Immersive Advertising is challenging Virtual Reality

Brands are starting to recognise the need to design immersive worlds that bring their product or brand to life in engaging and provoking spaces. These installations immerse the audience on both a conscious and subliminal level. The advantage of physical worlds is that the viewer can embark on a quest alone or as part of a team. They can explore the tactile aspect of their environment in total freedom.

At the 2015 London Boat Show, the British Marine Federation wanted to give guests an immersive experience (pictured below) that captured the essence of how it feels to stand on deck while sailing in several different seascapes. This could have been a singular experience achieved through virtual reality. However, to great success, spatial design and projection mapping were used instead to produce a shared alternative.

Brands are exploring more innovative experiential ways to present their products. Advertising has always been about storytelling and immersive art enables members of the audience to experience their own story within the brand story. Immersive worlds are canvases of expression, designed within the context of the brand story to empower exploration and curiosity within the audience. Brands should be giving their audience the opportunity to take 360º selfies, not just offering them one shot from a particular spot.

A good example of this was the Museum of Feelings for Glade by Ogilvy & Mather Chicago and RadicalMedia, which generated more than 1 billion media impressions from all over the world. In 2015, visitors experienced five responsive rooms at the scent-driven exhibit in New York, which featured fragranced clouds, a forest of light and a walk-in kaleidoscope.

Brand experiences will never be the same again…

Ford recently decided to change the way it ran press launches by adopting an immersive-art approach to tell the story of the latest Ford Fiesta. I worked alongside the team at Mansfield Design to conceive a series of immersive interactive art experiences. These were designed to connect journalists with the various features of the car on an emotive and educational level. Inspired by the senses, we created a pitch-black maze called the Touch Tunnel, designed to heighten one’s sense of touch. It enabled journalists to feel the interior of the car in a way they’d never felt before. Among other sensory experiences, there was also a Yayoi Kusama-inspired infinity room, which used infrared sensors and projection mapping to demonstrate a 360º vision of the car.