The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and its Mobile Marketing and Digital Video Centers of Excellence released “Is Virtual the New Reality?: A Market Snapshot of VR Publishing and Monetization.” This comprehensive report explores virtual reality’s promise and pitfalls as “the next big thing” in digital advertising. Interviews with two dozen leading voices in advertising, publishing, VR software, and developer platforms offer key takeaways, lessons learned, and future plans in the emerging virtual reality field, including thoughts on augmented reality and 360-degree video. Among those interviewed were Aaron Luber, head of partnerships at Google Cardboard, Megan McCurry, sr. VP and group media director at DigitasLBi, David “Shingy” Shing, digital prophet at AOL, and Nick Van Amburg, VP of ad innovation at The New York Times.
The opportunity for immersive storytelling, shopping and product demos, and the medium’s power to stir emotions in a new way, were all cited as some of virtual reality’s major strengths. Several of those interviewed noted that it’s vital for content creators to understand that the VR production process is far from straightforward. They need to recognize that in VR, consumers have the ability to interact with content and change their field of view and perspective, something traditional media doesn’t present.
Despite the fact that VR technology is improving and hardware is becoming cheaper and easier to access, interviewees said that the current rate of adoption leads to monetization challenges given the limited audience. Many also cautioned that the extraordinary level of hype surrounding virtual reality leads people to expect to be “wowed” by their first VR experience, even though it is still a nascent medium.
With VR being such a new platform, advertising capabilities are just now beginning to emerge. Respondents believe, that over the course of the next 24 months, that more brands will leverage 360-degree video, where forms of advertising can also appear, such as 2D digital billboards, 2D video, and even TV commercials. This next phase of experimentation in the medium will be critical in determining its success.
“We have only scratched the surface of what virtual reality, augmented reality, and 360-degree video can offer as advertising channels,” said Anna Bager, sr. VP and general manager, Mobile and Video, IAB. “The Pokémon Go phenomenon has raised the profile of AR and VR, bringing the power of the medium into the mainstream, just as major brands and publishers have begun to tap into its breathtakingly immersive capabilities. IAB is committed to helping drive VR forward as a robust marketing platform—and terminology, definitions, and emerging ad formats are all in the works.”
Virtual reality innovators and technologists from the following companies provided opinion and observations for the report:
ABC Integrated Marketing, AOL, DigitasLBi, Google, Groove Jones, Hulu, Immersv, Kinetic Worldwide. LiveNation, Mediavest | Spark, National Geographic, The New York Times, Opera Mediaworks, Publicis Media, Retinad, StartApp, Time Inc., Turner Sports, and Unity Technologies
IAB plans to convene a VR Summit in Q4 to surface key issues around publishing, monetization, and user experience, as well as discuss potential consumer research and guidance for buyers and sellers. This gathering responds to IAB publisher members and media buyers currently grappling with VR assets and 360-degree video.
The IAB “Is Virtual the New Reality?: A Market Snapshot of VR Publishing and Monetization” report was released as part of the IAB MIXX Conference in New York City. To download the paper, please click here.
Oscar and Emmy-Winning Composer Kris Bowers Joins Barking Owl For Advertising, Branded Content
Music, audio post and sonic branding house Barking Owl has taken on exclusive representation of Oscar and Emmy-winning composer Kris Bowers for advertising and branded content.
Bowers’ recent film scores include The Wild Robot and Bob Marley: One Love, alongside acclaimed past works such as The Color Purple (2023), King Richard and Green Book. His contributions to television are equally impressive, with scores for hit series like Bridgerton, When They See Us, Dear White People, and his Daytime Emmy Award-winning score for The Snowy Day.
In addition to his work as a composer, Bowers is a visionary director. He recently took home the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject for his directorial work on The Last Repair Shop. The emotionally touching short film spotlights four of the people responsible for repairing the musical instruments used by students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). The Last Repair Shop reflects the positive influence that musical instruments have on the youngsters who play them, and the adults in the LAUSD free repair service who keep them working and in tune.
Barking Owl CEO Kirkland Alexander Lynch said of Bowers, “His artistry, diversity of style and depth of storytelling bring an unparalleled edge to the work we create for global brands. His presence on our roster reflects our continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of sound and music in advertising.”
Johanna Cranitch, creative director, Barking Owl, added, “Kris first caught my attention when he released his record ‘Heroes + Misfits’ where he fused together his jazz sensibility with a deeply ingrained aptitude for melody, so beautifully.... Read More