Immersive Customer Experience - One of the Most Important Upcoming Trends of 2023

October 18, 2022
When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion - Dale Carnegie.

Connection with our favorite brands does not have to be rational. In fact, the most robust brand connections are based on emotional premises. Nike is one of the most outstanding examples of this phenomenon. 

Our decisions in the face of it might appear to be a result of rational faculties. However, deep within, we are driven by values, principles, and beliefs; essentially our emotions. 

Les Binet, a leading practitioner of effectiveness in advertising, discusses the importance of emotions citing various important research. He reminds us that customers react to ads not because of what they learned but rather of how that ad made them feel. 

The price of the product, features, and design is not as important as the experience that the brand can provide. All rational aspects of the brand can be hijacked easily by competition. 

Why does the brand provide true saliency? It is because of the emotional connections that it forges over a period of time with its audience. Customers crave outstanding experiences and expect the encounter with the brand to evoke a sense of emotion.

The trend is so strong that companies started appointing the CXOs roles within the organization.

Key Words: Interactivity and Immersion 

Our senses are inundated with a constant bombardment of information in this digital age.

Digital tools combined with the templatization of designs lead to easy, cheap, and voluminous dissemination of information. Distribution has also become more accessible and more affordable. At the press of a button an advertiser with a modest budget can reach a large audience. 

However, is it effective is a question one needs to ask. 

Audiences have also learned to auto-ignore such a barrage of communication. The habit of scrolling has trained our brains to filter unwanted messages in a fraction of a second. 

Therefore if a brand wants to reach out to its consumers, it has to establish novel methods of addressing the audience. 

Technologies now enable immersive experiences that allow brands to connect with consumers on a deeper level. 

47% of responders' immersive technologies make them feel more connected to brands and products.

One of the first brands to use interactivity was Pokemon, inviting people worldwide to hunt for pokemon. This urban AR game became a phenomenon. 

How can it benefit the brand?

  • Boosts Sales
 61% of surveyed consumers said they would be more likely to buy from a brand that uses immersive technology.

  • Help differentiate from the competition 
  • ​​Drives customer loyalty
  • Helps brands become more relatable to the public
  • Provides brands with precise analytics that can track client data
  • Helps raise awareness about the brand (sharable content on social media)

Virtual and Augmented Reality

The global VR and AR market will achieve over $250 billion by 2028. 

XR technologies have emerged beyond games and found serious applications. 

In 2020 Balenciaga created a fashion experience through video game-style shows. Apart from Balenciaga, various fashion brands, like Burberry and Tiffany, have made their debut in the XR world. 

Accenture acquired over 60,000 VR Goggles to provide training in a virtual reality set-up to its remote teams across the world. 

Metaverse

Metaverse continues to acquire a serious reality, and no more it is hype meant for nerds. It finds commonplace applications and an ever-growing audience beyond the early adopters. 

The metaverse market was worth $478.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to be worth $800 billion by 2024.

Interactive Videos

81% of respondents said interactive content is more effective than static content.

Interactive videos give a sense of control to the audience. They provide an enhanced experience that is submissive and makes learning entertaining. Brands look forward to creating online experiences that break the mold and provide a richer experience. 

If you look forward to providing your audiences with an experience that brings them closer to your brand platform in a meaningful emotive manner, write to us at hello@allinmotion.