Immersive experiences use unique physical and virtual spaces and components to attempt to engage all five senses. Such experiences have allowed new, creative canvases to emerge that integrate storytelling, technology, art, and audience participation. At its core, an immersive experience is an illusory environment that completely surrounds you, making it feel as if you’re inside and a part of it. It’s a way to experience the impossible.
Immersive experiences are an evolving category that began primarily in the art and themed entertainment worlds but has since transformed into its own phenomenon, which can be utilized by a variety of industries. As immersive entertainment has steadily grown over the last few years, new virtual venues, business models, and creative approaches have arisen as well. The desire for novel experiences beyond what a computer or smartphone screen can offer has increased, and immersive technologies have risen to meet the demand.
Many companies seek to reduce the time and effort it takes for customers to perform tasks. That way, consumers have more opportunities to get back to doing the things they love, like hanging out with friends and family or participating in a hobby that brings them joy. But a time-well-spent company slows down time. It provides customers with an experience that creates memories they will carry with them forever and makes them enjoy the interactions themselves.
The growth in immersive entertainment is driving interest in many industries and venue types. Casinos, hotels and resorts, retail stores, and even stadiums are exploring ways to tap into this trend. Not only can this technology be used as a way to promote ticket sales and market experiences but to reach a broader audience and create new streams of revenue that would have otherwise been impossible to tap into.
Life-cycle Marketing: Attending an immersive experience is often the main event, but marketing and monetization efforts are shifting to a pre-and-post model. Disney has perfected the process of upfront ticket-buying and planning before a trip—building anticipation and excitement. Following attendance, providers are also increasingly building longer-term virtual relationships to increase repeat visits and merchandise sales.
Data-driven Personalization: Experiences can truly be unique and personalized for every visitor if supported by a clear and transparent data-capture infrastructure. Personalization leads to deeper engagement, increased opportunity for upselling and return visits, and—ultimately—greater brand loyalty.
Social Amplification: Experiences are now preferred over products by a large number of consumers. Crafting unique “social moments” into the user experience allows visitors to share their excitement and, with the aid of social media, creates a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) that urges others to experience it too. This social promotion can be a great marketing tool to amplify awareness and boost sales.
Package and Scale: An immersive entertainment “hit” in NYC can be repackaged and scaled for use in other cities and countries around the world. This presents a tremendous opportunity for casinos and hotels, for example, to distinguish their properties with immersive entertainment that’s localized to each property while still being designed on the same creative and immersive technological foundation.
Augmented Reality
Also referred to as AR, augmented reality experiences use technology aided by a smartphone or mobile device camera to add a layer of computer-simulated components over the real-world environment that can be viewed via the device.
Essentially, AR functions like a footnote for the real world, whereby additional information in the form of graphics, illustrations, representations, and the like can be added to enhance the surrounding environment. As such, the prime difference between AR and VR experiences (virtually reality) is that AR enhances the existing world rather than creating a new environment altogether.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) immerses the user inside a digital simulation in which they can interact with a completely fabricated environment. This type of immersive entertainment traditionally uses a headset, but can also be accessed via webVR using a mobile device or desktop.
Whereas AR is designed to enhance the existing world the user is already familiar with, a virtual world transports the user to a digital universe they have no previous association with. In a virtual reality environment or experience, the emphasis is on stimulating as many physical senses as possible.
Mixed Reality
Just as the name suggests, mixed reality essentially combines elements of AR and VR to form a hybrid world that is fabricated, completely dynamic, and supplemented with information layered over real-world environments or experiences. Part of the value proposition of mixed reality is its ability to integrate virtual objects into a real-world scenario rather than simply adding information, creating a more immersive, holistic user experience.
Digital twins
Digital twins are near-exact virtual models of real-world objects, systems, and processes that are most often found in industrial manufacturing and engineering where the ability to alter production plans in real-time is critical for achieving efficiency. A digital twin provides the user with a completely virtual mock-up of the real-world object, system, or process, allowing it to be tested for functionality before being deployed in a real-world setting.
360-degree content
360-degree content is a photo or video that the user can explore in full rotation thanks to a series of cameras that provide data from a variety of angles. This is similar to taking a panorama photo on a smartphone, piecing together individual shots to form a larger whole.
As with nearly any sub-field of modern technology, the opportunity for coders, programmers, and developers to become truly disruptive forces and revolutionize immersive experiences is as possible as it is in any other industry, if not more probable. In the entertainment field, professionals are just beginning to scratch the surface of what these experiences can provide to audiences across a variety of mediums. Take a look at our article on "What To Know Before Hiring A Web Developer" to learn more.