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VIRTUAL REALITY BREAKS THROUGH IN HEALTHCARE MARKETINGIt’s not just gamers who love VR: Providers and brands look to VR to transform communications and care in the healthcare arena

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Virtual reality is coming of age, and not simply because VR headsets were among the hottest and most heavily promoted holiday gifts last December. Some of the

world’s top technology brands, including Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Samsung, and Sony, have made massive investments in VR development and promo-tion. ABI Research projects that 110 million VR devices will ship by 2021.

VR creates a vivid and immersive experience for the user through a natural and intuitive interface.

Slip on a VR headset and you’re in a distraction-free virtual environment where it is easy to learn and absorb new information. By closing off the outside world for a few precious minutes, VR delivers experi-ences impossible to replicate with a static video or a smartphone app. Even a full-size physical mockup cannot take an audience into a completely controlled environment anywhere, at any time, the way VR can.

Some VR environments are enhanced theater experiences, where the headset plays an immersive, but non-interactive, video that stimulates the senses more than even the biggest theater screen can. Others simulate fully realized, intricately patterned 3D environments in which every gesture and move-ment prompt reactions in the virtual world.

Depending on the technology, some VR experienc-es track head movement to put viewers in a true first-person perspective. Others add a handheld controller or positional tracking, which lets users walk, stand, sit, or crouch, affecting their experience of the virtual landscape accordingly.

For pharmaceutical and medical device brands, VR is a uniquely powerful communications channel. VR offers more than simply another way to explain the mechanism of action of a new therapy. It can transport practitioners directly to the site of action, where they can see molecular science unfold. It can radically alter perspectives by providing firsthand experience of what life with a particular medical condition is actually like for the patient.

Read on to learn why virtual reality is pharma’s next compelling digital disrupter for engagement, education, and promotion.

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C O N T E N T S

VR’s Impact in Healthcare

Real-World Successes in Virtual Reality

Challenges Facing VR Adoption in Pharma Marketing

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, CONSUMERS, AND INVESTORS ARE ALL BULLISH ABOUT THE USE OF VR IN THE MEDICAL ARENA BY J A S O N C O M P T O N

7 Claim Leadership in the VR Arena

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Healthcare practitioners need no con-vincing that VR has tremendous power and potential to transform care. They are already believers. The University of Southern California is launching a virtual care clinic that includes the use of VR technology — along with wearables, apps, augmented reality, and predictive analytics — to enable healthcare provid-ers to create centers of care for patients regardless of location.

Hospitals are already experimenting with immersive VR experiences as pain- management techniques, distracting seriously injured patients from real-world agony by occupying their minds in a virtual land. Work is also under way to develop VR as a therapeutic option for anxiety disorders, for example, providing a safely simulated but sufficiently realistic environment for exposure therapy.

In fact, the majority of physicians are quite eager to learn about VR. According to a Decision Resources Group study, 60% of U.S. physicians are interested in using VR for training and CME or at

medical conferences. More than 50% would like to use the technology to learn about new treatments and conditions.

Today, 18% of U.S. physicians have already used VR professionally; that number will grow as VR becomes more closely linked with the medical education process. For example, surgical trainees can currently experience dozens of com-plex time-critical scenarios through using high-end VR equipment.

That strong interest will quickly fuel adoption and growth. A report by Global Industry Analysts projects that the world-wide market for healthcare VR will likely reach $3.8 billion by 2020.

This clear acceptance makes VR an ideal channel for both provider and patient communications.

VR-based marketing is already here in a serious way, and not just for the largest or most tech-savvy brands. For 2017, IDC Research expects that 30% of the consumer-oriented Fortune 5000 will conduct marketing trials in either augmented or virtual reality.

VR’S IMPACT IN HEALTHCARE

The State of Augmented RealityAugmented reality, which combines live real-world images with overlaid graphics, has tremendous potential to reshape the way we interact with every-day objects and experiences. Wearable displays like Google Glass provided a select few a sneak peek at the potential future of AR. These wearable heads-up displays provide enhanced data and

insights about the world around us or let us control and interact with our personal devices by using eye and head gestures.

In the coming years, AR will continue to evolve and be refined into a ready-for-prime-time medium. IDC Research projects that by year’s end, 25% of enter-prise IT groups will experiment with augmented reality.

Because AR is not fully immersive, it can prove more difficult for marketers to control the storytelling experience. Many modern AR environments require a user to be engaged enough with physical marketing collateral to take out their phone and open a dedicated app in order to experience more. These seams in the process make AR engage-ment more challenging than conven-tional media without providing the fully immersive controlled quality that VR can deliver.

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REAL-WORLD SUCCESSES IN VIRTUAL REALITYPioneers in pharmaceutical VR marketing are already enjoying strong success and making lasting connections with key constituents

Because VR takes over an audience’s field of vision entirely, it is particularly well suited to powerful ophthalmological mes-saging. A drugmaker recently wanted to go beyond the usual collateral and offer practitioners the chance to connect with patient experiences in very person-al and highly accurate simulation of a particular type of retinal condition with significant vision loss.

“We knew that some of our doctors could take a more patient-centric view if they experienced the symptoms them-selves,” said the brand’s global marketing director. “We realized that VR could show doctors everything the patient expe riences: black spots, wavy and dis-torted vision, grayness, and blurring.”

Working with digital agency Pixacore, the drugmaker created a VR experience that showed a simulated environment through the eyes of a patient with the degenerative condition.

“Within seconds of slipping on the VR headset, practitioners could see, firsthand, how the condition manifests itself,” explained Sanjiv Mody, Pixacore CEO. “Within just a few minutes they understood how the condition impacted common everyday tasks.”

Added Ben Voss, Pixacore CTO, “It was a brand-new approach to commu-nicating benefits, not just the same old slides and brochures. It gave doctors something new to engage with.”

The simulation was introduced at a worldwide practitioner congress and drew significant provider interest. “We started with the pull marketing approach at the congress, where we attracted a lot of signups to participate in the VR experience,” the brand’s marketing head noted. “Doctors were excited to engage with us in a new way, and it was a very strong and successful starting point for our use of VR.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF TUMOR SHRINKAGEA pharma brand with a treatment for multiple cancer indications wanted to help practitioners connect firsthand with the importance of tumor shrinkage for an aggressive type of lung cancer that has a poor prognosis. The condition has a harsher and more significant impact on basic functions like breathing than most types of lung cancer.

From simulating playground expe-rience to refining at-home kitchen techniques, VR offers a newly immersive learning opportunity

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The brand collaborated with Pixa-core to develop a detailed virtual reality tour demonstrating the impact of these tumors and the potential for treatment. “We wanted a VR experience that would let a professional go inside the lung and see how these tumors impinge on central airways, why they’re aggressive and hard to treat, and how they impact daily life,” said the brand’s product manager.

The VR simulation provides a detailed realistic simulation of the unique fea-tures of squamous tumors in patients. By demonstrating the mechanism of action, practitioners can see the systemic impact, and the relief, from tumor shrinkage.

When the VR experience was launched at a practitioner congress, the brand hoped to draw at best 150 users. “By the time the congress closed, more than 350

professionals had tried the simulation, 98% of whom stayed in the experience to the end,” said Mody. On average each practitioner engaged with the simulation for longer than four and a half minutes.

“It’s difficult to earn foot traffic and engagement at congresses. Even a small crowd is considered positive,” the prod-uct manager noted. “We were pleased with the number of people drawn to the experience who wanted to sit down with us and go through the VR experience.”

After that strong success, the brand equipped 100 field sales representatives with VR headsets for practitioner visits.

“We’ve been successful in the field with the VR headsets and have heard from several reps asking us to expand our VR experiences for other indications,” the product manager said.

CASE STUDY: Patient EducationAfter successes with other VR simulations, one oncology brand is working with Pixacore to develop VR educational environments for patients and caregivers dealing with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer is a particularly challenging condition to understand at diagno-sis. Although many people realize that pancreatic cancer carries a poor prognosis, the importance and even the location of the pancreas are not well understood.

“I could line up 100 people and ask them to point at their pancreas, and likely no one would know,” said the brand’s product manager.

Information imparted by the physician at the time of pancreatic- cancer diagnosis can be difficult to process and retain. “Nine times out of 10, patients are just nodding along, because they’re too busy trying to process the news,” he said. “There are treatment decisions to be made that will affect the rest of their life, but a physician sketching a few outcomes on a pad and walking off doesn’t help patients put their condition into context.”

By explaining the many functions of the pancreas, and how tumors af-fect it as well as surrounding tissue and organs, the VR simulation will help patients better understand how and why the disease will progress and what effect treatments can have. “It’s important that we keep the educational materials relatable enough that everyone can under-stand them,” he said. “The visual medium of VR helps everyone under stand important messages.”

When viewed through the VR lens, patients and physicians stand to gain insight and understanding of complex physiological conditions

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bigger commitment to your message than would be achieved by glancing at a brochure, scrolling through email, or watching a video on a screen.

• Wide range of prices and capabil-ities: There is no single dominant VR hardware, and the price–performance ratio varies. Marketers can control the experience, but that can prove costly.

• Defining new metrics: The science of measuring VR engagement and intent is still in its early days. Traditional media metrics are not fully applicable, so both brands and media partners need to be nimble and prepared to challenge their own expectations and assumptions when assessing the success of VR campaigns.

CHALLENGES FACING VR ADOPTION IN PHARMA MARKETINGInnovation has always been both a chal-lenge and an asset in healthcare commu-nications. Significant regulatory controls and limited availability of healthcare pro-fessionals make innovation difficult –– but necessary ––– to break through clutter.

• Shaking up the status quo: While VR is such a dramatic departure that some will be reluctant to embrace it, there is strong evidence that healthcare providers are eager to interact with VR experiences.

• Mastering VR storytelling: The tech-nological barriers to shooting 360-degree video or even creating a 3D landscape are relatively trivial. However, VR requires a new style of storytelling in order to be effective. Head-mounted video with traditional voice-over does not define the VR experience. The skills to create such experiences in VR are different from those for traditional print, broadcast, or digital media. Dedicated VR creative talent is essential to lasting success, particularly for interactive scenarios that need different outcomes based on user actions. User experience experts need to work side by side with storytellers to be sure that the experience not only looks good, but also makes intuitive sense to the audience.

• Understanding the needs of the audience: Putting someone in a VR environment creates an extremely per-sonal connection. By putting on a VR headset, an individual makes a much

“Within seconds of slipping on the VR headset, practitioners could see, firsthand, how the degenerative condition manifests itself. Within just a few minutes they understood how the condition impacted common everyday tasks”

Sanjiv Mody, Pixacore

VR bends learning curves to fresh angles, providing students of every age group the chance to plumb new depths of analytical comprehension

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Augmented reality: A digital experience, typically experienced through handheld or head-mounted screens or translucent displays, which supplements the real world with graphics, animation, or data. AR devices create the illusion that the computer-generated images are actually part of the real world.

Goggles, head-mounted display (HMD), headset, visor: Roughly interchangeable terms for the apparatus you look into for a VR expe-rience. Typically made snug with a headband, or held up to the face. Some goggles have their own video screens and either rely on built-in computing power or interface with a nearby computer. Other goggle designs are purely mechanical and cradle a smartphone with the result that the smartphone screen becomes the VR display.

Haptics: Tactile feedback associated with a virtual experience, familiar to anyone whose smartphone has ever rumbled when tapped in order to simulate a mechanical keyboard. Haptics are not specific to VR, but haptic equipment can provide a more immersive VR experience by creating physical feedback to tie in with visuals.

Head tracking: The ability to sense the direction and angle a user is facing and update the image to follow. Almost every modern VR headset offers at least a basic version of this feature.

Mobile VR headset: Refers specifically to a VR headset designed to cradle a mobile phone, which then provides video to the wearer. Mobile headsets are typically less expensive than stand-alone head-

sets, making them easier to distribute far and wide. Not all mobile phones are powerful enough to power a VR experience, however. Some mobile VR headsets are simple and inexpensive, including basic clip-on lenses and Google Cardboard, a visor — literally made of cardboard — that holds a mobile phone. On the high end there are elaborate feature-rich wearable cradles like the Samsung Gear VR. Cardboard-type VR cradles are often not tracked or forecast by market analysts and observers because they generate little revenue and many designs are inherently disposable.

Positional tracking: A capability most commonly found in higher- end VR headsets that senses when a wearer walks and adjusts the experience accordingly. In healthcare, positional tracking is useful for day-in-the-life simulations. Today, positional tracking requires an outside camera or a special laser system.

360-degree video: A video recorded by special panoramic cameras. As the video plays, the user can turn to see a different view. As such, 360-degree videos are typically more immersive when viewed through a VR headset, but can also be experienced on a typical phone screen, computer monitor, or television set.

Virtual reality (VR): A digital experience, typically experienced through a headset, that creates a completely immersive experience for the user. In this scenario, the VR experience completely uproots and replaces the “real” world.

Terms to Know

CLAIM LEADERSHIP IN THE VR ARENAIn a nutshell: No interruptions, no out-side concerns, no distractions. Virtual reality has the power to build empathy, to illustrate complex concepts in an intuitive setting, and to radically change the way people think about healthcare through first-person experiences.

Now is the time to consider VR as part of the pharmaceutical marketing mix. The already-strong uptake of VR technology by medical professionals, combined with

a groundswell of enthusiasm for VR among consumers, makes 2017 the year to claim a leadership position.

Virtual reality connects doctors and patients with treatment options in ways no other media can touch. Turning your brand into a VR leader takes an agency like Pixacore, which has an in-depth understanding of the demands of the healthcare market and the intricacies of creating compelling VR experiences.

“A new approach to communicating benefits, not just the same old slides and brochures. VR gives doctors something new to engage with”

Ben Voss, Pixacore

There’s nothing virtual about the impactPartner with Virtual Reality experts at PIXACORE to make measurable innovation a reality.

At PIXACORE, Virtual Reality is just one of the many innovative ways we bring your brand’s story to life. With more than 15 years of multichannel expertise and dedicated R&D staff, we’re redefining what it means to engage your customers. Partner with PIXACORE to make measurable innovation a reality.

P. 646.688.2782 www.pixacore.com

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