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Last week 27partners held their first Virtual Reality play date event for colleagues and interested organisations. Our aim for the event was to raise awareness and excitement surrounding VR for business applications. Our event offered attendees the opportunity to test out four different VR systems, see our previous work with the BBC and catch up over a drinks and nibbles.

The 4 platforms we tested were:

Google Cardboard – Bringing 360 video to life

Samsung Gear– Portable Immersive experiences with interactive elements

Oculus Rift– High quality 3D visuals with 360 video experiences and interactive elements

HTC Vive– High quality 3D visuals with 360 video experiences and highly responsive interaction

As experts in delivering engaging digital projects for businesses, 27partners engage communities through video and supporting applications by offering consultancy, engineering and production. Our specialist knowledge of video use within organisations means we constantly update our services in alignment with the ever-changing digital technology and trends.

Despite VR still being in early stages, its visual immersion and interactivity are potentially so ground-breaking the industry has yet to unlock the full potential of the systems. However, current and near-future use cases are so exceptional 27partners predict business engagement with VR in the future will be indispensable to the success of organisations.

“We’ve been acquiring VR equipment
and expertise over the last year, and the
growing potential of VR is something
that really excites us.”
-Eryn Lovell, digital consultant

The list of VR use cases is already extensive. Gaming aside, this platform for 360 degree 3D immersion has already been adopted as an education and training tool and has been adapted by medical organisations and marketing sectors. It has been used by the travel industry to explore locations without travel, and taken on by advertisers transforming the way they sell their products.

For current business adoption, you only have to look at fast food giants McDonalds for inspiration. McDonald’s Swedish stores adapted VR technology to revolutionise the marketing of their products, building a google cardboard net within their happy meal box, and offering a free VR game.

UCLA surgeons are using medical VR technology to train for technical internal surgeries before they operate, while Ford have adapted VR to test new car components, predicted to be saving around $8million a year. Marriott hotels have taken VR on with some temperature-controlled booths to let customers visit their London and Hawaii hotels.

27partners see these business use examples as the start of VR becoming a permanent part of life in and out of the office. Our event was the first step towards a business with VR future, getting both small and large business partners and team members to consider how it could benefit them. By offering the chance to use the VR technologies, attendees of the event saw first hand the exceptional experiences VR offers.

Mark Williams, digital consultant at 27partners, gave a brief talk at the event, illustrating why VR has such exciting potential, and explaining our path to Virtual Reality.

“Virtual Reality is here to stay and will
become a big part of our personal and
professional daily lives, we believe this
because it evokes deep emotions and reaction.”
– Mark Williams, digital consultant

The path to VR explores other digital opportunities available, from linear video to the captivating opportunities of 360 video and interactive video. These formats, combined with professional consulting, continual management and interesting content are guaranteed to help improve employee engagement and information retention.

In summary our VR event was hugely successful, our offices filled with the buzz of people wanting to try out the latest VR tech. It is safe to say, there were a few blown-minds leaving our offices on Thursday evening!