Visiting the bottom of the sea or riding a roller coaster through Santa Claus' workshop were two of the first virtual reality experiences applied to advertising designed by SimDesign. This Uruguayan company began to apply its knowledge of virtuality to advertising strategies for companies in Uruguay and Paraguay in 2014. Its four partners, Federico Márquez, Nicolás Bermúdez, Gabriel Lambach and Luis Calabria were supported by the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII) to launch the company in the market.
"Virtual reality allows people to experience situations that they can't do in real life," said SimDesign co-founder Luis Calabria at a presentation organised by IAB for its partners on Wednesday.
With the massification of 360° videos, global companies such as Audi, BMW and McDonald's started to use this system to promote their products or to build customer loyalty.
This technology arrived in Uruguay at the end of 2014 and the first action SimDesign designed was for Coca-Cola and Grupo Disco at the traditional "Casa de Papa Noel" at the branch located on Avenida Italia and Magariños Cervantes. "Children could feel like they were riding a roller coaster and see Santa Claus," said Calabria. Virtual reality glasses create the sensation of being immersed in the environment, so it is a tool that is starting to be used as an experiential marketing strategy.
SimDesign also recreated a journey to the bottom of the sea as part of the Salus Kids promotion at Hipemercado Geant in 2015. "The action was proposed for one month and was so successful, with so many children passing through the installation, that it continued for four months," said systems engineer Calabria.
The possibilities of generating actions with virtual reality are varied and, according to the expert, the only limitation is of a technical nature. "It is important to choose the lens according to what you want to generate. The image quality of the lenses varies and the person has to feel good at the end of the action," he stressed.
How to apply it?
Calabria offered advice that advertising agencies should take into account to be effective in the strategy. "You can't do 360° filming for no reason; virtual reality is all the rage now but it's going to take longer to reach user standards," he said.
Another important point is to use the full potential of 360° videos. "You have to allow the user to look in all directions, to interact as much as possible with the environment they are viewing. For this reason, some actions worldwide try to explore all the senses, incorporating aromas in addition to sight and hearing.
One of the aspects Calabria highlighted was the importance of identifying the experience with the brand and including it within the space in a subtle way.
Regarding the duration of each virtual reality action, ideally it should be between 40 seconds and 2 minutes, so that more people can live the experience, as it is individual.
"It's important to understand the limitations of the technology, because the experience can go wrong," he said. As for the cost of developing an action with virtual reality, it ranges from US$2,000 to US$15,000, depending on the level of 3D development required, the glasses used or what needs to be filmed with a 360° camera.
"You have to design actions that people can't live in their reality". Luis Calabria, co-founder of SimDesign
On the rise
SimDesign started working with virtual reality by making tours of architectural spaces for real estate and construction companies.
"We work with architecture studios and especially with construction companies, also with 360° filming that makes it possible to show something that doesn't yet exist," said the co-founder of SimDesign, who has generated images of several buildings under construction, allowing the potential buyer of a flat to see how it will be decorated, what the surroundings will be like and to take a tour of the space. According to Calabria, Uruguayan companies are interested in the opportunities offered by virtual reality, and for these specialists, the fact that this is "the year of virtual reality" creates opportunities for growth.
The company is looking for internationalisation and has established contact with Paraguayan real estate agencies and has already designed experiences for Unilever for the brand's 20th anniversary in that country. SimDesign is researching the application of virtuality in education and entertainment.
Source: Portal El Observador
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