360-degree video is really having its moment. Now that playback is available on YouTube and Facebook, consumers are going to be expecting to get into the heart of the action in your brand content. In fact, Facebook’s product director, Fidji Simo, recently highlighted the importance of 360, immersive video for the social media channel: “We build products based on what the audience tells us they want. People want to feel like they’re part of the action”.
Harnessing new technology is an effective strategy for brands to cut through the crowded marketplace (what we like to call the content soup), and the time is right to cut through with 360-degree experiences before your competitors do.
Here are six of the best 360-degree videos we’ve spotted recently to inspire you to go immersive too.
Emotional connections for the charity sector
Developing empathy with the beneficiaries of a charity is essential to building brand trust and increasing donations. The immersive nature of 360-degree video can be a powerful way to create these emotional connections.
This 360-degree video, “On the Brink of Famine”, is by news publisher, Frontline. However, the potential for charities to immerse their audience in a crisis or cause is clear. This video attracted 2.2 million views on Facebook.
In the driving seat of an automotive video
Automotive brands can harness the power of 360 to offer their audience the opportunity to test drive their products. Take the video below promoting the Civic Honda at the 2016 Red Bull Global Rallycross:
Nick Lee, manager of Honda national advertising said:
“Immersive video’ is primed to be the next frontier in the visual-media landscape. We at Honda are proud to be at the forefront of this emerging technology, and are always striving to be innovative, youthful and exciting. We have only scratched the surface of immersive-video-content creation, but will continue to offer new and amazing video content.” (MediaPost)
The 360 degree film offers a first person view of the racing track with its fast-paced thrills creating strong brand associations. This video can be used to start a conversation and build relationships with customers both online and in the showroom.
Travel videos
For the travel sector, 360 degree video is the perfect way to take your customers on a journey to your hotel or resort. It’s as close as it gets to experiencing it for real, inspiring your audience and reassuring them that your hospitality is better than all the rest.
Carnival, a cruise travel brand enlisted Vine influencer, Zach King to take potential customers on a 360 tour of their ship. This video campaign targets a younger demographic for cruises with a playful approach to brand storytelling.
A day in the life
Following on from the travel marketing video above, this 360-degree video by Google takes us to a day in the life of a favela in Rio. Your own “day in the life” film does not need to be at such a far-flung location; show customers behind the scenes of your brand, or use the 360-degree focus to reveal all the angles of a new product or service.
Reinforce your brand identity
With their masterful content marketing partnership, it’s no surprise that Red Bull and GoPro give their customers an immersive adventure with 360. As these brands invite their customers “to live a bigger life”, they can experience speeding down the slopes with snowboarding freestyler Travis Rice from the comfort and warmth of home. Explore all the angles below:
Financial brands in 360 degree video ads
360 degree video capability was added to Facebook’s full-screen mobile ads service, Canvas last month. A Brazilian financial services company, Itau tested the immersive function in the ad below. Viewers can choose what to look at in the ad. Strong storytelling is vital here to engage the audience and immerse them in your brand.
As this pick of the best 360 degree videos demonstrates, tech alone is not enough to create an effective campaign. The strategic and creative vision must be spot on too. We have the experience to take care of your 360 degree video campaign from the initial concept and strategy to video production and seeding.
