am pondering my response to this technology for marketing. I believe “reality” begins to taken on even more forms and definitions and not sure what this does to relationship-based marketing. What are your thoughts?
Hi Gina,
Thanks for your comment! I think you are spot on about how reality is expanding, and as marketers we need to take this into account. Relationship marketing is all about fostering customer loyalty and satisfaction, and one of the best ways to do this is to provide a unique online experience. Personally I can’t wait to see what Facebook will do with Oculus Rift. Maybe we’ll be able to use virtual reality to “walk” into a business on Facebook soon and meet with company representatives instead of just visiting a page. It will be fun to see how far this goes.