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Mixed Reality Marketing: Three-Dimensional Storytelling

man with vr goggle on

Marketers are always seeking the next big thing; whether its an emerging trend, a new generation of consumers, a viral social platform, or a technological innovation. Many experts predict that the “next big thing” for brand marketers is the Mixed Reality (MR).

Mixed Reality (MR), including Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR), is becoming more and more attractive. Technological advances give customers a whole new way to visualize and experience products in different settings.

According to David Roe in CMS Wire, “MR, also referred to as hybrid reality, is the technology that is used to merge real and virtual worlds and produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time.” It is predicted that a staggering 100 million consumers will be using MR by 2020.

In order to ensure future success, brand marketers should stay ahead of the curve and be able to capitalize on the opportunities presented by advances in MR technologies. So, what can brands do to take advantage of MR technologies?

AR on magazine and direct mail

Reimagine Advertising

MR technology enables marketers to be creative with their advertising experience by placing the brand image closer to the eyes of consumers.

Brands can take customers on an experiential “test drive” of their product before making purchase decisions. This builds confidence in their product with ads that can transform UX and the buyer’s journey into the next level.

Using MR technology, brand marketers can also tailor their ads by applying consumer’s preferences where the content of each ad shifts by specific circumstances and even with different languages.

This will help brands tell a better story in a more compelling and a meaningfully interactive way. With Millennials and Gen Z becoming the prime consumer group, the early adopters will have the upper hand in providing a superb customer experience and staying ahead of the competition.

Let Users to Truly Connect

Where there is content, it gets shared. You and five billion other smartphone users instantly connect via various social platforms. AR and VR are the new channels that marketers should consider to increase brand awareness. It is a new way for consumers to connect with your products on a deeper level, from the first-person perspective

For example, home-building brands can implement ways for customers to visually rotate and move furniture online in 3-D, enabling them to more easily see which products look best to them. They can also “see” how various materials and finishes will look and feel in a digital mock-up of a home.

This new trend also bridges the gap between the old and the new. The traditional marketing tactics are evolving as digital and virtual technologies mature, becoming a new storytelling medium for a new revenue stream.

Especially in the form of AR, where no wearable device is required but your smartphone to connect consumers with your products. Simply point and scan brochures or catalogs with an AR app to make a purchase or receive relevant product information and tips.

female using interactive screen to customize shopping

ChatBots 24/7

Some service leaders are now using artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual customer assistants (VCAs) as tools in their contact centers. Brand marketers should consider developing VCAs that can effectively interact with and provide technical support to customers.

By allowing well-equipped bots 24-7 to handle basic customer service queries, customers are cared for when needed, resulting in establishing trust-based relationships between customers and your brand. Using bots can also significantly reduce wait times for customers seeking assistance, which will increase customer satisfaction with your brand.

In the meantime, human representatives can focus solely on helping customers with complex, in-depth issues that require multi-layer customer support. As a result, they will become loyal shoppers and will recommend your brand to others.

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As new MR technologies become more available, brands need to capitalize on the different ways to use them in relation to consumers.

By assigning bots to assist customers with simple service inquiries, giving shoppers the opportunity to virtually test drive your products with AR before committing to a purchase, and provide a meaningful first-hand experience to connect with your products, brand marketers can enhance brand awareness, increasing demand generation to drive sales and revenue.

Related blogs:
2020 Shopper Marketing: Are You Ready For This New Wave of Consumers?
Looking Ahead: What Winning Customer Experiences Will Look Like in 2020
Top Brand Marketing Trends for 2019

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There’s a New Sheriff in Town: How to Market to Generation Z

gen-z-holding arms together

Predictions indicate that by 2020, Generation Z (Gen Z) shoppers will make up 40% of the consumer industry. This generation, comprised of people who were born after 1995, are a new breed of customers.

Consequently, brands need to take specific consideration when it comes to marketing strategies that will effectively target this group.

According to the Forbes Expert Panel and Business Development Council in their article, “This powerful consumer base is the next group of consumers that can help your business grow its revenue, as long as you take note of them now and prepare your marketing strategies to cater to their needs.”

In order to ensure future success, brands need to begin implementing strategies to draw in Gen Z shoppers. By not doing so, you could miss the mark on future profits from this emerging consumer group.

So, what marketing strategies can brands employ to effectively draw in and engage with Gen Z?

woman shopping on tablet

Meet Them in Their Natural Habitat

Generation Z is highly detached and tech-centric. The online is their comfort zone, so brands should start their marketing efforts on social platforms with clean and straight forward brand messaging; utilizing various touch points and forms of media along the way.

Gen Z shoppers spend time doing their research on products. They read multiple reviews of a product before making a purchasing decision. The user-generated content (UGC) by other customers significantly impact the decision-making process of the Gen Z shoppers.

So, it is important to ensure that your product has positive reviews and comments that are contributed by previous users on popular online platforms. It is a powerful way to not only increase your brand awareness but also impact Gen Z shoppers’ opinions regarding the value of your product and brand.

Entertain Them

Because technology has largely impacted the nature of their upbringing, many Gen Z shoppers have a shorter attention span than previous generations. In order to draw them in and keep them engaged, brand marketers need to focus on providing authentic interactions that will keep these shoppers coming back.

Forbes’ expert panel member Lisa Box explains, “To win with Gen Z, marketers have to evolve from informing to delighting, from celebrity to authenticity, and from generic to predictive.” This consumer group looks for brands that grab their attention and identify what they need for them.

Develop fun and catchy marketing assets that will simultaneously entertain and dazzle them into your store to make a purchase. A useful method is to come up with interactive games to play with Gen Z shoppers in-store and advertise them using vibrant and interactive signage. Then awarding them with personalized reward toward purchasing would be even more ideal. This will attract and entice this growing group of consumers to interact with your brand.

customer-satisfaction on ipad

Advertise Based on Benefits and Results

Gen Z shoppers don’t trust a product simply because the brand says it’s a good product. They are mostly driven by results that they can see. To generate demand among this group of consumers, brand marketers need to clearly and effectively show them the benefits of a product.

Showing them what they can achieve by using the product will maximize the sale of your products as well as elevate your brand’s status as an expert who understands their lifestyle and needs.

Once the relationship is established, Gen Z shoppers will likely become your brand ambassadors by influencing their friends and acquaintances by promoting your products and brands.

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Gen Z shoppers are growing as a segment, and businesses need to prepare for this emerging group of consumers. Because they have different qualities and needs from other consumer groups, brand marketers need to focus on developing new marketing tactics to effectively advertise to them.

Reviews, entertainment, and results are important factors for Gen Z shoppers when it comes to making purchases. Using creative marketing materials, such as signs and POS displays, to show off positive reviews, provide entertainment, and demonstrate product benefits is an effective way to draw in and connect with Gen Z shoppers. By understanding this emerging consumer group, brands can capitalize on new opportunities to directly engage with them.

And by working with a trusted partner who can help you prepare for the emergence of Gen Z shoppers, your brand can increase competitiveness in quality, effectiveness, and providing delightful customer experience.

Related blogs:

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Why NVISION?

For more than three decades we’ve partnered with Fortune 500 companies to deliver marketing operations solutions. Led by a strategic account management team, we’ll help you develop, procure, fulfill and distribute printed collateral, signage, point-of-purchase displays, direct mail, branded merchandise and much more.

LEARN MORE