Everyone is talking about how short is customers’ attention span nowadays. If you attend many marketing events then you must’ve been told tens of times that we have an attention span — of eight seconds — less than that of a goldfish (at nine seconds).

And I actually grabbed your attention for at least 10 seconds to come across this sentence.

The fact that these findings don’t have an authentic source is not to be discussed here. But what we really should be aware of is that once we are attracted by something interesting, we can pay hours of attention to it. In fact our attention is becoming more intensive — hence more efficient.

So all what we need is a good experience for the customer to focus on. And what would be better experience than an immersive one tackling their auditory and visual senses?

In a market where we’re all competing hard for that little engagement available to capture our target audiences. Virtual reality (VR) comes as a good ignition … if well-used.

The pro side for marketing professionals is that VR content offers immersive storytelling, the ability to simulate emotions in a direct way, and a good attention-grabbing experience. VR can increase engagement and improve the poor ad experiences, which is a top reason for users installing ad-blockers or skipping ads.

When we talk about VR, the first thing to come to your mind would be the 360-degree spherical video — which is fine. These allow users to explore video from every angle without a VR headset, just by swiping the screen or tilting the phone from side to side.

But for a full VR experience think about fully created world where you can walk around and explore in different directions like a VR game experience.

As a retailer you can create a full preview of your products or services or simulate an in-store experience and even go further by enabling shopping within. A travel agency can do virtual visits to their destinations. Auto manufacturers can simulate test drives or do a can interior tour.

Real estate companies can do tours of their buildings.

So far advertisers from very different verticals in the UAE have witnessed VR’s activation success for their brands over the past year and a half.

A Dubai-based luxury hotel chain created an “inside” experience, which allowed online visitors the opportunity to explore the hotel’s rooms and public spaces.

An experience must have its own unique KPIs to measure success. Some companies provide you with heat map-based analytics to determine where users are actually looking within the experience, so you can tell if users were looking at your product or got distracted within the VR world.

Many advertisers now are tackling this medium with caution as it has no benchmarks — yet — and considering how much would it cost to produce a VR video. But numbers prove this cost is reducing with the development of new VR devices and accessories to enhance the overall experience.

CBInsights — a market intelligence platform — and eMarketer estimates more than $1 billion being invested in VR companies during Q1-16, while Deutsche Bank estimates mobile VR users at 18 million in 2016 and reaching 53 million in 2017.

Search interest for VR on Google grew more than 800 per cent in the last year in UAE only. People are looking for the hardware, the media and more. These numbers matter in a country like the UAE where audiences are mobile-first.

They spend on average four hours daily online on a mobile, 47 per cent consider mobile as their most important device, and 86 per cent prefer to go online via mobile, according to polls.

A user survey by Magid Media showed that people are interested in all types of content to adopt VR experiences. Another survey by GWO showed that 39 per cent of internet users in MENA are interested in VR.

In a recent case study from by Google, they found that one advertiser’s 360-degree video drove viewers to share, subscribe and view other videos more than a standard video. So people won’t just recall your brand, they are also walking an extra mile for you by sharing your content.

But potential advertising capabilities are still in the exploration phase. Twenty-five per cent of publishers, agencies and advertisers believe that VR will affect their business in the next 12 months.

Ideas are unlimited; We can replicate traditional advertising within VR like showing 2D billboards (static ads) or even 2D videos within non-commercial VR content.

As unique as VR is, it creates opportunities for ad formats that don’t yet exist.

Before you start planning for a VR activation you have to be honest of what you can achieve with it and remember that we are blessed with a new medium in its exploration phase.

You can create a brand new experience for the consumer, where creativity in the execution is a key. Think about these questions before you start pitching VR.

If you are still worried about users’ attention span, you should consider an experience that can own the user’s full attention, visually and audibly.

The writer is a performance manager at an advertising agency.