• by Nina Lentini  @Nina_Lentini, November 10, 2019

The Challenge

Nissan wanted potential buyers to learn more about it technology that keeps drivers safer. 

The Execution

Critical Mass Agency created Tech Drive VR, which allows users to test out Nissan’s high-tech safety features in situations that replicate real-life dangers—hazards and near misses of all kinds. And since danger can come from any direction, the 360-degree experience allows a very real, driver’s seat perspective as the car reacts to dangers that a driver wouldn’t have seen. 

Tech Drive VR allows users to experience how it feels when technology saves the day. With a 360, virtual reality experience, the brand put technology to the test in ways no test drive ever has. Using a custom-built 360 camera rig, it dropped people right into the action—behind the wheel and on the street—to give users a genuine, interactive feel for how the Altima’s safety features work. 

To enhance authenticity, Tech Drive was shot live, in a real car, on real streets, with threats as close as they would be in real life. Tech Drive VR has been accessible on VR headsets at over 300 Nissan dealerships and events as well as on Microsoft Xboxes. 

It’s an industry-first React360 beta that put the 360 test drive right in one's Facebook feed and other social media platforms. 

The VR experience also launched at dealerships and auto events around North America in December of 2018—including the LA Auto Show, Detroit Auto Show, Chicago Auto Show, New York Auto Show, Toronto Auto Show, and over 300 Nissan Dealerships.

The Results

100 million video impressions

Key Takeaways

• New, innovative channels like VR are viable media channels, as well as effective marketing tools.

• Critical Mass Agency says if it had to do it over, it would "make it more interactive to translate into immersion. On our next go, we’ll give people more control over the virtual tour to pull them in even deeper."

• Tech Drive VR confirmed there is an appetite for high-engagement content and platforms. The agency says it can take this insight into future campaigns where experiential technology is key to engaging consumers in unique ways. 

• People experience VR at their own pace, so give them that freedom! Consider the full 360° landscape when designing immersive experiences, using visual and audio cues to guide people’s attention without taking away their autonomy within the experience.

This campaign won the Video: Facebook category in MediaPost's September 2019 OMMA Awards.