Ethical implications of using VR and AR in Marketing

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The two emerging media delivery methods that we have covered this week are virtual reality and augmented reality.

Virtual Reality Pros and Cons
Pros
The pros of virtual reality are that it increases customer engagement, improves content marketing, and improve storytelling. Besides, virtual reality is convenient, helps create 360-degree videos for social media, and creates out-of-the-world product demos. The users can experiment with different artificial environments. Virtual reality can be used to show potential customers the manufacturing facility where the product is being made. Virtual reality is more immersive, appealing, and enables an experience with the products that the customer intends to purchase. One of the key advantages of virtual reality to a marketer is that he can give a potentially dangerous experience safely. For example, the marketer can have a ten-year-old child walk up to a tiger and take a chocolate bar from his mouth. When using virtual reality this is a safe practice but is immensely exciting for the child. Another pro is that virtual reality can lead provide very detailed experiences, virtual reality is very handy to enable the customer to try the product before buying it, and getting a clear understanding of the outcomes of a new product. Other important pros of virtual reality that are important for marketing are that it helps with impressive visualization, alternates the level of experience of customers, and encourages interaction with potential customers. Virtual reality makes sales presentations more enjoyable for the business customer, makes it possible for the salesperson to present new product features, and enables the customer to use product features before purchasing. The key prone of virtual reality in marketing is that it offers to try before you buy in business to business as well as retail. Many airlines have been able to sell their luxury seats by offering a try before you fly. The immersive media of virtual reality creates an emotional connection with the customers. In the field of product development, virtual reality offers the opportunity to prototype and design products that would be preferred by customers, gives life to a range of applications, and easily enhances high-quality visualizations. In sales situations where the customer speaks and understands another language can be communicated through virtual reality and it has the possibility of increasing the level of interest.

Cons:
The cons of virtual reality are that virtual reality can be expensive and can increase marketing costs, virtual reality also increases the risk of cyber security, and content creation also has to be customized to VR and this can increase the cost. Moreover, aberrations in content creation lead to content that is not effective or engaging. Many customers do not like the virtual reality environment because it is too artificial, removed from reality, and isolates the customer. Another problem with virtual reality is that demos using virtual reality are slow and tardy. Time is used in configuring the headset, showing the control, and explaining the control. Next, it takes time for the potential customer to view the content. Direct demonstration of the product is fast, easily understandable, and more credible. Also, virtual reality presentations are inflexible, make salespeople obsessed with the technology, and create an unreal experience. Also, if a salesperson or even a customer is exposed to virtual reality for longer hours, he will suffer from nausea, disorientation, and dizziness. Those who are exposed to virtual reality repeatedly have spatial perplexity and several negative ...