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Leveraging
SALES & MARKETING
AS COMPANIES FIND WAYS TO REACH AUDIENCES AND CLIENTS WITH VIRTUAL REALITY AND 360-DEGREE VIDEO , THE TECHNOLOGY HASN ’ T HIT CRITICAL MASS – YET .
By BARBARA BOHN , MANAGING EDITOR
Want to effectively reach lots of potential hotel customers in a visually engaging way ? Virtual reality technology might not get you there – yet , says Benji Greenberg .
“ Everyone is pretty much a novice ” regarding the technology , says Greenberg , CEO of BCV , a Chicagobased social media management and strategy company . “ The b-to-b application seems to be performing better than the b-to-c activations .”
Gettys Group would agree : The hotel design and branding company is leveraging the technology to share designs with clients . Chris McDonough , a Chicago-based Gettys principal , says VR is helping them collaborate more effectively with clients . “ It ’ s much more powerful and clear when you can immerse yourself in the space ,” he says .
IS IT REALLY VR ? “ When you think of the concept of virtual reality , it ’ s really just meant to be a virtual space that you can interact with someone through . You affect the world you ’ re in ,” Greenberg says . More casually , VR often refers to 360-degree videos viewable on a high-tech headset or a lower-tech smartphone mounted on cardboard goggles .
Those headsets – rather , the lack of them – keep VR out of the reach of the average consumer , says Martin Soler , managing partner at Barcelona-based technology and branding consulantcy Soler & Associates . A travel agent willing to invest in VR gear could convert visiting customers ; so could a new hotel brand at a trade show . But the average customer sitting at a computer , sorting through a plethora of hotel choices , probably won ’ t put on a pair of 3-D goggles to make a final decision , Soler says . “ There
Emmanuel Shamoun , Gettys Group ' s director of consulting , views VR renderings of a project his team is leading at the Marriott Lincolnshire Resort near Chicago .
isn ’ t an order of magnitude improvement in experience that would justify that level of friction .” In short , it has to be something worth looking at .
“ Today , if I were to recommend a virtual reality video for a ( hotel ) property , I would try to push them toward something that was very unique and high-quality ,” Greenberg says , and use the resulting footage primarily as a 360-degree video on Facebook , which recently launched a VR app that offers a more immersive viewing experience .
B-TO-B INROADS Last year , Gettys Group used VR on a Marriottbranded project that involved a “ dramatic renovation approach ” where the options included tearing down and starting over or working with the existing building . Either way , the goal was to save money for the client . “ It was the best way for us to show the before and after ,” McDonough says . “ One goal was to answer the question of how best do we achieve what the brand is looking for with the client and guest without
GOGGLE-WORTHY
Marketing expert Martin Soler suggests that hotels considering adding a VR dimension to marketing campaigns answer some key questions :
Is the destination , not just the hotel , worth a 3-D tour ? Can the 3-D experience resonate emotionally in terms of thrill , romance or drama ?
Are reservations coming from travel agents or shows , or physical spaces that can accommodate quality 3-D viewing ?
Is the investment in a fast-changing technology justified ?
May 2017 hotelsmag . com 51