Is Virtual Reality the Next Big Form of In-Bar Entertainment?
Jim Beam, Dos Equis and Fire Eater are all examples of brands that are using technology like Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear to win over consumers at the moment when they're most likely—and perhaps under the influence—to try out new liquors, particularly with of-age millennials.
To show that experience first hand, the brand is setting up Samsung Gear headsets at 250 bars in 16 U.S. markets like New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Orlando this year that will be used during 750 sampling events.
a minute-long video transports bar goers into a flowing river of bourbon inside of a barrel. The video then swirls folks around to replicate the aging process, ending in eventually being catapulted out of the barrel. Meanwhile, Jim Beam representatives waif a piece of paper soaked in bourbon under people's noses to further hammer home the product.
For Dos Equis, lead agency Havas Worldwide set up virtual reality activations in 21 bars in eight markets last year as part of a Halloween-themed masquerade campaign.
Sales of Dos Equis shot up 18 percent during the Masquerade campaign, and the live events and online video generated 27 million views.
… Brown-Forman's decision to set up virtual big top circuses in English bars last year. Working with Critical Mass, the company used Oculus Rift to launch a cinnamon-flavored liquor called Fire Eater.
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