YouTube made a big bet with 360-degree video last year, and brands quickly capitalized by getting creative on the platform with their integrated marketing campaigns. They’ve since introduced a live component, and the ad opportunities have proven to be aplenty since no headset is required to view the premium content.
Brands are quickly recognizing there is a demand for VR and 360-degree video by listening to consumers—and they’re delivering. According to Google data, global search interest for virtual reality on Google has grown nearly four times in the last year.
Enter companies like Coors Light, who are taking a nice cold crack at VR for their new “Climb On” campaign, a three-video series implementing the immersive technology that’s designed to appeal to a millennial’s thirst for adventure.
Each video—which features whitewater kayaking in Queensland, downhill biking in Cairns and big wave surfing in Tasmania—ends with twenty-something adventurers cracking open a cold can of Coors Light.
Brendan Noonan, marketing director for Coors Light, joined [a]listdaily to discuss what new ideas the beer brand is brewing to broaden its reach.
What is the “Climb On” campaign designed to accomplish for Coors Light? What’s the message? What prompted Coors Light to begin implementing VR and 360-degree video?
Coors Light is committed to inspiring people to climb their personal mountains, and to celebrating the perseverance that makes the climb worthwhile. The new virtual reality and 360-video technology struck us as a fun, interesting way to bring that brand purpose to a much wider audience of beer drinkers. We started by creating the virtual reality program aimed at boosting our consumer engagement in bars and restaurants, with our distributors ordering more than 90,000 VR viewers. Extending the program to our social media platforms through 360-video is allowing us inspire our fans online, as well.
What did you learn throughout the production process? How will you measure success?
For these videos, we’ll primarily look at the level of consumer engagement to gauge success. In the on-premise, that means how many people view our VR videos and are then inspired to share their own climb on social media. With the 360-videos online, we’ll be looking at the amount of time people spend viewing the videos and how many times they’re shared.
What is the best way for brands to approach this immersive storytelling format to further engage with consumers?
Whatever marketing tool you’re using, it works best when it’s clearly in service of your brand positioning. For Coors Light, we believe VR and 360-video is a tool that makes a lot of sense because it’s such a powerful way to bring to life our “Climb On” positioning.
Why do millennials respond better to marketing involving adventure and new experiences?
Much of the reason we’re so excited about the “Climb On” positioning is that it transcends age, gender and ethnicity. It’s about the mindset of embracing new challenges as exciting opportunities rather than daunting challenges, and anyone can have that mindset.
How do you plan on using VR and 360-degree video in the future?
We’ll see how this initial foray into VR and 360 goes for us, but if the early results are any indication, you can expect to see more on this front from Coors Light in the future.
Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan
