I’m sure you don’t have to look far to find that person in the office that chalks off virtual reality (VR) as a trend that’s here today and gone tomorrow. But here’s the thing. With sales in VR tech projected to reach $1 billion by end-of-year, VR is on a very 'real' mainstream trajectory. In fact, within fortune 500 marketing circles, many execs have already placed the wager.

Okay, fair enough. Your corporate stance may not warrant being an early adopter. However, here are four compelling reasons to monitor and integrate VR within your strategy over the next five to ten years.

#1: The VR of Today is Only the Beginning.

"…VR is no longer just for the gamers."

As a litmus test, it never hurts to monitor how the market influencers are investing in VR, both in terms of patent filings and acquisitions. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, Samsung, Microsoft and Sony are leading the charge as top patent filers with the United States, South Korea and China geographically considered the most active.

Looking at acquisitions, let’s not forget about that $2 billion Facebook investment in Oculus VR and Google’s lead investment role ($542 million) in Magic Leap.

What does this all mean? It suggests that the VR technology of today is only the beginning. As early movers continue to develop infrastructure, it’ll be quite evident that VR is no longer just for the gamers.

#2: The App Race Is Where It's At.

"Hardware Gets Us to the start line. The app race is where things get Interesting."

The early days of VR could be said to closely mirror that of the personal computer; highly expensive, oversized and limited to a select few. That said, while we still have a ways to go, the VR hardware of today is evolving like never before. Designs are becoming increasingly user-friendly as well as cost-effective (Google Cardboard being a best in class example); ultimately, stimulating appeal and market adoption.

But wait. There's much more to the story. The real frontier is still to come - apps. For all intensive purposes, think of it the same way as smartphones; just with a slower adoption. Hardware gets us to the start line. The app race is where things get interesting. By 2020, it’s anticipated that the VR software industry will reach $50 billion in revenue. As app barriers continue to decrease, this media will inevitably see considerable uptake by organizations looking to heighten brand experience and service delivery.

#3: If Customer Perception Is as Good as Reality, VR Just Makes Sense.

I'm sure that your Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) would agree that customer perception is in most cases equal to, if not more important than, reality. Often, what a customer sees, hears and feels while interacting with a brand, is taken as truth.

With this premise, VR just makes sense. It has the ability to cater to these senses and build stronger and more meaningful customer interactions. Just another feather in the cap for this emerging tech.

"A little more appealing than that one way trip to Mars, wouldn’t you say?"

Goldman Sachs seems to share this sentiment as they've mapped out nine key applications where they see VR and augmented reality making a serge by 2025. Beyond gaming, healthcare, engineering and live events, are all projected to have a large slice of the pie.

The sky is clearly no longer a limit. Just think of the VR opportunities for space exploration. A little more appealing than that one way trip to Mars, wouldn’t you say?

Moreover, here are some other interesting applications on the experiential marketing side of things.

The North Face - The North Face integrated VR into their Manhaton retail environment as a way to engage customers through a lifestyle-based brand experience. With the magic of VR, customers could tryout gear by hiking, rock-climbing and base-jumping in Yosemite, all without leaving the store!

Volvo Car Corporation - Using Google Cardboard, Volvo leveraged VR to launch its all new XC 90 SUV. By simply downloading a smartphone app, 'soon to be customers' experienced a virtual test-drive of the highly anticipated model before it hit the streets. This is particularly noteworthy, as Volvo was the first automotive brand to create a VR experience with Google Cardboard. Check out their behind the scenes video for the campaign.

Game of Thrones - Within Hollywood, the examples continue. HBO developed a Game of Thrones VR (Oculus Rift) exhibit that was seen worldwide, including in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Oslo, Toronto, Vancouver, Belfast and Sydney. The exhibit attracted over 175,000 visitors.

Residential Real Estate - Several strides are also being made within the real estate space. I personally know residential development execs working on a promising VR strategy as we speak. Sorry, no spoilers. However, I’ll be sure to ‘Like’ their announcement when it goes public.

#4: Early Adopters Are Chiming-In with Lessons Learned.

As experience is the best teacher, marketers all over the world are taking the opportunity to meet, share and learn from early VR experiences. Take for example the VR for Global Brands marketing conference in New York and London. Pepsico, Budweiser, FOX Sports and Ford Motor Company, are all chiming-in on their lessons learned across a variety of topics.

Pepsico - Leveraging VR to Complement and Enhance a Cohesive Brand Narrative
Budweiser - Which Products / Services Can Benefit From a VR Marketing Campaign
FOX Sports - Why Use VR
Ford Motor Company - How a Virtual Test Drive Drove Customers to Buy

Moreover, Austin’s SXSW Interactive festival is no exception. This past March, they had an exhibit solely dedicated to VR and augmented reality.

Here are just a few more places where VR is the topic of strategic conversation.
> Consumer VR Conference & Expo | Vancouver
> Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference & Expo | Toronto
> Virtual Reality Summit | New York
> CE Week | New York
> Immersive Technology Conference (ITC) | Houston
> Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality Innovation | London
> Develop VR 2016 | London
> 3D & Virtual Reality Expo (IVR) | Tokyo
> AR Conference 2016 | Moscow
> Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality (SVR) | Gramado

4 Reasons to Integrate VR within Your Strategy