INSIGHT
A NEW REALITY
FOR AFFILIATES
Lee-Ann Johnstone explains how affiliates can leverage the power of virtual
and augmented reality to take player engagement and loyalty to new heights
VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND
AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) are
not technologies of the future, they
are technologies of the now. They
are already used by marketers to
engage consumers, deliver unique and
compelling experiences and to connect
with them emotionally to drive sales.
Furthermore, both technologies are
effective at tapping into the psyche of
millennials, many of whom consider
VR and AR key factors when seeking
entertainment online.
To date, the most common
applications for virtual and augmented
reality technologies have been in the
entertainment sector, and in particular
social media and gaming. Facebook
has been bullish on VR since it
acquired Oculus Rift for $2bn in 2016;
it launched Oculus Venues earlier
this year, which allows users to watch
concerts live through their headsets.
When it comes to gaming, Pokémon
Go is the most successful AR game
of all time – when it launched in July
2016 it had more daily engagement
than Facebook and Twitter. We are
also seeing VR and AR play a greater
role in the online gambling space
through slots developers such as
NetEnt, which has been experimenting
with VR games for several years now.
Operators are also getting in on the
“It’s cool, futuristic stuff, and while it has
yet to enter the mainstream in the online
gambling sector, it is clear VR will play a
significant role in the coming years”
action: SlotsMillion launched as the
world’s first 3D VR casino back in
2016, while BetConstruct has opened
a VR casino product, VBet, in Berlin.
Players enter the VBet store in the
German capital, put on a VR headset
and enter a virtual casino world.
It’s cool, futuristic stuff and while
it has yet to enter the mainstream
in the online gambling sector, it is
clear VR will play a significant role
in the coming years. This will impact
affiliates as they will need to adapt to,
and capitalise on, the technologies to
ensure they continue to attract and
retain consumers outside of the usual
web, social and app channels.
So what upsides do VR and AR
present publishers, and what can they
do to maximise the opportunities
they present?
The first and perhaps most
significant benefit for online gambling
affiliates is that VR and AR can be
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