Question

International Marketing Chapter 15 Cases: 15-1: How Do You Like Your Reality: Virtual? Augmented? Mixed?

1. What are the differences between VR, AR, and MR?
2. Which Technology do you think will be the first to reach mass-market acceptance: VR, AR, or MR?
3. What experiences have you had with VR? AR?

Answer 1

1. The Virtual or Augmented or Mixed realities are all the ways to provide user an experience and allow us a new way to communicate our information in marketing. AR adds virtual world experience to the real world; VR generates realistic sounds, images and sensations in an imaginary world whereas MR is more like a bridge between the two, giving a bit of both of them.

As experiential marketing is the future, these are the interactive ways of communication. Virtual try-ons have managed to increase the conversion rate by 50%. In a recent survey 95% prefer interactive 3D representation. Fashion is also the perfect fit for AR and there is also surge of AR in B2B marketing space. MR has already managed to gain its fair share in the market. The choice is totally upto us to prefer any of these, as long as they enhance our reality experience from “what is” to “what could be”.

2.

Augmented Reality	Virtual Reality	Mixed Reality
Overlays digital information on real world elements	Provides experience to complete alternate reality, more like artificial environment	Brings together real world and digital elements
Provides enhanced version of reality through camera in front of you. Ex: Pokémon Go	Fully immersive and tricks your senses	Interaction and manipulation of both physical and virtual environment
Enhance “what is” through new layer of perception	Represents “what could be” by manipulating objects and helping you to even move around in the imaginary world	Breaks down the concept of real and virtual by allowing you the ability to interact with both simultaneously
Via mobile device, computer, webcam	Via head mounted display (HMD), headsets and glasses	Via headsets

3. Augmented, Virtual and Mixed reality technologies, all three serve different purposes and are developing at a fast pace. In my opinion, AR will be able to reach out to mass-market quicker than the other two as people just have to use their portable devices like smartphones, tablets for its experience unlike VR or MR where HMD or headsets are required.

4. Many companies are trying hard to give us the experience of these technologies.

Apple – Augmented reality

Facebook – Virtual reality

Microsoft- Mixed reality

Pokémon Go game which became really famous worldwide is based on AR. I have experienced VR as well in game zones where certain games were based on this technology. There are many VR games currently available in market right now.