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With both virtual reality and augmented reality being the headline grabbing attraction at MWC16, its appeal as a marketing tool to drive desire and innovation with any brand is potentially its immediate use, rather than the product itself.

With the exception of the brands who manufacture the products themselves, none use the technology for marketing purposes. Travel, hotel, and adventure clothing companies however are embracing it and seeing positive returns in some cases.

There are of course the odd examples, like Samsung rolling out Zuckerberg for the S7 launch and providing Gear VRs for all the delegates to use which created a media frenzy and a reaction to a photo which will be cemented in history for many years that provoked an odd sense of alarm. However I suspect Mr Zuckerberg was just enjoying the moment seeing several hundred unsuspecting journalists wearing his product, and relishing its third party marketing potential to bolster Facebook’s modest profits.

The clever driver here seems to be how all AR & VR brands have taken the opportunity to raise the profile of their products for their own gain, creating marketing opportunities through brand association, including more recently Coca Cola with Google cardboard and many others as they seek the next cool marketing tool.

Thomas Cook installed Samsung Gear VR headsets in 10 UK stores to let potential holiday makers see 360 degree views of sites in New York, Singapore, Egypt, Cyprus and Greece. Bookings of New York excursions increased by 190% as a result.

Marriott have used VR in a few ways, a 4D “teleporter” experience where users wore a VR headset whilst standing in a pod that would blow wind or splash water on them while they saw views of beaches etc. They have also offered Vroom Service, where guests can order a Gear VR with experiences from China etc. on it. Marriott have yet to see a return on investment.

Northface used Google Cardboard to make viewers feel like they were at the top of Yosemite National Park, achieving coverage in many large news publications.

Virgin Holidays used Google Cardboard in selected shops to show travellers things like a roller coaster at Disney land. Booking through those shops increased 60% YoY.

Now what each of these examples have in common is the experience and associating their brand, rather ironically in the case of a tour operator taking you on a VR journey without moving, with innovation where it would seem innovation is somewhat hard to come by. How else can you innovate a holiday or appeal beyond its practical use and realistic boundaries to capture the imagination and immerse consumers in your brand.

VR and AR without question are going to continue grabbing the tech headlines. And brands are right to align themselves with the technology to create awareness, hype and if possible innovation credentials for a brand, but is it in danger of becoming a bit hackneyed very soon? With VR in its infancy and the above examples being a handful of many, can a brand justify the investment and break through the noise to make it work to engage and drive sales of their products? I suspect brands’ realisation that VR can be used as sales portal is practical but as an advertising tool, it will face the same challenges content providers face with streaming to achieve cognitive brand recall and inevitable advert skipping VR users will demand.

Read more at: http://wallblog.co.uk/2016/03/03/how-brands-are-using-virtual-and-augmented-reality-in-the-real-world/

Youth is overrated, disposable income should be the focus. While we may be able to believe that the economy is on the up, life for many since 2009 has been tough.

The CE market took a dip and has been only truly in recovery since 2014. More than half of TVs sold are smart (57 per cent). And the market in 2016 looks set to decline further thanks to the use of streaming devices, the breadth of product on offer and platforms from which to stream content.

Innovations such as Freeview Play are therefore essential to assist in reinvigorating the TV industry to a broader and, more importantly, younger audience to increase not only a retailer’s average basket value (ABV), but also the opportunity to attract the younger audience that they desire.

First-time buyers shouldn’t be forgotten either as an opportunity to offer IoT packages that assist in furnishing their homes at a price point that benefits both. With 59 per cent of UK consumers stating they would benefit from having an IoT device in their home, the opportunity is clear for retailers and brands to sell the lifestyle benefits of their products.

Brand experience is not exclusive to older generations – a brand speaks uniquely to every individual and brands can, through arrogance and ignorance, be completely dismissed by a generation making way for new brands perceived by a younger audience as a bit more ‘edgy’ and innovative.

While social media usage in relation to shopping habits is still at a low level within the CE/tech sector, it is on the increase and becoming an increasingly important medium to generate interest in a brand and driving sales among a younger audience in retail.

A recent study on shopper ‘tribes’ revealed 13.3 per cent use social media to tell friends about products and brands that they have bought – a 15 per cent increase on 2014 – and 10.2 per cent share photos of tech and CE products with friends via text or social media, in particular Instagram, before they buy in order to garner opinions. Amazingly, this is a significant 66 per cent increase on the previous year’s study (2014) and demonstrates the increasing importance in merchandising and showcasing your products to optimum effect, so that they appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

Interestingly, almost one-in-10 people (9.6 per cent) use social media to tell friends about the gifts they have just bought. More importantly, such posts are a useful barometer and retailers should consider how people share such posts, especially if the product was bought or available from their store, within a store’s social media platforms.

Social media is increasingly becoming more prevalent in shaping the decision-making process of considered items, those items we choose to save for and invest in. It is especially relevant with tech and CE purchasing and more so among a younger demographic who seek out new trends and brands.

So, in addition to managing social media, it’s also important to keep those window displays and your signage sharp, avoiding clutter, in order to encourage passers-by to want to come in and browse rather than have to venture in due to a distress purchases.

Visual impact is as important as the service you offer. Avoid handwritten signs and too many offers or price-downs. Keep it clean and seasonal to appeal to shoppers of all ages and in particular those on a budget, such as younger people.

In addition to national TV and print advertising campaigns, look around your region at which brands you stock that are advertising on outdoor media sites, such as bus stops, billboards, etc. There may be one opposite or round the corner from your store that appeals to a certain demographic. So link your display space to drive brand recall and increase the opportunity to invite those valuable browsers in-store and convert them into customers.

Premium pricing and messaging may only serve to deter a younger age group, so retailers should offer products and use messaging – in-store, on their website and on social media – that appeals to all pockets, ages and tastes.

Read more at: http://ertonline.co.uk/opinion/social-science/

James Bond is amongst the most successful and well-known film franchises in cinematic history. Spanning over half a century, and featuring some of the most iconic and budget-busting special effects, car chases, fight scenes and soft romantic encounters, 007 provides a backdrop for brands to timelessly associate themselves with the premium image that is Bond.

Whilst James Bond may be the coolest fictional character around; he’s a man who drinks, eats, drives, uses a mobile and always has to be on time. Therefore why shouldn’t he drink Heineken, drive a Ford by day and an Aston by night while interfacing with his Sony Mobile device, wearing an impeccable Tom Ford made-to-measure suit complemented by an Omega watch with the odd gadget combined?

Brands have been central to the Bond script over the decades. Indeed, the official 007.com website had a section devoted to Skyfall’s 12 brand partners, which shows how integral brand involvement is. The latest instalment to the Bond Franchise, Spectre, with its reported budget of over $300m is no different. But it’s not all about the money.

For many of these brands the immediate gain is not necessarily purely sales. Take Tom Ford. Whilst it may increase cosmetic and accessory sales, the uplift in Tom Ford suiting, in a price range far removed from the average budget, is perhaps the benefit of the association with a seminal film that will live on beyond its theatre and Blu-ray release. What it offers Tom Ford is the long-term association with a franchise that will be seen over and over again, decade after decade, bringing in a new generation and establishing the brand as a classic. This allows Tom Ford to continue its premium brand and pricing that may at some time extend to a diffusion line.

The budgets agreed by brands for just a frame’s-worth of brand exposure is clearly phenomenal, but brands aren’t just buying a product placement slot that may or may not increase awareness of the product and an uplift in sales; they’re buying into the fabric of Bond and an unwavering association that effortlessly transcends the actors that play him.

Many brands have involved themselves with the Bond franchise and while not every single one of them will have that instantaneous recognition that the likes of Aston Martin and Omega watches might have, it provides those brands with a concrete platform to increase brand equity and establish itself as different to the crowd opening themselves up to new categories.

A brand’s desire to segway into a movie as if it was natural is important to any brand with values, as blatant placement is just tacky. However when you can have the main character drive your car when he could drive any, wear your watch, use your mobile and make it fit seamlessly into the plot is an art in itself complemented by the fact it’s not just any man but Bond, James Bond. What the 007 franchise enables brands to do is gain an element of ‘cool’, be part of film history and gain recall over and over again for years to come, spanning generations and demographic.

The opening shot of Daniel Craig drinking a Heineken in Skyfall is now cemented in cinematographic history and will be seen by others long after the film receives classic status. The likelihood that Heineken as a brand will disappear is slim so the long-term return on investment for the brand is potentially infinite and rewarding every time someone around the globe, whether it be dubbed in Cantonese or Portuguese, sees James take a sip of an ice cold Heineken.

A week from release, Spectre is, in numbers, likely to be the most successful Bond film in history and whilst not every brand will stand the test of time, with fondness, any brand is able to maintain equity and recall based on sentiment if associated with a Bond film, Pan Am did as Virgin Atlantic desires with its previous associations.

Read the full article at: http://www.thedrum.com/opinion/2015/11/07/does-bond-franchise-really-make-brands-more-desirable