Cincinnati, an advertising hub, is well positioned to be a "relevant player " when it comes to multi-platform storytelling involving technology, according to John Hendricks, director of creative technology for Possible, a worldwide advertising agency with offices in Cincinnati.
Hendricks sees Cincinnati agencies as key participants in connecting on different platforms for their clients, much like what has been done in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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Hendricks says, "Whenever a Star Wars movie is launched there is always some associated media or content that is launched with it -- toys, other merchandise, and games that create a very rich storytelling franchise."
Take for example:
- Industrial Light and Magic's 360 interactive video on Facebook
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Immersive 360 ExperienceSpeed across the Jakku desert from Star Wars: The Force Awakens with this immersive 360 experience created exclusively for Facebook. Posted by Star Wars on Wednesday, September 23, 2015
- EA's Star Wars Battlefront game
- Instagram accounts for movie characters
- Sphero's remote controlled robot BB-8 that moves with an iPhone
Hendricks says Microsoft and Sony have been transitioning their consoles "From something that was in the basement that a hard-core gamer is using; someone with Cheeto stained fingers, you know, in a dimly lit basement. They're trying to migrate these consoles out of that environment into the living room and make it more of a family hub."
The musician IamYank knows the power of virtual reality marketing. Possible designed a game with his music that becomes more and more rich as gamers unlock different levels.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLxK3g3Tk88
Hendricks wonders, "How do we take some of these newer technologies that are coming out like virtual reality headsets, like the Oculus Rift or Gear Vr or some of these newer devices like Project Tango from Google or even something down the road that's going to come out in about a year-Microsoft’s Hololens,which is an augmented reality headset that you can wear. How do we start to create brand interactions with these devices? What is advertising 3.0 or 4.0?”
Google's Project Tango has plenty of marketing possibilities, according to Hendricks. He explains you could make a 3D map of Fountain Square, hide virtual Easter eggs and participants could win company products.
According to Marketing Dive,"Facebook sees virtual reality and its Oculus Rift goggles as part of the marketing future and is now selling the idea to advertisers." It already has companies advertising on 360 videos. The Oculus Rift will go on sale in 2016.
