The Next Wave of Digital Marketing:
How VR and AR are Transforming Video Content Strategies
BY
Torrey Tayenaka
…buckle up.
Because the ground under “video marketing” is shifting in a way that feels a little like standing on wet sand. You think you’re steady, and then suddenly you’re sliding. I’ve felt it on shoots, in client meetings, even just watching how younger audiences behave online.
For years, video was the clean, reliable center of digital marketing. Brands put their big money there. We all did. But the shift to VR and AR? It’s not gentle. It’s abrupt. And honestly, I kinda like the jolt. It wakes you up.
If you’ve seen any of the immersive projects we’ve been experimenting with at Sparkhouse, you already get what I mean. I had a client last month who took a headset off and just sat there blinking like, “Give me a second, my brain’s still inside that scene.”
Why VR and AR Matter for Video Strategy
Traditional video has always been a one way conversation. I talk. You sit back and watch. Maybe you tap like if you’re feeling generous.
But VR and AR don’t play by those rules.
They pull people straight into the moment. They turn the viewer into a participant, sometimes without the viewer even realizing it. It’s the closest thing to handing someone your brand world and saying, “Here, go poke around,” which is not something you can do with a flat screen.
And the timing is wild. Every few months there’s another report predicting the AR and VR market hitting some massive number, like 300 billion dollars. Usually I roll my eyes at huge round numbers, but in this case? It actually seems believable. People are warming up to immersive stuff faster than brands are updating their playbooks.
If you’re still treating VR and AR like fun toys, you’re missing where the road is actually heading.
How VR and AR Are Changing the Video Playbook
1. From Passive Watching to Active Participation
This is where things start getting interesting.
Instead of a regular product demo, imagine the actual product dropping into your living room with AR. Or stepping inside a VR version of a hotel lobby, or a trail in Colorado, or a manufacturing floor humming at full speed.
You stop being a spectator. You start wandering. Touching. Noticing.
And once people do that, they remember it. We’ve built AR try ons and VR training modules where engagement spikes simply because the viewer feels like they’re physically interacting, even though they’re not.
2. Video Content Becomes Immersive Storytelling
Forget the 30 second clip. Imagine entire micro worlds. Think spatial video. Think a full 360 degrees around you.
In VR, people look over their shoulder, glance up at ceilings, kneel down to check out something in a corner. They act like characters instead of watchers.
And after you see someone explore a VR scene you built, going back to a traditional video feels almost too tidy. Too flat. I remember switching back to a normal edit right after a headset session and thinking, “Wait… did video always feel this small?”
3. Enhanced Measurement and Personalization
Now here’s the part nobody warns you about.
When you’re working with immersive content, you can suddenly see what people were curious about. Where their eyes lingered. Which object they reached for even when nothing was technically clickable. How long they stayed in a particular zone.
It’s almost like watching someone think.
At Sparkhouse, we’ve been building VR demos where you can see which features customers gravitate toward without them saying a word. It’s a strange kind of honesty. Very revealing.
Real-World Use Cases
Retail and E-commerce
AR try ons really are the new fitting room. Glasses, makeup, sneakers, that weirdly specific hat you’ve had saved in your cart for a month. People want to see it on themselves before they buy it.
We’ve produced AR enhanced product videos where conversions climbed because shoppers finally believed what they were looking at. That “oh this actually looks right on me” moment matters.
B2B and Experiential Marketing
Manufacturing, aerospace, tech — these industries are quietly becoming VR fanatics. They’re using VR for factory tours, equipment walkthroughs, and simulations you could never do in person.
One of my favorite Sparkhouse VR builds involved a virtual equipment floor. I still think about that shoot when I’m stuck waiting for coffee. It had this industrial hum that got stuck in my head for days.
Social and Awareness Campaigns
Nonprofits use VR to build empathy in ways a regular video simply cannot. When you’re placed inside someone else’s daily reality — the sounds, the environment, the tension — it hits harder. It stays with you longer.
What to Plan for When Incorporating AR and VR Video
Start with the audience and goal.
Immersive tech should be solving something. Awareness? Education? Participation? Pick your goal before you touch the tech.
Format matters.
Vertical AR filters, 360 spaces, headset ready VR films. Each one has its own workflow. Switching halfway through a project is… painful. I’ve been there.
Keep your brand story strong.
New tech doesn’t mean new personality. Your tone and visuals should still feel like you, even inside a headset.
Measure differently.
Track spatial engagement, dwell time, repeat visits. Don’t stop at “views.” Views mean almost nothing in immersive.
Budget and resources.
AR and VR still take more prep and more hands. Not outrageous, just something to plan for.
The Challenges (and How to Navigate Them)
User hardware adoption
Not everyone owns a headset, but mobile AR fills a huge part of that gap.
Production complexity
Immersive projects need people who actually understand spatial design and interactive flow. It’s a different muscle than traditional video.
Platform fragmentation
Meta, Apple Vision Pro, WebAR, TikTok AR. You can’t chase everything. Choose where your audience actually is.
Measuring ROI
Immersive is still young, so standardized benchmarks are all over the place. Start small, test, adjust.
Looking Ahead: What the Future Holds
This isn’t “future tech” anymore. It’s rapidly becoming the baseline.
Hardware will get cheaper. Workflows will smooth out. And immersive video will slowly move from novelty to expectation, the same way vertical video did. You blink, and suddenly it’s everywhere.
For marketers, that’s a huge window of possibility. Brands that start experimenting now get to shape how this whole space feels instead of scrambling later to keep up.
Three dimensions. Infinite possibilities.
The next chapter of immersive storytelling is unfolding whether we’re ready or not, and honestly, it’s opening creative doors I didn’t even know were locked until recently.
Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based commercial video production company. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations. Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.
