• by Michael McLaren , Op-Ed Contributor, December 9, 2021

“Mixed reality” was the most-consumed topic of the past week by brand marketers, as measured by Bombora Company Surge. Per Wikipedia, mixed reality (MR), often referred to as hybrid reality, is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. It is a mix of reality and virtual reality, encompassing both augmented reality and augmented virtuality via immersive technology (think Instagram filters). 

College football fans will have seen mixed reality tech on display with the promotion of Halo Infinite during the Oregon Ducks football game Thanksgiving weekend. A projection of a vehicle used in the popular video game came swooping onto the field before flashing logos for Halo Infinite and the University of Oregon. The MR demonstration was on display on the big screen at Autzen Stadium — the largest in college football — and shared online. With frequent appearances during large-scale sporting events, sports marketers can capture the attention of millions of fans in one go. Mixed reality can keep large audiences engaged with a brand in a new way.

Shifting gears, the intent data also shows “demand planning” was also up this week among brand marketers. Demand planning is a multi-step operational supply chain management (SCM) process used to create reliable forecasts. Effective demand planning can guide users to improve the accuracy of revenue forecasts, align inventory levels with peaks and troughs in demand, and enhance profitability for a given channel or product. Implementing demand planning can also help drive cohesion and alignment while using insights to refine outdated internal processes.  Being able to understand customer demand and balance your investments measured against aligned corporate and functional goals will help agile organizations find success in 2022.