Recently, I came across this news that Tesla was about to unveil the long-awaited Tesla Model 3 via livestream, as well as delivering the first 30 production units to their respective owners. In my opinion, Tesla and it’s marketing team executed the perfect plan to generate hype and suspense around the unveiling of the Model 3 via Twitter.
Image credits: @TeslaMotors Twitter page
Tesla, however, is not the first to do such an unveiling via livestream. Apple Inc. has been doing this for years, displaying and unveiling all their latest and greatest in technology with what Apple refers to as a “keynote”.
This got me thinking….
A few years back, I was a little bit of what you’d call, a “fanboy” of the brand OnePlus, due to their promises of being closer to the customers, listening to what they want, and giving us what we want in a phone at the lowest prices possible that they can achieve.
But that’s not the issue, what Tesla has done with the Model 3, has made me recall what OnePlus did with their OnePlus 2 (their second model) unveiling. They were even more forward looking than others when it came to marketing their OnePlus 2, which is no small feat, especially for such a new company. They were the “first in the world” to premiere their new smartphone with the World’s first VR 360 Keynote.
Video credits: OnePlus YouTube channel
That’s right, a Virtual Reality (VR) premiere that I livestreamed on my mobile phone. I was in awe, I felt like I was actually there, looking at the phone, being in the company, walking alongside OnePlus’s co-founder, Carl Pei.
So here’s my dilemma. Why aren’t other brands like Apple adopting this method for product unveilings? There is so much potential for Virtual Reality (VR) to come into everything we do.
Ask yourself, in what more ways could Virtual Reality (VR) possibly enhance the way brands and companies market themselves and their products, with the aims of getting closer to the consumer?
Share your thoughts with me in the comments section! I’d love to know your views on this.
Featured Image Source: Shutterstock
digiworldtoday 
Hey, great post! Companies are slowly but surely adopting VR but I think why some have not done so is because of the vast variety of advancement in technologies there are out there nowadays such as AI. VR could help show consumers how the company’s brand could fit in their aspirational lifestyles and how the brand’s mission could be communicated to them during the point of sale but I think majority of companies that adopt this method are usually large companies as it could be too costly for small companies to do so. This could one of the reasons for the slow adoption process for VR?
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I’d say VR would be less costly than AI, due to the fact that you would need constant monitoring in the case of AI. But maybe this is due to the fact that not everyone possesses the “latest” gadgets which are capable of displaying VR. But I really do hope to see VR slowly incorporated into our daily marketing lives as there is so much potential it can do for us. Imagine people who can’t afford to travel to certain places, they can visual where they are using VR. It can seriously transform the way we view things as it is.
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I personally think that it is a great idea for companies to engage with customers using VR. It definitely appeals to the growing consumer group who are curious and are looking for entertaining content which they can swipe and click through. I think the world is slowing adopting the VR concept as it is still considered as a new trend. As for now, not everyone has a device that supports the VR technology. However, I believe that this would be improved in the future where almost every technology or digital system supports VR. When the time comes, more companies are obliged to use the VR method to hit their target markets.
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I couldn’t agree more with you. I hope that this transition will come soon as I am really excited for the potential it has.
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Virtual reality is widening its usage in so many different purposes now for example gaming, recruitment process and now in their marketing strategies. I think that by adopting this VR thing is not what every company is able to do and able to afford it somehow, and of course company like Apple is one of the driver of technology so they must use this to reach the expectations of customers impression towards them. But I believe in the coming years, more and more companies will be using this VR method and maybe even using the AI to have direct interaction with customers.
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Yes. I do believe that in the near future mostly everything around our daily lives will involve VR, AI and virtual assistants as well. But this also worries me about job sustainability, as our population is ever growing and we are constantly looking for ways to create virtual assistants and robots to help with our routines, where then, can we fit in for a job? If AI and virtual assistants end up being advanced, and much smarter & competent than us.
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I think it’s a good idea for companies to be able to use VR as a means of enhancing customers experience, especially as VR devices becomes more affordable. However, I believe companies should spend more of their resources in content creation utilizing VR in order to increase the adoption of such devices.
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Yes, I do agree with your point of view. As VR technology becomes more readily available many more firms will be able to utilise it’s technology into their marketing strategies. As of now, perhaps it is still a method of marketing that requires high initial cost so most firms would avoid this strategy altogether. But yes, the more content created on the market for VR usage, then definitely the demand for VR devices will go up as well.
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Great post! I feel that VR is slowly, but definitely becoming a part of our future. In the past 10 years technology has really changed the way marketing is done, and there are so many various platforms to do so, with VR being one of them. I feel that it really helps to bring consumers closer to products and helps build a relationship with the product as they can visualize with VR. However, VR is a very personal device, and it’s usage for marketing would be a very niche market unless they can create an area where consumers can immerse themselves into a different world with VR.
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I definitely agree with you on this. The adoption of VR is slowly than expected but it’s bound to happen and I’m confident of it. I can see myself using VR to view holiday accomodations and places to visit. It’s like being there before even being there. Isn’t that cool? This will definitely build a lasting impression with consumers and create a positive brand image between the company and it’s consumers.
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VR is amazing and the technology is slowly but surely going to be integrated with our daily lifestyle, and in our marketing will be done in the future. I think VR will eventually breach the gap between touch feel and sense which eventually builds an even stronger relationship between the consumer and brands. However, I think it’s pretty expensive to implement and more R&D is still to be done.
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I couldn’t agree more. VR can help people who can’t travel or go to certain places due to disabilities actually see the place with their eyes. This would never have been possible without the adoption of VR, and that’s just one of the potential usages for it. Although it’s expensive for now, I feel that it will be cheaper in the future, take a look at the iPhone, when it first came out and now, almost every company can make a touchscreen phone as well. Perhaps in the near future VR technology can be easily recreated by other companies.
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