So, when you put it like that, once again, it may sound a little technical, but remember one thing... When you're trying to get a message across, whatever it may be, if you involve your audience's senses and combine them, you'll increase the retention rate of the information communicated from 20% to 80% or even 85%!
In other words, efficiency multiplied by at least a factor of 4! Not bad, eh?
So, of course, when we talk about immersive tools, we instantly think of virtual reality and the headsets that go with it. And then, perhaps, you feel a sense of dread, because you're still a long way away from this type of tool, and can't see why or how to integrate it into your communication strategy or marketing tools! (Link HERE to our article on this subject)
But there's more to immersive tools than meets the eye!
Virtual reality, yes, but not only!
Confinements, health measures and traffic restrictions forced companies to adapt quickly and efficiently in just over a year, and today, new habits have been adopted, even going so far as to restructure collaboration methods within many companies (telecommuting/visio/webinars among other modalities). At the same time, remote communication tools have experienced unprecedented growth.
And along with communication tools in the strict sense of the term, tools for sharing content - and immersive content in particular - have also taken off.
And there's no need for virtual reality headsets: in many cases, a simple web page accessible from any terminal can be used to visualize an immersive experience!
Remote access to a production site that can no longer be visited, a tour of a showroom, or a visit to a remarkable customer site - these are just some of the experiences that had to be made possible to ensure that the relationship, particularly the sales relationship, could continue to exist effectively, when it had become impossible simply to go and meet customers or prospects.
Training, too, has largely begun to make this pivot, with the concept of "immersive learning" being introduced more and more widely, the next step after the now-ubiquitous "e-learning".
And here again, given that not everyone (yet 😊 ) has a virtual reality headset at hand, the publishers' imagination has worked wonders.
But here again, creating immersive tours or virtual showrooms is a matter for specialists and requires starting from scratch, you might ask!
Well, yes... But no!
Yes, because of course it's a good idea to start with a 360° filmed sequence to effectively reach the viewer.
No, because what really counts is the spatialization of information, i.e. the distribution of informative or demonstrative content in a "place" that you can manipulate as you wish (with the mouse) and within which you can "wander" freely, or follow a route mapped out for you.
In concrete terms, this means that, just as you walk through an exhibition, stopping at each new work to contemplate it as it hangs on the wall, you can experience immersion in a virtual showroom by creating a 3-dimensional space into which you "hang" 2D photos or descriptions. Visitors stroll through the space at their own pace, discovering content as it is presented.
And that changes everything, because you already have the descriptions and 2D photos of your products!