Old tech on the horizon: VR’s second coming in experiential events
Once seen as a futuristic novelty, VR in experiential marketing was often more clunky than compelling. Now, thanks to advancements in hardware, accessibility, and strategic application, Malcolm Ché , Head of Strategy & Innovation at Identity, says it’s stepping into its full potential, offering brands new ways to engage, educate, and immerse audiences like never before.
A decade ago, virtual reality (VR) in experiential marketing was exciting as the new, new thing. It was also flawed. The hardware was clunky. The user experience was unnecessarily complicated. To say nothing of the burden placed on people manning the experience. There were just too many friction points for it to be adopted with ease. It was a technology full of promise but lacking the accessibility to match its ambition. In truth, for many brand activations, it felt more like a gimmick than a game-changer.
Today, VR, and its close cousin XR, is no longer just a novelty, it’s a serious tool for storytelling, training, and engagement. The technology, and the audience and clients’ understanding, has matured. The barriers to entry have lowered, offering greater potential in experiential marketing than ever before.
What changed?
Firstly, the hardware. Headsets like the Eden Snacker have significantly improved portability, resolution, and ease of use. No longer tethered by wires or requiring complex setups or audience onboarding, today’s VR experiences are seamless and far more intuitive. The shift to standalone devices capable of running without desktop PC’s connected has also made adoption much easier for brands looking to integrate VR into their activations.
Then, there’s accessibility. VR used to be exclusive; an experience for those who had the means and patience to navigate its quirks. And the stomach to handle the potential virtual sickness from low quality rendering and refresh rates. Now, businesses can deploy VR activations with less friction, thanks to cloud-based streaming (yes, the metaverse), simplified onboarding, and even browser-based VR solutions. It’s no longer about isolating audiences in headsets but creating social, interactive, and even blended experiences that combine virtual and real-world experiences.
Most importantly, brands, and their clients, have learned how to use VR effectively. It’s no longer about throwing in a headset for the sake of it. Clients now understand the technology’s real value beyond novelty, moving away from the “get it done first” mindset to a more considered approach. VR is no longer “tech for tech’s sake” but a tool for meaningful engagement that resonates with audiences. The best experiences now put the audience first, leveraging VR to deliver a visceral response through storytelling, enhance training simulations and scenarios, or build worlds that are impossible to replicate and explore in a physical space.
Looking ahead
With the rapid evolution of AI-generated environments, haptic feedback, mixed reality, and improvements in fidelity, advances in spatial video capture technology, and hand-tracking gestural input, VR’s role in experiential events is set to expand even further. Expect richer narratives, hyper-personalised experiences, and deeper emotional engagement as brands push the boundaries of what’s possible.
VR was once the future. Then, it was the past. Now, it’s making a comeback; not as a gimmick, but as a fully-fledged storytelling tool. Past the trough of disillusionment, we’re entering the point where technology has matured, and so have our expectations and use cases for it. Strap in, the future is bright!
