Immersive Audiences

Dr Matt Freeman, Bath Spa University

This session explores emerging research into VR and AR audiences, characterising the demographics, personality types, behaviours and interest area for those people currently engaging with immersive experiences. The session also talks through recent R&D activity of Immersive Promotion Design, an XR marketing consultancy based at The Studio in Bath. Specifically, the session shares the findings from a 2020 StoryFutures Academy-funded project that sought to develop new strategies for successfully marketing VR and AR to a broader array of audiences, showcasing promotional content for an R&D project called The Invited, itself an augmented reality adaptation of the Dracula story produced by Studio McGuire.

References/Appendices:

– Freeman, M, Lammiman, D, Norrington, A and Smyth, N (2021) Immersive Promotion Bible. Available at: https://www.immersivepromotion.com/immersive-promotion-bible

– Allen, Catherine (2020) ‘Beyond the Early Adopter: Broadening the Appeal for Virtual Reality’, Policy & Evidence Centre (September). Available at: https://www.pec.ac.uk/policy-briefings/beyond-the-early-adopter-widening-the-appeal-for-virtual-reality

– Allen, Catherine and Tucker, Dan (2018) ‘Immersive Content Formats for Future Audiences’, Digital Catapult (June). Available at: https://www.immerseuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Immersive_Content_Formats_for_Future_Audiences.pdf.

– Jarvinen, Aki (2020) ‘The Immersive Audience Journey’, Digital Catapult (July 16). Available at: https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/news-and-insights/press/navigating-the-immersive-audience-journey – ‘Framing Immersion’, South West Creative Technology Network (2019). Available at: https://www.swctn.org.uk/immersion/

Biography: Dr Matthew Freeman is Research Lead in Film & Media at Bath Spa University, where he is also the Course Leader for the BA (Hons) Media Communications degree. Matthew is the author/editor of nine books on topics ranging from transmedia storytelling, media industries, digital media and immersive production. His latest book, Transmedia/Genre: Rethinking Genre in a Multiplatform Culture, will be published by Palgrave Macmillan in early 2023. Beyond academia, Matthew is the founder of Immersive Promotion Design, an R&D-led marketing consultancy for the immersive sector that supports VR and AR creatives and businesses to broaden their audiences by better communicating the magic of their immersive experiences.