Many companies are beginning to see virtual reality (VR) as a powerful business tool. And our clients are asking about virtual and augmented reality more so than ever before… for use at exhibitions, for bespoke learning environments and for showing people what it can be like to live with symptoms of a disease.
So it makes absolute sense for us to embrace VR and build it into our daily lives.
Here are 5 ways that we’re using VR in our medical writing agency.
1) Weekly team meetings
Load up, load up. It’s 15:00 on a Monday afternoon – time to put our headsets on. We use an app called Bigscreen, which, as you might have guessed, has a massive screen on the wall (or floating in mid-air beside your virtual camp fire, depending on your mood).
Hook your PC up to your headset (USB C) and you can use remote desktop, so anything on your PC (PPT slides, internet browser, Spotify) can be seen and heard on the giant screen in your VR room. Cool, huh?
Being able to see each other sat around a table (albeit avatars) adds an extra attention-grabbing element that Skype and Zoom can’t deliver. You can use hand gestures too (no rude ones please – I may need to write a policy about that).
2) Idea generation
There’s no right or wrong way to generate ideas. Some people like to brainstorm with a flipchart or yellow post-it notes. Some use creative templates. Some start with individual thinking.
What’s best? Who knows… as long as the chosen process ends up delivering a great idea and it’s fun, right? And generating ideas in VR offers just that.
Bigscreen, AltspaceVR and VRChat all offer environments for teams to think creatively. We use Bigscreen for ideas. Grab a virtual pen and start making notes.
3) Team training
Bigscreen. Remote desktop. PPT slides. ‘nuff said.
4) Client meetings
We’ve had one client meeting in VR so far and… It. Was. Epic. Is there a better way to show a client that you’re at the forefront of technology than casually hosting a VR meeting?
We’re invested in long-term relationships with our clients and we firmly believe that VR is a way to enhance any virtual agency’s relationships. If you’d like to have your next meeting with us in VR, just let us know.
5) Socialising
As any agency owner or manager that’s currently working from home can attest to, it can be hard to trust people that you can’t see. Are they watching Netflix? Have they strapped their mouse to a rotating fan so it looks like their mouse is moving left‑to‑right all day?
Any remote working relationship takes trust. And that trust needs to be built.
Did you know that playing games is the ultimate trust builder? Research shows that it improves relationships. You feel more positive about them, you trust them more, and you have a better sense of their strengths and weaknesses, so you’re better able to work and collaborate with them in the future.
That’s why we spend time socialising while playing VR games (bowling, darts, basketball, paintball) and going on lunchtime adventures in other worlds. Trip to Mars anyone?
The possibilities of VR are only limited to your imagination
The entertainment industry can now host live virtual concerts. The travel industry could show you what a hotel complex looks like before you book. Car makers could give you a realistic test drive from your living room.
Regardless of the industry, VR has the potential to improve something, whether it’s company culture, creating immersive experiences or simply socialising with colleagues and clients.
How are you using or thinking about using VR in your company? What cool uses of VR have you seen in your industry?
And if you didn’t read any of that, you can watch Carl giving a tour around Bigscreen and explaining how we’re using VR for business in our agency.
