XR in marketing: Making distracted consumers spend two more minutes with the brand

New Delhi: A typical social media influencer employs a 3-second hook to engage a user with his storytelling, trying to drive conversions for the brand. Now, imagine the opportunities marketers have if they can engage a highly distracted customer for two minutes on a multi-sensory level in an immersive experience.

Traditional mediums often fall short of delivering a fully multi-sensory marketing experience due to limitations in interactivity and immersion. Traditional ads engage primarily the visual and auditory senses, missing out on touch, motion, and spatial awareness, which refers to knowing where you are in the physical space. 

Extended Reality or XR bridges this gap by providing a multi-sensory experience that can include haptic feedback, 3D spatial audio, and interactive visuals. This comprehensive sensory engagement enhances the emotional connection with the brand, leading to deeper consumer engagement and retention.

In the words of Anurag Sachdeva, Founder & CEO at Xtendr, “What makes XR unique is its ability to make experiences a part of the consumer’s environment or take the user to a place they cannot see with the naked eye, making the overall experience very personal for a consumer. If the user can visualise how a product will look in their living room, the experience tends to be unique. So, the power of XR lies in its ability to provide everybody with their own set of unique and immersive experiences, unlike watching a video that is the same for everybody.”

Understanding the basics

Since XR as technology remains infantile, people frequently interchange the terms VR, AR, XR, and MR. Here are some basics to understand the technology better: 

Augmented reality, aka AR, superimposes digital content over the actual environment, augmenting the actual reality to increase the consumer's sense of reality. Pokemon GO and Snapchat filters are two well-known examples of this. 

Virtual reality, or VR, refers to immersive, computer-generated environments that users can discover and communicate with using specialised headsets. 

Integrating components of both AR and VR is Mixed reality, or MR, permits individuals to connect with digital objects that are flawlessly incorporated right into the physical environment. Microsoft's HoloLens is a significant example of modern MR technology.

Going further, the VR wave started with great investment and enthusiasm from big brands such as H&M and Louis Vuitton, who positioned themselves as being the flag bearers of the VR wave by opening their very first virtual stores in the Metaverse. However, in recent times, the VR wave has taken a serious hit. Given the challenges with marketing opportunities surrounding VR, more and more brands are rallying to incorporate XR into their marketing mix.

Explaining a modern marketer’s interest in XR, Pankaj Raut, co-founder and CEO of Ajna Lens, said, “XR brings a broader, more integrated approach that combines the best aspects of VR, AR, and MR, making it a more sustainable and valuable technology. For marketers, the seamless blend of real and virtual worlds in XR provides them with tools to create multi-sensory, highly interactive experiences that traditional VR couldn’t fully deliver.”

Conceptualise showcasing your product in a customer's home environment through AR. By allowing for a deeper connection and product understanding, brands can significantly boost brand engagement and recall. As per a report published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau titled ‘AR Buyer’s Guide,’ AR experiences can increase brand recall by a staggering 70% compared to traditional marketing channels.  

XR bridges the gap between online browsing and physical interaction

By enabling virtual try-ons or product demonstrations, XR bridges the gap between online browsing and physical interaction, fostering purchase confidence. Reaffirming the point, another study titled ‘The ROI on AR: How Augmented Reality Is Boosting Ecommerce Sales’ by Shopify revealed that shoppers were 44% more likely to add an item to their cart and 65% more likely to place an order after interacting with a product using AR technology.  

What if a new-age sustainable clothing brand can transport potential customers to the rainforest alongside their latest summer collection? VR allows brands to craft emotionally charged narratives that transport viewers into the heart of their brand story. Proving the point is another study by Techjury, a platform commonly known as ‘the home of tech reviews,’ stating that 85% of people believe that VR creates a more engaging brand experience. 

Considering the above-mentioned data points, every CMO glaring at the screen should experiment with storytelling opportunities that XR has to offer to create hyper-personalised campaigns using multi-sensory data collected by wearable devices such as Apple Vision Pro. 

“Last year, brands spent upwards of $750 billion globally on advertising. It’s estimated that only 6% of it is truly effective,” quoted Orlando Wood, Chief Innovation Officer at Systeml, on the final day of Cannes Lions 2024.

This data should make every marketer take a break and reconsider their approach to personalised marketing campaigns. For marketers scratching their heads around making their campaigns more personalised, Raut suggests using XR to deliver hyper-personalised campaigns. 

From the horse’s mouth itself, Raut said, “Brands can deliver hyper-personalised campaigns in XR by leveraging data analytics and AI to tailor experiences to individual preferences and behaviours. For example, an XR shopping experience can analyse a user’s past purchases and preferences to recommend products and create a personalised virtual storefront. AI can adjust the virtual environment in real-time, offering personalised interactions based on user inputs, enhancing user satisfaction and engagement.”

It is important to note that XR can be effectively utilised for both one-off activations and long-running campaigns. The versatility of the technology allows brands to create sustained engagement through recurring experiences and refreshed content over time.

When asked about sponsorship and advertising opportunities that exist for brands using virtual XR events to entertain and engage with a community of brand followers, Raut said, “Fashion brands can organise virtual concerts and fashion shows for interactive product launches and brand experiences. XR platforms offer unique sponsorship and advertising avenues, such as virtual billboards, branded virtual merchandise, and sponsored interactive experiences within the event. 

For example, a brand could sponsor a virtual reality concert where attendees can interact with virtual booths, participate in branded games, and purchase virtual goods. These immersive and interactive elements create a deeper engagement, providing sponsors with high visibility and unique ways to connect with the audience.”

Usage of XR in creating branded content

Diving deeper into the subject, Raut mentioned the scope of branded content in the XR world, using an example. “For instance, a travel company can provide virtual tours of exotic destinations, enhancing their promotional campaigns. XR content ensures opportunities for interactive storytelling, where users can explore different narratives and engage with the brand in a more personalised way,” Raut further added.

One of the key advantages of generative AI in marketing is its ability to produce highly customised content at scale. By analysing user data and behaviour, AI can generate animations that are tailored to individual preferences, ensuring that each viewer experiences a unique and relevant message.

As Raut perceives it, “Harnessing generative AI for producing real-time animations in the XR space opens up possibilities for creating dynamic and personalised content that adapts to user interactions, making marketing campaigns more engaging and memorable.”

“Generative AI can streamline the production process, reducing the time and cost associated with creating high-quality animations. For example, an AI-powered animation could change its storyline or visual elements based on the viewer’s choices, creating a more engaging and memorable experience. This interactivity not only captures the audience’s attention but also encourages them to spend more time with the content, increasing brand recall and loyalty,” added Raut.

Marketing in the XR space isn’t just about using the latest technologies, such as Gen AI. Integrating traditional outdoor and print mediums with digital experiences enhances storytelling and leaves a lasting impact on the audience.

Recently enough, Cheil India launched a print ad for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Series. The campaign leveraged mixed reality technology to bring the Circle to Search feature into the hands of everyone who scanned the QR code. 

The campaign ad featured in national dailies—The Times of India and Hindustan Times—was designed for users to get a hands-on experience with the feature. By scanning a QR code on the print ad from any smartphone, users are transported into a world where the Circle-to-Search feature comes to life.

No matter how tempting the lure of XR to a marketer is, Sachdeva suggests a staggered approach to XR in India. “Immersive media can be broken down into sub-groups—wearables and smartphones. Immersive media delivered through your smartphone can open a bigger canvas in itself by helping advertisers reach a broader audience.

When it comes to India, around 700-800 million smartphone users reside there, presenting a plethora of marketing opportunities that lie ahead.

Wearables as a space are developing as we speak. Reach is a function of availability and if it is enabled through all the smartphones, it takes care of the reach,” said Sachdeva. 

While brand loyalty is gaining ground in every marketer’s strategy, brands are now turning to XR to cut through the clutter and create deeper connections with customers. 

Speaking of ways in which XR can be used to increase brand loyalty, Raut said, “Using multi-sensory data of users, marketers can understand what type of content evokes the most intense sensation in the user's body and come up with campaigns catering to the most aroused sense organs. XR can significantly foster brand loyalty by creating personalised, immersive experiences that resonate on an emotional level. 

Brands can host virtual brand events where consumers can interact with products in a 3D environment, participate in live Q&A sessions, and even receive personalised recommendations based on their interactions.”

If the studies say it, experts recommend it, and brands are looking forward to it, then why is it that consumers hardly come across large-scale XR campaigns? 

Challenges of deploying XR in marketing

Thanks to the sky-high acquisition cost of the technology on the marketer's end as well as the consumer side.

Even if the cost of devices like Vision Pros decreases over time, the capital required for brands to market themselves on such platforms is substantial. Justifying the high investment costs related to the technology, Raut said, “Brands can capitalise on the opportunities provided by XR by focusing on the high return on investment and the unique value these immersive experiences offer. XR marketing campaigns can deliver unparalleled engagement, higher conversion rates, and stronger brand loyalty, justifying the initial investment. The key is to view XR not as an expense but as a strategic investment in future-proofing marketing efforts.”

Niraj Ruparel, Emerging Tech Lead- WPP & Groupm, India, spoke of challenges within the existing infrastructure that do not allow for faster adoption of the technology. “Limited network coverage and reliability can hinder seamless experiences. XR applications require extremely low latency, and even minor delays can disrupt immersion. High bandwidth demands for high-resolution and interactive content can strain networks. Ensuring device compatibility and performance across various XR devices is essential,” said Ruparel.

Adding more to the bucket of challenges, Ruparel said, “The main challenge also lies in delivering a seamless user experience without requiring app downloads. While younger users adapt easily to web-based MR, older audiences may need assistance. Thus, an intuitive UI/UX is crucial for broad adoption.”

Amidst the global hype around XR as a technology, do Indian marketers hold a candle to the XR-based campaigns executed across the world? 

“India has become one of the leaders in XR marketing post-COVID-19. WPP itself has executed over 35 campaigns, positioning India among the top countries for innovative XR campaigns,” said Ruparel, replying to the question.

Wrapping it up, Ruparel commented on what the future holds for XR. “As tech-driven experiences become integral to brand strategies, XR as a technology is here to stay. With 5G and affordable smart devices, brands can create more engaging experiences. Traditional media will serve as gateways to these tech experiences via QR codes or clickable links, especially appealing to younger audiences,” concluded Ruparel.