Let me paint a picture for you. You’re standing outside of the Microsoft store at Lenox Mall in Atlanta, GA – you see someone with a black box on their face. They are walking around oblivious to the fact that everyone in the mall is watching them, but they are clearly having the time of their lives! Arms are flying in the air and they are moving in each different direction to get away from whatever is in the box, but little do you know, they are experiencing a real-life simulation of a different part of the world. For those of you that are as clueless as I am, according to HubSpot, virtual reality is a form of interactive software that immerses users in a three-dimensional environment – 360 degrees.
Sounds pretty HORRIBLE if you ask me! I have a feeling and KNOW that if I ever had the opportunity to do this, I would feel incredibly claustrophobic. But if feeling TRAPPED sounds fun to you, go for it.
It’s a way to transport yourself into a place where they can’t be at the moment or will never be able to be – who wouldn’t want to go to space or Australia? If they didn’t have the means or the ability?! It’s amazing that the world has given us this ability to create this type of real-life simulation, and the uses of it are incredible. While I am researching, I am learning more and more about different realities and little did I know… there are a couple types and this article explains it well:
- Virtual Reality: I have already explained above.
- Augmented Reality: Placing content “into” a real world, for example: Pokémon Go.
- Mixed Reality: A combination of real and digital content, for example, two videos layered on top of each other.
Almost two years ago, The New York Times sent out the Google cardboards to their most loyal customers in hopes of them downloading the video and placing their phones into the cardboard cutout to experience their own real-life simulation of different parts of the world, but in the comfort of their own home. Although as a whole, this seems like a great idea, the ones that were not sent the cardboard cutouts have to spend money to buy their own and The NY Times does not release videos very often so in for a short period of time, it was cool. But in the long run, not so much. In regard to marketing, this was amazing. The loyal customers were given the cutouts, but the real-life simulation was not for everyone to experience, which made people feel left out. But it’s great for The NY Times because it encourages those lukewarm customers to become more loyal because later on… they might get gifts for like these loyal customers did.
If you have ever bought a pair Toms, you are aware that every time you buy a pair of shoes… another pair goes to someone in need. AT&T and Toms launched a real-life simulation of Uruguay, although they didn’t use the silly goggles, they gave a 360-degree video for people to see. They did this to show where the money for Tom’s was going to because those that buy their shoes are sitting at home and trusting that they are doing what they say they are! The articles say, “that commercial was the first time Toms had national media exposure, and our business really grew a lot that year because of that exposure.” So, for Toms, they were given this amazing opportunity to gain customers because they showed the world what they see in real life, but they gave the world this real-life simulation that we may never experience.
I see the pros and cons of this: the fact that people find it very intriguing, but then there are those like me that can’t stand the feeling of not being able to escape. But at the same time, you are escaping into a real-life simulation of like I have said above, to a place you may never experience.
Anna Strawn 