Mark Zuckerberg’s social media empire felt the full force of investors’ concerns about its growth prospects on Thursday, as the revelation of Facebook’s first-ever drop in daily users helped trigger a selloff, with shares down by a quarter.
Here are some key points to help explain the selloff, which has wiped about $220bn (£162bn) off Meta’s market value.
There was quite a bit of furore in the virtual reality (VR) community at the end of last week when Facebook announced it was going to begin early testing of VR ads, starting with Resolution Games’ PvP shooter Blaston. Well, as you’d expect this didn’t go down well and sparked an almighty backlash against the videogame. And Resolution Games most definitely listened, issuing a statement confirming Blaston’s removal from the test.
In a couple of tweets via the Blaston Twitter account the developer said: “After listening to player feedback, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. Therefore, we no longer plan to implement the test.” This was then followed up with: “To make it clear, we realize that Blaston isn’t the best fit for this type of advertising test. As an alternative, we are looking to see if it is feasible to move this small, temporary test to our free game, Bait! sometime in the future.”
Blaston launched last year as a relatively cheap and cheerful shooter where two players stood on podiums trying to whittle each other’s health down using guns. The twist is that all the projectiles move in slow motion. It was well-received by critics and players alike for its easy to pick up and play mechanics. Since the ad debacle, you’ll notice on platforms like Steam and Oculus Store that there’s been a deluge of negative reviews purely due to the advertising news.
Whilst some are simply annoyed by the sheer prospect of advertising in a VR videogame, the general feeling seems to be that ads are fine in free-to-play titles enabling a developer to generate revenue but in a game you pay for it’s a big no-no. Advertising in games is nothing new but the subject of where and when they should be used – especially in VR environments – is far more contested.
Hence why Resolution Games mentioned moving the advertising test to one of its earliest VR titles Bait! which is free across all supported platforms. This is still a test at any rate with Facebook yet to mention how these plans may progress. At the time of the original announcement, Facebook did say other titles will be rolled into the test, those studios may have now reconsidered!
The backlash has slightly marred Blaston’s big Crackdown update this week. This has seen a new single-player campaign arrive, avatars and skins, as well as an upgraded social hub.
As the topic of VR advertising continues to divide the VR community, VRFocus will bring you further updates.
Facebook is beginning to test advertising in virtual reality.
The “small test of in-headset ads” is starting with Blaston from Resolution Games, and “a couple other developers that will be rolling out over the coming weeks.” Facebook says the purpose of the test is “to explore new ways for developers to generate revenue on the Oculus platform”.
“Though we’re not quite ready to test them yet, we’re also exploring new ad formats that are unique to VR,” Facebook explained.
In its prepared explanation of the advertising test, Facebook said it “will get new information like whether you interacted with an ad and if so, how—for example, if you clicked on the ad for more information or if you hid the ad. Outside of that, this test doesn’t change how your Oculus data is processed or how it informs ads.” In 2019, Facebook announced it “will now use information about your Oculus activity, like which apps you use, to help provide…more relevant content, including ads”.
“We use first-party info from Facebook to target these ads, as well as some VR data. Specifically, that VR data includes whether you’ve viewed content, installed, activated, or subscribed to a Oculus app, added an app to your cart or wishlist, if you’ve initiated checkout or purchased an app on the Oculus platform, and lastly, whether you’ve viewed, hovered, saved or clicked on an ad within a third-party app,” a Facebook representative explained over email.
Facebook says that it does not use the following information to target ads:
“We do not use information processed and stored locally on your headset to target ads. Processing and storing information on the device means it doesn’t leave your headset or reach Facebook servers, so it can’t be used for advertising. Examples of data that are processed on device include raw images from the sensors on Quest and images of your hands (if you choose to enable hand tracking), which are both overwritten instantaneously. Examples of data that are stored locally on-device include any weight, height, or gender information that you choose to provide to Oculus Move.”
“We take extra precautions around the use of movement data like minimizing what we need to deliver a safe and immersive VR experience—for example, to keep you safe from bumping into real-world objects and making your avatar duck while playing a game—and we have no plans to use movement data to target ads.”
“Finally, we do not use the content of your conversations with people on apps like Messenger, Parties, and chats or your voice interactions to target ads. This includes any audio your microphone picks up when you use our voice commands feature, like “Hey Facebook, show me who’s online.”
This isn’t the first platform-level VR ads service – HTC launched Vive Ads for Viveport back in 2017, though given Viveport’s limited reach we don’t know which, if any, apps actually used it.
Facebook Subsidizing Hardware Cost
Ads in VR and the money paid by advertisers to put them in front of players may enable Facebook to further subsidize the up front price of Oculus VR headsets.
“This is a key part of ensuring we’re creating a self-sustaining platform that can support a variety of business models that unlock new types of content and audiences,” a prepared statement from Facebook reads. “It also helps us continue to make innovative AR/VR hardware more accessible to more people.”
Oculus Quest 2 already sells at an unmatched all-in price of $299. In the box is a standalone VR headset and controllers that deliver some of the best-selling and best-reviewed VR software without requiring external hardware like a PC or console. You do, however, need a Facebook account in good standing to use the headset.
Facebook doesn’t say how many headsets it sells but non-advertising revenue at the company soared in the last three months of 2020 with the release of Quest 2, revenue remained strong in that category in the first three months of 2021 as well, and some VR developers five years into consumer VR sales on PC VR and PSVR headsets report their strongest sales ever from Quest 2. In addition, Facebook executives claim Quest 2 is on track to be the first “mainstream” VR hardware.
Still, Apple and Sony are reportedly preparing new VR gear for release sometime after 2021 with an array of other companies like Microsoft and Snap also releasing hardware toward the longer-term play of wear-outside augmented reality glasses. This year, though, the only companies with similar products to Facebook’s are HTC and Pico and both are priced toward businesses in western countries while pursuing consumers in Asia. Facebook doesn’t operate inside China.
Taken altogether, during this time when Facebook has no direct competition in standalone VR the company is essentially working to maximize revenue which could enable it to subsidize hardware further ahead of new entrants getting into the game.
“I’m pretty inclined to take whatever gains we could get, from things like an app store, and just use that to make the price lower,” Zuckerberg said in an interview with The Information earlier this year. “I think our inclination is probably going to be to try to offer these products at as low of a cost as possible in order to be able to get them out to everyone.”
Anybody remember “Pure O2” from the Ready Player One movie? Video embedded below for reference.
So, what do you think of this news? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Note: Article updated immediately after publication with an added sentence about HTC’s ads effort.
For new indie developers working in the immersive industry, it’s not always easy generating revenue even if your project is attracting sales. One way of staying afloat is through in-game advertising which companies like Admix specialise in. Today, Admix has announced a new program to aid developers, a $25,000 USD user acquisition boost initiative.
Open to all developers – not just VR – using the Admix platform, whether they’re new or established, the program is “mainly looking for apps with early traction, and strong unit economics, that they can accelerate through funding and UA expertise,” notes the company.
Developers are able to win up to $25,000 simply by installing the Admix software development kit (SDK) – which is compatible with Unity and Unreal Engine – and then monitoring progress over the course of six weeks. These variables will include weekly userbase growth, session time, retention, and monetization vitals. Admix will then handpick apps to award the grant.
“While monetization has been our bread and butter, we have always tried to help the developer ecosystem, by sharing resources, or featuring indie developers. This is the next step, with us contributing financially towards the app success. We couldn’t be more excited about accelerating the next hit games,” explains Admix CEO Sam Huber in a statement.
The program has been made possible thanks to Admix’s recent Series A funding. The adtech startup secured $7 million from the round which was led by investment firm Force Over Mass with Speedinvest, Sure Valley Ventures and others also participating.
Launched in late 2018 with help from a $2.1 million investment, the UK-based startup originally focused on the VR and augmented reality market before expanding into more traditional videogames. Working with over 200 game developers, Admix attracts hundreds of advertisers including Fortune 500 brands like Amazon, Spotify, Uber and Universal.
For further updates of advertising in VR and AR, keep reading VRFocus.
Disclosure: Admix is the parent company of VRFocus. VRFocus retains its editorial independence.
The Black Mirror creator invents exciting products to transform your life – from the workout that makes you feel like a saint to the world’s cleverest toilet
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but happiness is in sharp decline. Many people blame technology for our woes, and it’s not hard to see why. The internet is nothing but deranged screeching and fascist memes sitting atop a plateau of moldering desperation masquerading as ironic meaninglessness. No one has smiled in real life since 2011. But wait! Silicon Valley is waking up to the negative effect its products can have on us, and like the good Samaritans they are, they’re unveiling a whole new range of products aimed at making us feel good about ourselves. Here is an exclusive look at just a few of the cool gizmos and rad gadgets due to be unveiled at next year’s CES Consumer Electronics Show and featured in news reports, and then in shops, and then in your house before you even know it.
With the rise of augmented reality (AR) thanks to the release of tools such as Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore, a number of companies have developed an interest in developing that medium for marketing and advertising. One of those is Camera IQ, which is launching a social distribution solution for programmatic AR marketing and advertising.
The Camera IQ platform allows businesses and brands to create and test AR content that is planned for deployment, including AR experiences inside advertisements bought on Facebook and Snap platforms.
With the previously launched AR advertising announced by Snap and Facebook, as well as new e-commerce features from Snapchat and the Shopify AR 3D warehouse, marketing and retail are becoming significant in the AR sector. The launch of the Camera IQ platform means that businesses can utilise an end-to-end AR strategy.
“Facebook and Snap have taken a major step forward in developing the AR ecosystem with paid advertising. Just as we saw with social, this is the moment where AR goes from nice-to-have content, to a key component of any digital strategy,” said Allison Wood, CEO and co-founder of Camera IQ. “By making it possible to rapidly create and deploy AR content at scale, we’re helping brands capitalize on the new advertising opportunities Snap and Facebook make possible.”
Camera IQ is working with major agencies and brands, including R/GA, AEG Presents, Major League Soccer, FabFitFun, Viacom and Turner to create and deploy camera content to audiences.
“Partnering with Camera IQ has created new and exciting opportunities for major brands to meet their customer where they are –– in the camera,” said Kyle Bunch, Managing Director of R/GA’s Social practice. “The cultural moment for AR and VR is now, and its important that brands build their long-term strategy to capitalize on the power of this new medium.”
Further information on Camera IQ can be found on the official Camera IQ website. For future coverage of new AR platforms and services, keep checking back with VRFocus.
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.
Facebook have been invested in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for some time now, being a driving force in pushing the technology forward. Now the company is looking to bring AR to more users by bringing new tools to the Facebook platform that will make it easier for marketers to create AR adverts that capture the attention of users on mobile devices.
Writing on their business blog, Facebook note that according to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that it is estimated more than 80 million people in the United States engage with AR content on a monthly basis, with that number to grow to more than 120 million by the year 2021. It is then no surprise that Facebook is looking to expand the range of AR content available on its platform. This is why they are introducing AR ads into the Facebook News Feed, offering people the chance to experiment with a brand’s AR camera effect in just one click. Facebook is hoping that calls-to-action within the adverts will see users engaging and experiencing a seamless transition from advert to AR engagement.
One of the first brands to test out AR ads in the News Feed was Michael Kors, allowing users to try on a pair of sunglasses and make a purchase based on the experience. In the coming weeks more brands will be rolling our their AR ads including Sephora and others in fashion accessories, cosmetics, furniture, gaming and entertainment. Facebook plan to roll out AR ads to a more users and industries over the course of the year as well.
Facebook also note that 79% of consumers would rather watch a video to learn about a product than read text on a page, and adverts created specifically for this behavior on mobile perform better across a range of metrics. For those looking to use video to promote their product without investing in AR, the company is launching Video Creation Kit to make it fast, simple and easy for people to create mobile-first video ads. The Video Creation Kit will allow advertisers to upload images, add overlays and logos quickly to build a mobile-first video ad in no time at all.
More information on the Video Creation Kit and AR ads in the News Feed can be found over on Facebook’s business website and for all the latest coverage, stay tuned to VRFocus.
Snap did it with Snapchat already, Facebook talked about doing it with its Messenger app shortly after that, so it should come as no surprise that now the dominant social network is pushing AR ads to appear directly inside of a users’ news feed.
The feature is being rolled out slowly and selectively with a select group of advertisers such as Michael Kors, Sephora, Pottery Barn, Wayfair, and King’s Candy Crush. In the featured image above you can see an example of how you might see an ad on your news feed for a pair of sunglasses and when you tap the image your phone’s camera will immediately show you what you might look like wearing them.
“People traditionally have to go into stores to do this,” Ahmad-Taylor said at a New York City event this week, according to TechCrunch. “People still really love that experience, but they would like to try it at home” — so this “bridges the gap.”
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I think this seems awesome. AR really has the potential to make advertising fun and not just purely intrusive, so I’m all for seeing how the technology can help marketers and advertisers innovate.
The UK-based food delivery service is looking into using augmented reality (AR) to advertise its service across social media sites such as Facebook. The plan is to test how effective AR ads are in convincing people to order.
The AR advertisement campaign was developed by agency Byte London, and the campaign will run over Facebook over the net month as part of Just Eat’s campaign centered around the World Cup.
Just Eat will be awarding certain people who download the Just Ear smartphone app with collectible plates featuring illustrations which, when held up to a smartphone camera in the Facebook Messenger app will display the head of ex-footballer John Barnes.
“We don’t do AR for AR’s sake,” said Ben Carter, Just Eat’s marketing director in the U.K. “Everything we do from a social perspective is about driving activity through the funnel. AR isn’t the answer to all marketing, but it does give us a way of engaging with our audiences in a way that you can’t get on other channels.”
The company is considering further tests now that Facebook is sharing more extensive data won advertising campaigns with brands. Just Eat discovered that the first AR effect it ran back in December resulted in a surprising increse in orders.
The data showed 102,000 unique impressions, with 10% of those going on to order from the service within seven days of this initial six-week campaign.
Just Eat piloted its AR ads during the Facebook test of the technology, instead of buying any of Snapchat’s lenses, since the company was unwilling to pay the fees charged by Snapchat, which at the time were as high as $1 million (USD) per day.
Some research has indicated that immersive technology can make adverts more appealing to audiences and consumers, such as 360-degree video adverts increasing the degree of engagement.
For future news on advertising in VR and AR, keep checking back with VRFocus.
