Growth prediction for immersive media in advertising and other sectors in upcoming years

Immersive media is being considered the future of advertising. Over the years, the scope has increased rapidly not only in the advertising sector but also has extended in other sectors; namely- Education, Medical, Real estate, Automobile, E-commerce, and Travel. Many brands have started adopting this new form of advertising to grab attention and increase engagement.

Before proceeding towards the prediction, let’s start from the inception of Immersive media and how the ballgame of advertising has changed or rather is changing.

Immersive Media is the perfect blend of reality with technology to engage the audience through sensory capabilities like Sound, Haptic Feedback, and Sight to name a few. In the above-mentioned industries; they dared to adapt to the changing trends and let the immersive media take the front seat.

When VR hit the market, the world experienced a total shift in energy and excitement. It was a huge leap and the market embraced it.

Slowly social media applications found a way to integrate themselves into the immersive techniques that ultimately resulted in huge traffic and a high rate of installations of applications. Both VR & AR played an important role in the pandemic. And speaking financially, it has seen exponential growth among the entrepreneurs and investors’ communities because they believed in immersive media and how it will bring the new wave of technology to each industry in one way or another.

Various Indian companies across the Real estate, e-Commerce, Automobile, Retail have been experimenting with AR to level up and match the customer’s demands.

Pointing down the industries that are about to witness rapid growth due to immersive media.

Media & Entertainment Industry:-

According to the reports, the Immersive media market in the entertainment industry has increased over the past years and it has grabbed the attention of investors and developer giants.

Extensive use of VR, AR, and 360° technologies have been used by some of the start-ups namely- Memesys, Meraki, Transcend, etc in the entertainment industry. Investors are pouring into the area of entertainment by improving the production, and enhancing the products which in turn is creating heavy engagement.

Since the inception of virtual reality in the gaming industry, the experience has gotten better thus creating a large group of audience spending hours and interacting with it continuously.

Not to forget, it is the advertising industry that is reaching out to the masses and it is this industry that has to be credited for the conversation rate of the industries.

Retail Industry:-

The retail industry is looking to upgrade the user experience to be highly versatile by leveraging the virtual world to engage with customers, drive up walk-ins and convert them into sales.

The retail industry has embraced Augmented Reality which has enhanced the experience of the potential buyers. “Trial-before-purchase” – this has been elevated as the customers do not even have to step out. Everything is in front of their eyes and they can experience it in real-time. For example, if someone is looking to purchase furniture, AR helps the customers to get the look and feel of it even before buying it.

Another classic example of an AR-adopted giant is Lenskart. They use AR where the customers can try out their range of glasses without even stepping out of their house. Another classic example of a brand integrating AR is IKEA.

The IKEA Place app is easy to use and all that the customer has to do is point the camera at the empty space and choose the item and get the first look at how the product would look in the room.

Education industry:-

The education sector is expected to go through a major transformation as they adopt immersive media in their curriculum. In the present scenario, students now have a better understanding of the concepts due to VR and AR. Apart from all the other industries, it is the educational sector that will keep on booming in an infinite number because of immersive media technology.

Automobile Industry:-

Automobile manufacturers are constantly using Immersive Media to increase sales as it is helping them to interact with their customers in a better way.

For example; Infinity Cars uses VR technology for the customers to experience the car even before it’s on road.

The customers experience the fun of driving, thus converting higher sales. On the other hand, they are also using AR for customers to select the kind of paint, wheels, or any part that will help them to customize their car.

Overall, it can be seen that Immersive Media technology is now taking the front seat. In the coming years, various other industries will find ways to incorporate immersive media to give their customers a feeling that is worth the wait.

About the author:

Surajit Majhi, Founder, CEO of Graphixstory