For those who may not know what it's like to experience VR (Virtual Reality), here is an example of customers trying the product for the first time. As you can see the immersion truly fools people into thinking they have actually entered a new setting and that the danger is real. The technology works by having two small screens imbedded in the headset that render a wide field of view at a low latency allowing for the best possible immersion. For consumers this means that instead of just watching your favourite character on a screen...you become the character. The Oculus Rift is projected to be released sometime in 2015 for consumers and will most likely cost around $100-$350 based on the developer kit costs.
Other companies however such as Windows are taking a different approach and have recently announced transparent glasses which augment the reality around you instead of viewing the game from inside the program. Here is footage from their preview video being shown. The headset allows the user to interact with 3d projected objects on surfaces including using calendars, answering calls and also creating in Minecraft with a 3d perspective similar to wooden building blocks. Personally I think this would be AMAZING for a zombie simulator.
So, what does this mean for advertising? Personally I think these advancements in technology will completely change traditional advertising completely. When the technology inevitably advances and becomes cheaper, stronger and lighter, I personally think it will expand as fast as cell phones did. The possibilities are almost endless with the ability to project and augment the reality before an individual. An example I could see being used effectively includes have white billboards and posters with QR codes that are automatically registered into the glasses allowing for personalized ads targeted to individuals. A few examples include
- Customized ads which are linked with Google Adsense data that provides the customers with ads they would be interested in. An example would include viewing a series of tuner videos on youtube and seeing aftermarket car advertising close the business location.
- Frequently updated advertising which can offer deals and services quickly and efficiently. This would be excellent for airports and travel agencies which rely on cookies and demand to adjust their rates.
- Restaurants which offer large menu selection and the advertisement can show an augmented version of a food they may be craving. I know If I walked by a place to eat and saw a 3d projected steak I would definitely be more inclined to purchase rather than just seeing a picture of it.
Honestly the possibilities are endless and with this emerging technology being released within the next year or two, I personally will be expanding my knowledge the best I can in order to have adapt into this emerging market. With aspirations of becoming a lead advertising designer, I want to be among the few that will harness this new technology and bring ads that people have NEVER seen before and will better engage them then traditional methods of advertising/marketing.
