Virtual reality (VR) is an emerging technology with a fragmented market. In the Dutch VR industry, the most active segments are entertainment, marketing and promotion, and education and training. The document identifies these two segments as most interesting for further analysis. For marketing, VR allows immersive product demonstrations that engage consumers when traditional products are expensive, unique, immobile, or their dimensions are important. For training, VR can safely simulate dangerous environments and offers customizable training at a lower cost than traditional methods. However, both segments currently face challenges such as high production costs, limited consumer adoption of VR devices, and technical limitations of VR videos.

1. VIRTUAL
REALITY

2. Trend ReportIntroduction
Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that is still in its infancy
and lacks a market standard. Different devices (e.g., HTC Vive,
Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift) allow for different
affordances, ranging from the high accessibility provided by
the Google Cardboard to the full motion capture of the HTC
Vive. This results in a highly fragmented market. Within the
Dutch VR industry, segments with the highest business
activity are: entertainment, marketing and promotion, and
education and training, respectively. While many VR
businesses maintain activities within multiple segments and
multiple media platforms (e.g., augmented reality, mixed
reality), there are no obvious big players within the Dutch VR
industry yet. However, notable players are: Jaunt,
Mediamonks, VR-Expert, Visyon, and BeeldenFabriek.
By means of five in-depth interviews, Josh Kaufman’s
framework of market attractiveness and an extensive
literature review, we evaluated different segments within the
Dutch VR industry and their entry barriers. These interviews
were held with VR industry professionals from different fields
(healthcare, entertainment, training, etc.). Afterwards, we
outlined these results in an industry trend report, and
identified key findings and recommendations, which will all be
discussed here. Based on this, the segments of corporate
training and marketing have been found to be two of the most
interesting in the Dutch market right now. Detailed insights
into these segments can be found on the next page.
by Nicole Leeflang, Tomáš Titěra,
Joost Bremmers and Jannick Frömming
Within a B2B setting, VR provides added value only in a few
market segments. Based on our research into the activities of
key players in the VR industry, we have identified eight viable
market segments: entertainment, marketing and promotion,
education and training, internal communication, engineering,
cultural sector, healthcare, and journalism. Figure 1 indicates
which of the segments are the most competitive at the
moment, based on the number of companies that are active in
each segment in the Dutch market. We observed that the
highest number of companies are active in the fields of
entertainment, marketing and promotion, and education and
training/internal communication. Many of these companies
are active in more than one field.
An interesting pattern that emerged from our interviews is
the companies’ intention to provide a full-scale
one-stop-shop solution to their customers. This encompasses
concept development, execution and distribution, as well as
providing additional services (maintenance, server storage,
renting out VR devices, staffing for events, etc.). This indicates
that companies specializing in VR need to master various skills
and techniques. Moreover, a high upfront investment to cover
all the associated costs is needed when entering the market.
Archivision
Artishock
Beeldenfabriek
BNN-VARA
Cardboard Owl
Cool Minds
DigitasLBI
Force Field
Jaunt VR
Media Monks
The Shoebox Diorama
Twinsense360
UnitVR/Unit040
Vertigo Games
Virtual Dutch Men
Virtual Reality Business
Visyon
VPRO Medialab
VR Master
VR-producties
WeMakeVR
Guerilla Games
Marketing
& Promotion Entertainment
Education
& Training
Internal
Communication
Engineering
OVERVIEW DUTCH MARKET
Fig. 1
1

3. Key Findings
MARKETING
Marketing is a key segment of interest for Quadia. VR
marketing is one of the most lucrative segments we identified,
with many companies already implementing this technology.
Almost three quarters of marketing professionals in the
Benelux increased their digital marketing budget in 2016, and
this money tends to go to new ways to surprise customers3
.
For VR to provide an added value for marketing, there are
four conditions that must be met: the product must be
expensive, unique, immobile or difficult to move, and it must
benefit from being projected in three dimensions where
depth is relevant.
TRAINING
Although VR training has not yet been proven to enhance
long-term retention, in the short run, it has shown to be an
effective tool in improving learning outcomes. In situations
where training settings are costly or difficult to recreate, VR
could be a viable option. It allows for a high degree of
customization of training environments, and offers a solution
that does not intrude on a company’s ongoing operations.
Considering the $130 billion worldwide market for emplo-
yee education and training6
, VR could be used to safely
simulate dangerous working environments such as nuclear
power plants or jobs where operating heavy machinery is
“Almost three quarters of marketing
professionals in the Benelux increased
their digital marketing budget in 2016.”
“$130 billion worldwide market for
employee education and training.”
Creating complex VR learning environments still requires
larger budgets than traditional learning material, and are
more complex to program7
. Yet, in the long run, possible
licensing of such training environments and adaptation to
different clients could yield a reasonable recurring profit for
content creators, especially when taking into account the
time and effort clients save by reducing risks that emerge
with real-life training. Adding to that, organizing regular
training sessions with instructors, equipment and appropriate
surroundings is much more costly than providing employees
with a VR learning environment.
3. Digital Marketing Trends in the Benelux
https://www.sitecore.net/company/blog/
450/2016-digital-marketing-trends-in-the-
benelux-4171
4. Is 360 Video Worth It?
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/articles/
360-video-advertising.html
5. Für wen sich Virtual-Reality-Marketing wirklich lohnt
https://www.wuv.de/marketing/fuer_wen_sich_
virtual_reality_marketing_wirklich_lohnt
6. Spending on Corporate Training Soars
https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2014/
02/04/the-recovery-arrives-corporate-training-
spend-skyrockets/#c5a736dc5a73
7. Look Before You Leap into Virtual Reality for
Corporate Training
https://www.trainingindustry.com/learning-
technologies/articles/look-before-you-leap-
into-virtual-reality-for-corporate-training.aspx
3
Some examples of products and establishments which would
benefit from this type of marketing would be museums which
want to show more of their collections, manufacturers
showing large prototypes of objects such as high-end cars, or
showcasing hotel rooms to interested guests. Using VR this
way provides numerous opportunities: it can save companies
time and money and can portray dimensions better than
regular video. Also, according to marketing experts, consu-
mers are more likely to engage with VR content4
, which
reflects positively on sales. On the other hand, there are
hurdles which must be overcome. Most of the work in this
segment is project-based and highly competitive. Moreover, a
large constraint is that only few consumers possess a VR
device5
. Lastly, it is currently not possible to produce and
exhibit non-animated VR videos in high quality. This is an
issue, since high definition videos are a priority.