“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
And you can’t convince a seasoned marketer to test new technology as a 2017 Yes Lifecycle Marketing Channel Report illustrates. More than half of marketers said both virtually reality and augmented reality do not apply to their organization (55 and 57 percent, respectively), according to the report, citing they would rather achieve a mastery within “bread and butter” channels like email and social.
“The resistance towards flashier tactics like VR and AR indicates that marketers are more pragmatic about their plans to improve marketing efforts,” said the report. “Marketers will instead focus on concrete, yet forward-thinking tactics that reach customers at the right time and with the right message.”
While events such as CES create a tremendous amount of hype about VR and AI, the report showed a very low percentage of marketers surveyed are currently using VR (8 percent) or AR (7 percent). Similarly, only 21 percent are interest in implementing virtual reality and 25 percent augmented reality.
“This may indicate marketers are skeptical about how advanced tactics such as these will help them reach their goals,” said a Yes Lifecycle Marketing press release.
The future for marketers, according to the report, will rely heavily on dynamic offers, user-generated content and technological innovation.
Forty-six percent of marketers are not using dynamic offers currently, but plan to in 2017, and 38 percent say the same about user-generated content. However, when asked what they look for in marketing service providers, 31 percent of respondents ranked “technology innovation” as their top offering.
“They know improving the customer experience will require enhancing tried and true marketing tactics, but the right mindset is not enough,” said the report. “Smart marketers will look to marketing technology and service providers that provide the capabilities necessary to execute highly personalized, cross-channel marketing tactics.”
So, while VR and AI may seem like marketing’s venture, it is clear the hype surrounding the technology is more augmented than reality.
