POV Virtual Reality by Vostok VR Takes on Celebrity Dating

Improving on a series of six static 360 degree videos created in 2016, Vostok VR and Mediacorp collaborated to create an immersive celebrity dating experience for Star Awards fans. Through the use of new VR technologies, Vostok VR was able to match the previous year’s engagement rate with only one third of the products.

Background

The Star Awards, often considered the “Singapore Oscars,” is a yearly event that honors local performances. To build buzz for this popular event, Vostok VR created a VR date for ten lucky participants. Fans met via VR with either Romeo Tan or Paige Chua, actors both included in this year's Star Awards Top 10 Male and Female Artists, to help them prepare for the awards show. After helping the celebrity select an outfit, navigate the press and enjoy the thrill of being asked out as the date for the awards show, the VR user removes their headset to find themselves face to face with the actual star.

Innovation

The previous year’s use of VR to promote the awards show was successful and cutting edge. However, the team was looking to improve on engagement results. Vostok VR knew they needed to use more than just a standard 360 degree video to make the experience immersive and lifelike.

Vostok VR engaged unique Point Of View (POV) camera filming to project the audience directly into the date. This method requires intense attention to detail as the view must be stabilized whenever there is movement.

Result

The 2017 Star Awards VR products received three times the amount of engagement per piece than their counterparts in 2016. This means the same amount of engagement was created with just 2 videos in 2017 as with 6 videos in 2016.

More specifically, the Date a Celebrity Creative VR trailer received over 100,000 views within one week of launch. Together, the two VR videos and trailer reached almost a quarter of a million Singaporeans and received about 15,000 likes, shares, comments and other engagements.