The Other Side Of Singles’ Day: Alibaba’s Virtual Reality Testing Ground
In an augmented reality game, similar to a lo-fi PokemonGo, consumers follow a cartoon cat around the real world to unlock virtual items that they still have to pay for with real money.
Mike Evans, president of Alibaba group, explained in 2016 that the technology is intended to "move the relationship with the consumers beyond a highly transnational one." The entire process, none the less, funnels towards purchase. On the Buy+ platform, that action is performed by looking at a product and then nodding in assent.
Virtual and augmented reality will also "allow the brand to create a stronger bond" with those consumers, said Evans. That means fewer traditional efforts at community outreach. There is no longer a need, if a corporation wants to access a community, to be present in its area or employing its people. Nor would efforts at embodied visibility, like working with charities, schools, or NGOs, be as relevant.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/augustrick/2017/11/12/the-other-side-of-singles-day-alibabas-virtual-reality-testing-ground/#422e556e1c81