Kiryl Chykeyuk, Founder and CEO at HYPERVSN
We as consumers are inundated with advertising, and often so much so that most of it washes over us. Much like the ad-blockers found in our internet browsers, our brains eventually filter out the noise from our conscious minds. And it’s a lot of noise. The average person sees between 4,000 and 10,000 advertising messages in a single day. Even the most innovative and super-engaging ad concepts can quickly fade into forgetfulness, even if there was a loud initial buzz around the campaign.
Much like retail spaces playing host to potential consumers, expos and business-focused events are incorporating more screens and unique elements all around, with the aim of grabbing the attention of attendees moving through packed halls. Consequently, our brain’s filtering mechanism is in overdrive in these spaces. So how can businesses engage overloaded target audiences? The answer lies in new immersive mediums that can bypass our brain’s information firewall and enter our consciousness.
It’s seemingly all been done before
We’re not just inundated by too many adverts; we’ve become hugely accustomed to the way they are presented to us. Even 2D digital signage was once innovative compared to traditional methods such as TV, radio and cinema ads. Now, we often ignore content that is not relevant to our interests or needs. Some consumers may even actively perceive them as outdated or boring. For event organisers, who may have potentially thousands of people passing through the doors, it’s a lost opportunity to engage attendees and achieve an ROI on their significant advertising outlay.
In addition, advertising of a more traditional nature fails to allow for direct interaction or feedback from consumers. This passive level of engagement means that brands are unable to build relationships, particularly as personalised and immersive experiences become the new expectation. If there’s no opportunity for businesses to initially engage, then they can’t create the emotional response that stays with their audiences long after their interaction.
Bypassing the defences
New advertising deployments must take a different path to bypass the brain’s staunch defences against the mundane. Phygital experiences, made possible by holographic technology, have the ability to leave an indelible mark on consumer consciousness and create a lasting emotional response.
With 3D holograms, advertising campaigns can be presented in fine detail and complex shapes without any distortion or pixelation. Because of this, they can create a sense of depth and presence, making users feel like they are interacting with real objects or environments. This can help to foster deeper connections with attendees and enable campaigns to pop against the plethora of advertisements being shown at a venue.
Engagement at the next level
Two-way interaction is key to fostering engagement between business and user. Hologram-based control panels can be utilised to allow attendees to interact with technology using gestures, voice commands or even eye movements. A key benefit of these panels is the capability to customise and adapt them based on different contexts and needs. They could be implanted alongside virtual reality applications, and attendees simply need to use their hands to fully manipulate holographic objects and environments.
By being more intuitive and natural than traditional interfaces, hologram-based control reduces the cognitive load for users and instead opens up the opportunity for engagement. The technology can also be layered on top of physical aspects to captivate the intended audience, such as physical touchpads to then allow attendees to change or manipulate holographic imagery.
By mixing holographic deployments with other emerging technologies, businesses can really build powerful and lasting connections with end users. Virtual avatars can inform attendees about available services and products, and even interact with them in different languages. People can even step inside the story or theme at an event by live beaming themselves as a digital avatar, bringing them even closer to the action. Each newly-immersed attendee provides the opportunity for improved advertising metrics, new transactions and an improved return on investment.
Accessing the long-term memory of attendees
The evolution of advertising in the face of overwhelming consumer exposure and mental filtering is a challenge for organisations, but also an opportunity for innovation. As traditional methods lose impact amidst the noise of daily ads, holographic technology offers experiences that captivate and create deep emotional connections with attendees. Alongside emerging technologies such as virtual reality and avatars, users can find themselves immersed in stories and themes in relation to products and services.
The future of event advertising lies in creating memorable and emotional experiences that go beyond mere visibility. This way, businesses can navigate around the forgotten noise and into the sanctity of long-term memory.
