While VR is taking giant leaps it still leaves a lot to be desired, especially for (large) events. Big groups still pose problems in terms of scalability, control and support. Luckily there are some great guidelines and solutions to successfully use VR at your event. In this guide we will go in depth. You’ll learn everything about hardware, software, content and providing support. Making sure you can provide the best VR experience at your next event.

We have analyzed the current VR market and have found that we can categorize the reason of using VR on event in four different categories.

Virtual Reality is incredibly fun, a huge part of consumers rate their experience with VR as very exciting. For every event, audience and cliënt there is a suitable experience available.

Reasons why brands use virtual reality are brand engagement and to generate a positive association. Being immersed in VR creates an incredible engagement with the brand’s message. When it’s also a fun experience the user will gain a positive feeling about the brand.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet created multiple VR- experiences to promote their brand. First they created a car simulator in the mountains for their new Chevrolet Colorado. To truly capture the car’s capabilities in its natural habitat, the dirt. After that they created a VR Baseball game to get people’s attention during the Chicago auto show.

Lufthansa

Lufthansa took a different route. They let people inside an aircraft see a live 360 view of the things happening below the plane. They also got to see an interactive 3D map, where they could fly around and enjoy different locations around the world.

Huawei

Combining the real world with VR. Huawei wanted to show off their new 5G technology so they created a racing game where the drivers were sitting inside with a VR-headset and a racing wheel. Outside there were tiny racing cars running around the track.

Merrell ‘Trailscape’

Creating the real deal. Using VR and motion tracking equipment Merrell created a hike that was combining the real world with the virtual. You could walk a bridge but also feel the ground shaking. Making people want to go outside!

Virtual Reality is a great way to ‘get away’. To physically be in one place and virtually in another. This can have great commercial value. Transporting people to a location where the product/service is being made or sold is a great use case. Like a visit to the Tesla factory. Tour operators like Thomas Cook and hotels like the Marrriot take VR transportation to the next level. Last mentioned transport clients to the other side of the world.

When there is no need for anything commercial, VR can also be interesting. Relaxing at the beach or in nature for a couple of minutes can really take the edge off at a busy fair or expo. For example, the Sensisks is a sensory reality pod which offers a great way to relax.

It’s already proven that VR has a much higher engagement and click through rate while the emotional reaction is also much stronger than traditional, 2D media. So it’s safe to assume that people are more willing to dive into a fun VR experience than talk to a sales representative.

While in the virtual world users can interact in a unique way by changing scenarios, demoing products or even actually ‘using’ your product. Rituals has done this with a campaign for their Hamam line. They created a multisensory experience where attendees get a virtual and real life massage simultaneously, bringing an unique experience which engages all the senses.

Ford

Ford showed 750 people their new Ford Shelby using virtual reality. The car drove through a virtual world showing off the new look and new features. And when the video ended the real car was lifted down onto the stage. Talking about an car-tastic entrancence!

Renault

Also promoted their new car the Renault Koleos using VR. They let people inside a plane experience what it was like to get off the plane and then drive the new Koleos. When the people would get off the plane though. They would find themself using the car for real.

Mont Blanc

Mont blanc wanted to give their influencers a special threat. So they send them a package containing their brand new smart watch and a cardboard VR headset. Using the headset they were able to see the product in a 3D environment, a complete show with the features of their new smart watch.

Saga Gateshead

Sage Gateshead is a concert venue and also a centre for musical education. They wanted to let more people appreciate their beautiful centre. So they created a VR-experience where everyone could play instruments by pressing different objects in de virtual world

While VR can be incredibly helpful during your event it is also a great tool before and after the fact. Sending an invitation presented in VR is a really unique way to grab attention. You’ll really stand out against the many invites being sent by mail or other old school media. Simply send a branded Cardboard and include an 360 video invite and you’ll be surprised by the engagement and number of RSVPs.

A great example is the phone company OnePlus. They gave away 40.000 Cardboards for the first ever product launch in virtual reality. The Cardboards were gone in couple of minutes and the launch was a great success.

If people don’t attend it’s always smart to let them know what they are missing so that they won’t miss that chance again. Setting up a 360 livestream and having people experience, rather than see with an traditional 2D stream, will really entice them.

Volvo did a great campaign surround the solar eclipse in 2017. They send a fleet of XC60s to various vantage points across the country, where they recorded the event in 360-degrees. After the event you were able to share (parts of) this livestream or you were able to make a aftermovie in 360. Sending this to people who visited (and didn’t) is a really great way to keep them engaged even after the event.

As with all events a solid preparation is key. When VR is involved this is even more so. Start by checking all hardware to see if it functions, that no cables are missing and that you have at least a couple of spare units. Next is making sure that the right content is on the devices and working properly. You don’t want to show the wrong video or play the wrong game.

After everything is double checked on your end consult the location. Is there enough room, power and equipment like chairs and tables available. Also, before you leave to attend the event double check the equipment. You can’t explain screwing up because of a missing cable. Making sure you have capable staff and that they are properly briefed is also smart; we’ll come to that in the next bit.

Making sure the event goes without any hiccups is essential. If something goes wrong, that’s what the audience will remember. Avoiding issues by checking (and double checking! ) your equipment is one sure way to avoid issues. Train your staff and have them solve issues in a controlled environment. Having a backup unit and second line support staff available will solve most issues.

Trained staff who are familiar with the equipment and know how to troubleshoot are essential in making sure your event goes well. Also having a checklist available for the most common issues and how to solve them can really come in handy.

Choosing the right tool for the job is essential. There are many different kind of VR headsets, also called HMD; head mounted displays. In general there are 2 categories; desktop and mobile. Also called tethered and untethered.

Desktop units require powerful computers and are suited for more complex and interactive games and simulations. Some of the currently most well known are the HTC Vive Pro 2, Valve Index and Varjo XR-4. They offer an awesome high-fidelity experience. However, they are more expensive, less scalable and require more staff to operate properly than mobile headsets.

Whether you need these devices depends on the content and client. If you have the option to choose, consider the following.

• How many people are attending? Most experiences last about 5 minutes, meaning that you can serve around 10-11 people per headset, per hour when accounting for swap time.
• What is the budget? In some cases you may need one staff member per headset, meaning costs can go up pretty quickly.
• How much space is available? Especially for inexperienced users, you might easily require 3×3 meters of completely empty space per headset. When space is limited you can also use a seated experience.
• Duration of your event? Building up and breaking down can easily take an hour with proper testing. For a very short event it may not be worthwhile setting up these headsets.
  

Mobile headsets don’t require external power or hardware to operate. The most well-known headsets such as the Meta Quest 3 and Pico 4 have 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF), allowing you to both look and physically walk around. Others only allow physically looking around (3DOF), where any movement will require user interaction with gaze or a controller like the Pico G3. While that may seems limiting, they compensate by requiring much less setup, management and less instructions for users.

As a general rule mobile headsets are cheaper, scalable and user friendly than their PC-bound counterparts. They are mostly used for 360 content and simple games, although the latest headsets are getting powerful enough for some really impressive results. Other features to take into account are:

• Mobile headsets take up less room as they don’t require a PC with its peripherals and cable
• 3DOF headsets require much less space, since the use remains physically stationary
• They are cheaper to buy and rent, getting more bang for your buck
• Needs less staff to operate when using a Sync solution, about 1 staff member for 25 devices

Mobile headsets tend to have fewer technical issues, are easier to set-up and replace and less complex for people to understand than PC headsets. This makes them a user friendly option for events.

First, the content. If you want the best of the best you need PC VR, but for most events mobile headset suffice just fine. Using a 6 degree of freedom headset for 360 video is usually overkill, and often carries negatives in terms of management with it. Secondly, the crowd. How many people do you need to engage. 3DOF headsets is usually a must for large crowds, while smaller crowds can be managed with 6DOF headsets. Lastly the budget. 3DOF headsets are cheaper and require less staff but offer a less memorable experience.

What is the right content? Often this is dictated by the client, crowd or your own wishes. But if you can (or have to) choose the old mantra ‘content is king’ also holds up for VR. While hardware might often be forgotten -except if it doesn’t work- the experience is what most will remember.

For most events, 360 videos are the content of choice. There are many 360 videos available for free online and they vary widely. From laid back relaxing at the beach or watching space to intens flights, races or shoot-outs. In general most use a ‘standard’ 360 video filmed by a specially designed camera. Some might show an animated video. Some a combination of ‘real’ video with animated effect.

The type of video has to be suited to the event, client or crowd. Sometimes you are force fed a client video but more often than not you’re required to make a suggestion or make the decision. What typical works well are these types of content;

• Nature
• Racing
• Space
• Cinematic
• Scary

Choosing multiple categories and selecting different videos for each guarantees that you’ll have something to serve to almost everybody.

The second important thing to take into account is the time frame. For events, we advise a duration of a 2-3 minutes per video. This keeps momentum and the experience interesting. Also this enables you to serve larger crowds. But then again; it all depends on the event and conditions set by you, or the client.

Shark Dive
Short, up close and scary. A great way to entertain visitors and get the heart racing. Not for the faint of heart so choose your crowds wisely.

Explore the world in 4k

Viewing New York from beneath a helicopter or the arctic from a boat. An amazing trip around the world in 360.

Red bull F1 VR

A VR experience where you are next to the Formula 1 car driver. Give your visitors a crazy experience of speed.

Google 360 Doodle show

Funny and unique. 3D animated people show you around a cartoony kind of world. More than enough to see for your customers.

IT

Scary enough to make even the bravest people shiver in fear. This 4 minute clip will take you through the sewers from the movie IT .

Showing the 360 videos can be difficult because most headsets aren’t made to be used at events. You have to guide the attendees trough menus and have them select the right item which is a definite show stopper. Luckily our team has developed two types of software to help you out: VR Sync and Look & Play.

Thé solution when you need to service large groups at the same time. The content is uploaded to the online dashboard and then distributed to each device. With the push of a button, you can start the video on all headsets in sync. You can find out more on our homepage and get a free fully-featured trial.

We developed a Kiosk mode for VR headsets which enables an easy and fast way to show user 360 videos to individual users. Users simply look at an icon to start the video. You can find out more on the Look&Play website.

Games are a whole other type of deal then 360 videos. They require better hardware, more staff and are harder to control and explain. For large crowds they are generally not advised, also because scalability is limited.

When choosing a VR game keep the crowd in mind. Most people have little experience with VR games. While VR is becoming more mainstream you will be surprised about the number of ‘first timers’.

Having a selection of games is smart so you can entertain the novice as well as the expert. Easy to learn, hard to master is the way to go. The type of game is related to the conditions set. Shooting arrows or lasers is always fun and easy to get the hang of. There are numerous games available in this category and have little bloodshed (see list below). Quite handy at any corporate event.

Most importantly in choosing the right game, make sure it ends. Some games and VR experiences don’t have a clear ending which results in some people not wanting to quit. In general, most shooter-type games have a set time-limit, or are so difficult that most participants won’t last longer than a couple of minutes.

Robo Recall

Robo Recall features everything you need to entertain the crowd. Beautiful visuals and you get to shoot up robots with a array of guns.

Beat Saber

The Guitar Hero of VR. In this game you hit boxes with light sabers on your favorite music tracks. Perfect for a short demo of the capabilities of VR, and often considered one of the most fun VR games despite its simplicity.

Space Pirate Trainer

Shooting flying space robots. This game combines movement with shooting. Dodge the robots that are shooting at you while simultaneously shooting back at them.

Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes

One person is in the real world reading bomb defusing options and one person is wearing a VR headset seeing the actual bomb. The mission? Defuse the bomb together.

VR Dining Games

An array of games that you play during a dinner. All designed to make people cooperate and at the same time compete against other teams. So jump into some amazing VR games while at the same time enjoying a lovely meal.

While in most cases virtual reality is a individual experience there are some ways to make it a more social event. One way is using multiplayer virtual reality games. Those are often complex and can take a while, which is not ideal for events. You’re looking for an easy, scalable solution.

A great way to create a engaging and social experience is using synchronization software. This enables people to view the same 360 content simultaneously. For this purpose multiple parties offer software. Together with our clients we developed a solution called VR Sync which you can read more about here.

Hopefully after reading this paper you’ll have all the information needed to make the best out of your next (VR) event. We have shared all the insights we have gained throughout the years. Don’t be afraid to add VR to your toolset. While it may seem daunting at first, it will be an experience which your audience will love, and you will too. Guaranteed.