Page1of2 2019Factiva,Inc.Tousdroitsréservés. [604177]

Page1of2 ©2019Factiva,Inc.Tousdroitsréservés.
Getusedtoit:VIRTUALREALITY;Google’sgogglesopenupnewworldforautomarketers
VinceBondJr.;[anonimizat]
993mots
14décembre2015
AutomotiveNews
AUTN
37
Volume89;Number6703
Anglais
(c)2015CrainCommunications,Inc.Allrightsreserved.
Whenadiamondheistgoesawry,there’sonlyonecartoturntoforthegetaway:the2015MiniCooper
hardtop.
Atleastthat’showitplaysinMini’svirtualfantasyworld.
Mini’ssmallcarhasbeencastintwovirtualrealityenhancednarrativesthattheautomakercommissioned
andsharedinNovemberonTheNewYorkTimes’freshlylaunchedVRapp.TheshortfilmBackwateris
centeredonaheist,whileRealMemoriesfocusesonamancopingwithapparentamnesia.
Thefilms,initiallyreleasedbyMiniinSeptemberonYouTube,receiveavisualboostwhenviewedontheapp
throughthehand-heldGoogleCardboarddevice,whichturnsasmartphoneintoacheapsetofvirtualreality
goggles.(WhenviewingwithoutGoogleCardboard,userscanrotatetheirphonesortabletstogeta
360-degreeeffect.Computerviewerscanclickontheirscreenstoexploretheenvironment.)
Aspartofthecampaign,Miniplannedtodistribute140,000freecardboardviewersworldwidethatarebased
onthenewversionofGoogle’ssetthatcameoutthissummer.
“It’sthefirsttimewe’vetoldanystoriesinvirtualreality,”saidTomNoble,MiniUSA’smarketingchief.
Mini’spartnershipwithTheTimesillustrateshowvirtualrealityisreachingthemassesinautomarketing.
WhileGoogleCardboardisn’tnearlyasadvancedasotherupcomingoptionssuchastheOculusRiftVR
headsetfromFacebookorMicrosoft’sHoloLensaugmented-realityglasses,itallowsautomakerstodabblein
adevelopingmarketwithengagingcontentthat’saccessibletoawiderangeofsmartphone-owning
consumers.
Googlehasbroadenedthereachofsmartphone-basedvirtualrealitybymakingthespecificationsof
Cardboardopensource.Thatmeanscompaniescanmanufactureandselltheirownsetsbyparticipatingin
thetechcompany’sthird-partycertificationprogram,saidAaronLuber,Google’sheadofpartnershipsforVR.
“VRisprovidingabrand-newwayforconsumersandfanstoengagewithbrands,”Lubersaid.“It’snot
necessarilyanadvertisingthing.”It’saboutshowingconsumers“anewperspectiveofabrandand
experience[they]aregoingtoseeandenjoy.”
TheTimesdeliveredaround1millionGoogleCardboardsetstosubscriberslastmonth.Googledoesn’tsell
thedevices,butthethird-partyversionscangoforafewdollarstothe$30rangedependingontheversion.
Forcomparison,theRiftwillcomewitharumoredpricetagofmorethan$350whenitgoesonsalein2016,
whilereportssaythedevelopereditionsforHoloLenswillcost$3,000whentheyrolloutin2016.
Thosepricieroptionsmightstillhaveaplaceindealershowrooms.DuringVolvo’sHoloLensdemonstrationin
November,journalistsinteractedwithholographicversionsoftheS90—thinkTonyStarkinIronMan—
aheadofthesedan’sphysicaldebutnextmonthattheDetroitautoshow.
Butit’stoughtoenvisionanautomakersendingmorethan1millionofthosesystemstoconsumerstogive
themuniqueexperiences.

Page2of2 ©2019Factiva,Inc.Tousdroitsréservés.VolvoistheonlyautomotivecompanyworkingwithMicrosoftinthedevelopmentofHoloLens,butitsvirtual
realityflirtationsgobeyondthattechnology.
Volvoreleasedanappin2014offeringtestdrivesoftheXC90crossoverthatpeoplecanviewwithGoogle
Cardboard,acontraptionthatconsumersconsidered“newnews”atthetime,saidThomasAndersson,vice
presidentofglobalmarketingforVolvoCarGroup.
“Wearenotlockedintoonetechnology,”Anderssonsaid.“We’reaftertheexperienceyoucanget.”
LexusandInfinitiarealsotrying360-degreevideosandvirtualappsthatcanbeviewedonYouTubeon
computersorwithintheGoogleCardboardformat.
JoeLaszlo,vicepresidentofindustryinitiativesfortheInteractiveAdvertisingBureau,saidpartnershipssuch
astheoneMiniformedwithTheTimeswillbecriticaltoenablingvirtualrealityexperiencesforawider
spectrumofpeople.
Laszlothinkslow-costoptionssuchasGoogleCardboard,whichtakeadvantageofthemobiledevices
peoplealreadyown,willbethefocusformarketersinterestedinvirtualrealityprojectsoverthenextcoupleof
yearsbecauseoftheestablisheduserbase.Googleexpectstohave2millionofitsdevicesincirculationby
yearend.
Beyondthattimeframe,Laszlosaidheseesgrowthpotentialforthecostlierhardwareofferings.
“Inthelastthreeorfourmonthsorso,I’mhavingmoreandmoreconversationswithfolksontheagencyside,
mediacompaniesandtechnologyvendorsaboutvirtualrealityandaugmentedreality,”Laszlosaid.
Aswithallnewmedia,marketersmusttreadlightlywiththeircommercialmessageslestconsumerstireof
thembeforetheyhaveachancetodevelop.
Consumersdon’twanttraditionaladvertisingtofollowthemintothevirtualworld,saidStephanLammermann,
chieftechnologyofficerofGermandigitaladagencyKKLD*,whichworkedontheMinifilmswithvirtualreality
productioncompaniesUnit9andBipolarId.Thefilmswereshotover21/2daysinJuneinBarcelona,Spain.
Thestory-drivenapproachmadetheproductplacementlessconspicuous.Runningshotsofthecarandthe
MiniConnectedinfotainmentsystemaremixedintotheaction,butinawaythatflowswiththestory.
Lammermannsaidtheteamwantedtotrythingssuchasslowmotionthatsomesaycan’tbedoneinvirtual
reality.Thecrewpulledofftheslowmotioneffects,butbecauseofcameralimitations,itcouldn’tmakethem
asslowasitwanted.
“Ithink[people]expectcompellingcontentandnewexperiences”fromvirtualreality,Lammermannsaid.
“That’swhywe’vedecidednottogothevirtualtestdriveorthetraditionaladvertisingroute,butrathertryto
createanewkindofcontentforthemediumandpushtheboundaries.” 
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