With its exponentially faster speeds, 5G opens up a world of marketing opportunities

“What is 5G?” This has become one of the most commonly asked questions in consumer tech today as the new-generation network quickly expands in deployment and adoption.

Photo credit: jevanto / 123RF

In a nutshell, 5G is the fifth-generation technology standard for cellular/telecom infrastructures. It offers 10x the improvement over its 4G predecessor in areas such as peak speed, latency, and connectivity.

To put this tangibly, downloading a three-hour movie would take roughly 26 hours on 3G, six minutes on 4G, and less than four seconds on 5G.

Consequently, 5G and its revolutionary capabilities have enabled phenomena such as smart cities (e.g., smart homes and self-driving cars) and large-scale industrial changes (e.g., remote 3D surgery, drone services) to become a reality for the first time.

In the midst of it all, APAC has emerged as a global leader in 5G. South Korea, for one, launched the very first commercial 5G network back in 2019. Since then, eight other APAC countries have followed suit and another 12 have announced plans to do so in the coming months.

Additionally, telcos across the region are expected to invest roughly US$400 billion into 5G network development in the coming years, driving over 600 million 5G subscribers by 2025 – accounting for more than half of the world’s total 5G subscribers.

With the rapid growth in 5G deployment and user base come unparalleled and timely opportunities for companies around the region.

One such opportunity is the mass adoption of immersive marketing, which can revolutionize the way brands reach and engage with consumers through AR- or VR-driven campaigns. Imagine the following marketing efforts:

• Customers receiving auto-populating store or catalogue information on their phones via 3D-like visuals
• Users being allowed to try out products via VR (outfits, furniture, or even vacation packages)
• Companies scaling brand-specific immersive experiences/games to drive emotional connections and improve brand love and affinity

Business impact of immersive marketing

At its core, immersive marketing can significantly and directly contribute to business performance from both cost efficiency and revenue growth standpoints.

On the cost front, for example, launching an AR- or VR-driven immersive marketing campaign can actually be more affordable than placing a print ad in newspapers or magazines. A simple AR ad can cost just US$5,000 to develop, and even full-fledged 360-degree 3D videos often cost under US$10,000 to produce.

On the revenue growth front, immersive marketing can similarly affect businesses by:

Driving unprecedented user engagement. According to some studies, over 60% of shoppers innately prefer stores with AR experiences over those that don’t. Among users who have experienced immersive marketing, nearly three-fourths of them admitted to having spent more at the store as a direct result of the experience.

Running successful immersive marketing campaigns

Challenges