This month we have selected three of the best 360 video marketing campaigns from the charity sector. We look at the different techniques used in these campaigns to increase online engagement and reach across social media networks.

“The Source”, published on 30th November 2015, is a Facebook 360 video marketing campaign produced by Charity: Water, in partnership with Here Be Dragons. It is certainly one of the most successful social media campaigns within the charity sector, experienced in this user controlled format. It currently boasts over 1.6 million views, 33,600 likes, 12,900 shares and 1,500 comments. This significant online engagement and reach is, I believe, down to a combination of the user controlled format, a compelling narrative and innovative 360 degree camera placement.

The VR documentary tells a heart-wrenching, yet uplifting story of the day-to-day life of a 13 year old girl, Salem who lives in Ethiopia. Our ability to control where we look in the scene combined with Salem’s narration creates an intimate and personal content experience. Narrative driven 360 VR experiences trigger high levels of emotional and online engagement, according to research by YuMe and Nielson; it’s the perfect format for storytelling.

The 360 scene enables the viewer to look around and explore, resulting in a more personal experience that can be different at every time. We see 360 experiences having high repeat view rates because of this.

In the first half of the 360 video we learn about Salem’s struggle to find a balance between providing water for her family and pursuing her education. I believe that the format lends itself to generating greater empathy with Salem on a more deeper level compared to more traditional formats. The non-diegetic background music, in a minor key, also helps to strike our emotions and help us to communicate the severity of Salem’s circumstances.

At the end, we are relieved to find out that, thanks to Charity: Water, a clean water pump is conveniently installed, which completely transforms Salem’s lifestyle and her entire community. However, there are many other communities around the world who are suffering from natural disaster or poverty. So, it’s great to see charities like Charity: Water using the user controlled format to their advantage, in order to engage with more people on an emotional level and to raise awareness to drive more donations. The only way we can help out more communities is by donating to these important causes.

Watch the Facebook 360 video marketing campaign or the YouTube version below.

Keep an eye on camera placement which also helps to increase the online engagement in this 360 video marketing campaign and other successful social media campaigns. For example, near the beginning of the 360 campaign the 360 camera is placed in the murky water Salem has to collect from on a daily basis. The camera places us in a reluctant position that very few in developed countries have experienced; although we have control over where we look, we are frustratingly unable to stop Salem from collecting the bacteria-ridden water. I believe this triggers an emotional response within us, allowing us to sympathise and better understand the hardship Salem has to face. This therefore encourages us not only to continue viewing and controlling the 360 video marketing campaign right to the end, but also to engage with it by commenting, liking and sharing.

The “On the Brink of Famine” 360 video marketing campaign was released on 4th March 2016 by Frontline and The Brown Institute for Media Innovation and has so far received over 2.4 million views. In terms of online engagement, this ten minute experience has accumulated over 25,000 likes, over 11,000 shares and 1,200 comments. There is therefore no doubt that this VR documentary should be included under our most successful social media campaigns used in the charity sector.

In this 360 video marketing campaign we are transported to South Sudan to meet people fighting the devastating effects of man-made famine. Like the “The Source” VR documentary, the narrative driven experience in “On the Brink of Famine” works incredibly well in the 360 environment. Although the 360 video experience is incredibly jarring and hard to watch and interact with at times, it communicates the sense of the pain and suffering inflicted on the South Sudanese people by the famine.

I believe that the user controlled environment gives rise to a much deeper visceral experience than 2D content can offer and a key reason why this sometimes unsettling 360 video marketing campaign has experienced significant online engagement. People have shared, commented and liked “On the Brink of Famine” because they are motivated to do their part to raise awareness and increase donations. Many have commented how well such a tragic story works in the 360 environment and how well it does at bringing such a topic to light.

This 360 video marketing campaign has successfully used a number of techniques to maximise viewer engagement and time spent in the experience including text overlays, narration, experimental camera placement, 360 timelapse and tight editing to do just that.

View the Facebook 360 video marketing campaign or view on YouTube below.

The 360 video marketing campaign was shot with GoPro 3+ cameras, using Freedom 360 and Hero 360 rigs. The editing and stitching was done using the Autopano software suite. Learn more about the making of “On the Brink of Famine” by viewing the behind the scenes footage below.

The “Too Much Information” 360 video marketing campaign was published on Facebook on 9th June 2016 by the National Autistic Society with creative agency, Don’t Panic. It has so far accumulated 283,000 views, and in terms of online engagement, over 2,600 likes, 3,640 shares and 374 comments. Successful social media campaigns give you an instant reason to engage, and this is exactly what this 360 VR experience does.

The “Too Much Information” campaign was designed to raise awareness for autism; many people have heard of autism but very few truly understand it. Don’t Panic felt that VR was the perfect tool to address this issue.

The “Too Much Information” campaign puts you in the shoes of Alex; a ten year old child with autism. The aim of the 360 experience and techniques used in this campaign is to teach us to understand the effects of autism. From the young child’s perspective, we stand in a shopping centre and experience the deep anxiety that the child is experiencing.

As we look around the scene we are made to feel uneasy. Sounds of rustling bags, keys, spilt drinks and footsteps are amplified and distorted. We look down and we are nervously fidgeting with a soft toy. No matter where we look, our vision is obstructed and blurred with flashing lights. We hear our breathing rate increase, our eyelids flutter, and soon we’re gasping for air, before the screen goes blank, signalling an anxiety induced black-out.

This was the first time the effects of autism had been addressed in virtual reality. Also, according to Don’t Panic, the 360 VR experience was ‘hailed as accurate and insightful as a portrayal of autism by the general public and the autistic community alike’.

The 360 video experience was distributed on the National Autistic Society app, Google Play Store, and on social media. The NAS also partnered with intu shopping centres so that the general public could experience the 360 VR campaign in a headset; over 30,000 people experienced it in these shopping centres. According to Don’t Panic, it was a star piece at political party conferences and specialist events, and there were even Google Cardboard packs created for schools, with lesson plans and materials. CBeebies also filmed a special show with Alex and his classmates using the VR experience as part of their ‘Operation Ouch!’ series.

View the Facebook 360 video marketing campaign or watch on YouTube below.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for more successful social media campaigns in 360 and learn how to increase online engagement.