Virtual reality in the marketing era

Virtual reality marketing is not the future—it’s the present. As early as 2018, 78% of people were
familiar with virtual reality technology. More and more brands are incorporating virtual reality (VR) into
their marketing strategy. Some use VR features in social apps, such as Instagram, while others create
custom apps. No matter what method you use, virtual reality marketing opens up new (and potentially
less expensive) ways to interact with customers and increase brand awareness.

Virtual reality marketing involves brands promoting themselves and their products using virtual and
augmented reality technology. The technology creates a fake but realistic environment. Sometimes VR
marketing is visual, and sometimes it’s multi-sensory, depending on the device.

Makeup and hair-care brand L’Oreal released an app called Makeup Genius, much like Sephora’s Virtual
Artist. L’Oreal Makeup Genius lets you try out a variety of hair colors and makeup styles. Virtual try-ons
are also a way to address safety concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Customers can test
makeup without using the shared samples that were often available in stores.

Similarly, virtual reality marketing is also a fun way to announce new products. Luxury apparel brand
Gucci launched an AR feature in its app to promote the new line of Ace sneakers. Users can point the
camera at their feet and see how different styles of the sneaker would look.

Moreover, Instagram recently partnered with Spark AR to create a new feature, with which users can
make custom AR filters. The filters overlay words or images on top of the actual image in the camera
view. Brands are taking advantage of this to create filters that display the company’s logo or other
branded image.