Virtual Reality Branding Campaigns, Impact and Public Perception: An Abstract

Marketing practitioners have long recognised the importance of non-transactional customer behaviour (Sashi 2012). In line with this, the industry introduced the ‘engagement’ metric in strategic marketing and branding to assess corporate and brand performance (Van Doorn et al. 2010). Prospect and trend reports from the industry indicate that advances in digital technologies continue to shape the business landscape. In line with that, a shift towards engaging consumers through implementations of new technologies can be observed throughout a broad range of different industries. Arguably, one of the most prominent new technologies is virtual reality (VR), which can be defined as a real-time, immersive and interactive multisensory experience situated in, and artificially induced by, a responsive three-dimensional computer-generated virtual environment—usually paired with advanced input and output devices (e.g. head-mounted display and haptic motion feedback controllers; de Regt and Barnes 2019). Various brands are currently experimenting with virtual reality technology and incorporating it into their marketing strategies in order to create more profound connections with their target audiences—i.e., by increasing awareness, promoting engagement and generating unique brand experiences. Although VR technology is moving towards widespread adoption, the possibilities and impact of how VR can best be implemented to enhance both product and brand marketing have not been investigated fully.

This research aims to contribute to this knowledge by investigating how VR experiences are perceived by consumers, specifically focusing on how they influence brand perception and the consumer’s intention to engage with the brand. The research is based on a series of semi-structured focus group interviews with a purposeful sample of English-speaking participants. Prior to taking part in the focus groups, all participants experienced VR through head-mounted displays (HMDs). A semi-structured interview framework was implemented to generate the in-depth and actionable brand insights. The paper rounds off with recommendations for practice and future research.