Blend Media launches world’s first Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality freelancer marketplace – Blend Market
Immersive content platform to connect businesses with a global community of thousands of creative professionals, content and solutions
Blend MediaBlend Media, the leading immersive content provider which counts Facebook, Google, Disney and L’Oreal amongst its clients, today announces the launch of Blend MarketBlend Market, a new single platform that connects brands and businesses with skilled creators and creative solutions.
Blend Market is the first immersive marketplace dedicated to connecting clients with a global community of thousands of skilled creators and solution-providers with hundreds of relevant skills across the entire Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), 3D and Mixed Reality (MR) spectrum.
The launch follows a successful beta phase during which more than 700 of the world’s leading brands and immersive technology creators signed up to the service, including global media platforms, publishers, music labels, film studios and professional services firms such as Deloitte, LADbible and Bill Kenwright Limited.
Joe Williams, Immersive Tech Lead at LADbible Group: “For the creation of our branded Snapchat AR lens it was important to tap into content trends. We wanted to ensure we had access to creators that were growing their immersive skills and abilities and could match our ambition for the project. By putting our brief on Blend Market we were able to match our project with the best possible creator and the result was outstanding.”
Officially rolling out today, the platform’s mission is to make immersive content, creators and solutions accessible to everyone. A scalable proprietary marketplace, Blend Market’s features include:
Project brief builder, guiding clients through the immersive briefing process
Real-time chat for messaging and project communication
File sharing for contracts, quotes and project deliverables
Automated project workflow including payments, milestones, and approvals
Creator portfolios
Client and creator reviews
Automation of the procurement process
Project referral programme
The global immersive market is forecast to grow rapidly to over $145bn by 2025, according to management consultancy LEK, with expansion driven by significant investment from major platforms including Facebook, Microsoft, HTC and Apple amongst others; declining technology costs; the emergence of 5G; and new working practices – including virtual meetings, conferences and training, resulting from COVID-19 restrictions.
Use cases for immersive technologies are wide-ranging and are evolving at pace; from 3D models of sofas, plants and kitchens for online retailers; AR filters and games for entertainment brands; XR learning in the classroom and boardroom; Enterprise training and human resources; 360 property, car, and hotel tours; to VR content in healthcare for dementia patients, during surgery, or training nurses.
“Immersive technology, or Extended Reality as it has become known, is an exciting, high-growth industry, with an explosion in hundreds of thousands of skilled creators. However, it is also a sector that is highly fragmented and, as such, requires an effective means of connecting,” said Blend Media Founder and CEO Damian Collier.
“That’s why we first built our VR content licensing platform which has been a market leader since 2016 and why we’ve now built and launched Blend Market, to facilitate working relationships between businesses wishing to incorporate immersive solutions into their workflows and the creative professionals that can execute on those ambitions on a global scale. We look forward to enabling these fruitful partnerships through this new online marketplace.”
Use cases for immersive technologies are wide-ranging and are evolving at pace; from 3D models of sofas, plants and kitchens for online retailers; AR filters and games for entertainment brands; XR learning in the classroom, enterprise training and human resources uses; 360 property, car, and hotel tours; to VR content in healthcare for dementia patients, during surgery, or training nurses.
Trenton Holland, Deloitte Tax, LLP: “We’ve had a great experience collaborating with the Blend Market team for our 360 VR content. The platform has been a fantastic tool to leverage crowdsourced footage and third-party filmmakers. As a result, we co-created highly customized content that aligns with our branding and style requirements and at a lower cost than we could before.”
Find out more about Blend Market here or contact us at hello@blend.media
