Virtual reality is here to stay but, at this point, it’s still trying to figure out exactly how to generate revenue. One tried and true method in Silicon Valley for turning an idea into cash is to start tying advertisements to it. Now, a partnership between the Disney-backed Jaunt and 360 advertising startup OmniVirt is going to see if the advertising model works in VR.
Jaunt has raised slightly over $100 million from notable partners such as Disney, Paul McCartney (yes, that Paul McCartney) and China Media Capital. The company was able to raise these funds by arriving early and impressing with proprietary technology for the creation of immersive video.
Jaunt has continued to develop new hardware for VR video, but now it seems ready to diversity its revenue potential through a new advertising strategy formed in conjunction with its partner, OmniVirt.
https://youtu.be/sJOleTuxcuQ
Founded by former Google employees, OmniVirt is a 360 advertisement platform. OmniVirt’s bread and butter is an immersive ad distribution platform and analytics system. The team has already built VR campaigns for companies such as Toyota, Samsung, and Universal Pictures.
According to a joint release from the two companies, Jaunt and OmniVirt will now begin to “extend the reach of campaigns that Jaunt has been providing to its brand clients by ensuring increased distribution and viewership across OmniVirt’s premium publisher network.”
The release continues, “Under this partnership, Jaunt will be able to extend the reach of its client’s campaigns seamlessly into OmniVirt’s premium inventory, enabling brands to promote and drive viewership to their VR experiences.”
According to Jean-Paul Colaco, Chief Revenue Officer at Jaunt:
“We know that marketers and their agency partners are looking for premium inventory and scaled distribution when it comes to the world of 360° virtual reality advertising. We have been very impressed with OmniVirt’s technology and reach. The Jaunt Studio and app combined with OmniVirt’s distribution network will provide our clients with a holistic solution for their 360° virtual reality brand advertising campaigns.”
Advertising in VR is still experimental and deals like this one indicate that we may be seeing a good deal more experiments very soon.
