Since virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree video has become more popular, a number of companies have emerged seeking to find ways of monetising these new mediums. One of the most prominent is OmniVirt, who have announced its work with CVS to create an immersive advertising campaign for BeautyIRL.
The BeautyIRL is described as a ‘shop in shop’ experience where customers can try on make-up and hair products, and receive walk-in and on-demand salon services through a partnership with Glamsquad.
The BeautyIRL experience will be located at the CVS flagship stores in New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida.
In order to promote its new beauty retail experience, CVS is using an interactive 360-degree video to transport people to a virtual recreation of the BeautyIRL stations, so customers can get a feel for what the real life experience will entail.
The 360-degree advertising campaign will feature photos of BeautyIRL stations with clickable hotspots that will show further information about the Glamsquad salon services and other BeautyIRL products and services, such as the ‘Wonder Wall’ – a wall filled with miniature beauty products.
Several retailers have engaged with VR and other immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) to allow customers to ‘try before they buy’, which some business have reported increases the number of sales and reduced returns.
OmniVirt have previously partnered with many big brands, including famous names such as Disney, Jaguar, EasyJet and Universal Pictures. The company has also conducted research which has shown that customers are more likely to engage with immersive advertising.
The research found that when presented with a 360-degree video, the majority of users would choose to interact with the video, resulting in a significantly higher level of user engagement, a result which OmniVirt says offers better results compared to 2D advertising formats.
For future coverage on use of immersive technology in advertising, keep checking back with VRFocus.