Analyzing the Impact of Virtual Reality in the Beer Industry

This report delves into the transformative impact of Virtual Reality (VR) on the beer industry. It explores how VR can influence sensory experiences, such as enhancing the perceived taste of beer through immersive videos and 3D product displays. The report outlines three key areas of VR integration: influencing sensory taste, offering 3D product views, and acting as a virtual companion. It also discusses the ethical and regulatory considerations, including cultural acceptability and adherence to advertising laws. The report analyzes the communication process within the beer industry, highlighting how VR can create flexible environments and streamline marketing efforts, with detailed diagrams comparing traditional and VR-enhanced communication processes. It concludes by emphasizing the potential for VR to enhance consumer engagement and drive market expansion.

Running head: IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
Part: Brainstorming
The experience of immersive and stimulated environment, detached from the real world is
known as Virtual Reality. Virtual Reality is becoming a significant part of various industries.
Although beer and Virtual Reality is nowhere used in the same sentence but with the increasing
application of technological implementations, Virtual Reality may reflect presence in almost
every sector of business.
Three ways by which virtual reality can transform the beer industry are as follows:
 Influencing the sensory taste: Creating a Virtual Reality video of how beer is
manufactured can transform the whole tasting experience of the beer variant. The video
content can be about a dense forestry, which connects to the sensory receptor of the brain,
the transformation of the weather or sunrise transforming to sunset can effectively add
sweetness in the taste of the beer. Virtual Reality in beer industry will help demonstrating
the range of ingredients, the process as well as the efforts of the brewers in making that
one class of beer. The process of incorporating manufacturing videos can influence the
image of the beer brand and may result in an improved taste. Improved taste can reflect
positive impact on the consumer loyalty and overall comprehensive experience.
 3D view of product ranges: Demonstration of options with the application of Virtual
Reality can help the consumers to develop a better understanding of the beer quality than
looking at a traditional product display. The liberty of understanding the taste of products
with the association of experiencing as well as the understanding the ranges with
holographic images can turn the whole experience of the consumers.
 Act like a companion: Virtual Reality content can be proved as a medium of presenting
the provision of a companion. In a situation where an individual is drinking alone in the
beer bar and miss the element of fun and companionship, will be able to have the
provision of relishing the video content. The video content can be designed in a way,

2IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
which can present a ‘virtual reality’ of the presence of companion. Therefore, the
consumer experience will be enhanced by the means of developing the emotional
quotient of the consumers.
 Colour effect- The products offerings of the beer business may have different tint of
colours in the composition as well as it can influence the consumer psychological
behaviour of tasting a specific beer variant. The depiction of colours through the VR
content can transform the taste of the product to the optimum level.
 Flexible environment- The virtual reality application can contribute towards the
construction of flexible environment while offering beer to the consumer. The consumers
can request for the kind of environment they want to be in and the businesses operating
with the application of Virtual Reality can offer the content without the need of changing
the physical environment of the beer bar. This can lead to a cost effective way of
influencing the buying behaviour of the consumer by customizing the offerings in regards
with the overall consumer behaviour. The Virtual Reality content can be customized to
anything from the environment of a gaming zone to consuming beer at the sea shore. The
options are endless with the association of the cost effectiveness and quality product
offerings.
Part: Regulation and ethics
The technology selected for this part is flexible environment through Virtual Reality
Technology-
1. Market:
 Increasing demand for service innovation
 Increasing customer loyalty
 Facilitating word of mouth
 Influence on consumer buying behaviour

3IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
 Market expansion through the application of eliminating remoteness
 Ethical representation on the meaning of flexible environment1
 Protecting the possibility of misrepresentation of brand communication message2
 Application of surrogate advertisements (if needed)
2. Architecture:
 The content of VR should be in compliance with the acceptability of the culture
based on the location of the beer business.
 Building an environment with the liberty of virtual effects can help in building an
effective consumer experience3.
3. Law:
 The construction of the message and content of Virtual Reality should be
concentrated on the laws and orders regarding the consumption of beer in the
target market.
 The law and regulation regarding the advertisement and promotional message of
alcoholic beverages should be considered prior to the construction of media
campaign
1 Rüßmann, Michael, Markus Lorenz, Philipp Gerbert, Manuela Waldner, Jan Justus, Pascal
Engel, and Michael Harnisch. "Industry 4.0: The future of productivity and growth in
manufacturing industries." Boston Consulting Group 9, no. 1 (2015): 54-89.
2 Sherman, William R., and Alan B. Craig. Understanding virtual reality: Interface, application,
and design. Morgan Kaufmann, 2018.
3 Harms, Patrick. "Automated Usability Evaluation of Virtual Reality Applications." ACM
Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) 26, no. 3 (2019): 14.

4IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
 The strictness in law of utilizing the concept of surrogacy in the medium of
advertising can restrict the content of communicating values of the new
technology.
4. Norms:
 The norms should be based on the factors of designing Virtual Reality content
which can be acceptable based on the societal and community norms.
Part: Description of the process
The process that will be affected through the technological impact of Virtual Reality is
Communication process.
Communication process of Beer industry can be categorized as the internal and external
communication. Internal communication is the information and data sharing procedure inside the
business operation. On the other hand beer industry uses tools of external communication
process for promoting the features and offering of the product and associated services. Beer
industry is almost saturated by the emergence of a various new entrants with the facility of an
unusual environment. For establishing a unique value offering or competitive edge, innovative
technology can be used. The innovative feature that can contribute towards the growth of the
beer industry can be the ‘concept of flexible environment’. Flexibility of creating a desirable
environment can be used as a tool for creating a different brand image through communication
process. Virtual Reality can be used as a medium to support and transform the marketing
communication procedure of the business. Flexible environment will provide consumers with the
power of deciding the surrounding they wish to be in with the association of quality beer. Virtual
Reality can accommodate the process of communicating a unique value offering. The feature of
flexibility can reflect positive impact on the content of the communication and may result to the

5IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
elimination of number of actors in between for facilitating a direct approach. The external
communication process will include two approaches for reaching to the consumer base.
Consumer Marketing Sales Success
Fig: Traditional communication process
Start- Creating
customer awareness
Customer
awareness
Social
media
Follow-up
emails or
messages
Organizing
events and
happy hour
promotion
Word of mouth-
Sales lead
Increased
Customer
base
Customer base
Stop
Creating
physical
environment

6IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
(Source: Created by author)
Consumers Marketing Sales Success
Fig: New communication process (after the implementation of VR technology-flexible bar
environment)
Start
Customer
awareness
Word of mouth
VR- Advertising
content
Sponsors-VR
content
Financial
resources +
Increased
Reach
Follow up with
the alliances
and partners
Customer
loyalty
Stop

7IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
(Source: Created by author)
- Task/event - Decision point - Result
- Start/Stop
The events in the external communication process will include the introduction of Virtual
Reality to the existing customers and advertising Virtual Realty through advertising content. For
the direct and indirect approach will be based on the feature of communicating the innovative
feature of the new technology. The decision points of the process includes the exposure to
existing customers, including sponsorship and increase the customer base. The actors associated
in the process will be bar staff, marketing team and sponsorship clients. The outcome or result of
the direct approach of communicating the new technological implementation to the existing
customers will lead to word of mouth. Another task of advertising the new technological
implementation in the service process will lead to the outcome of increased financial resources
and customer reach through the decisions of sponsorship and enhancing customer base. Both the
direct and indirect approach in the process will concentrate on the outcome of increasing the
customer base. The involvement of staff will diversify the employee involvement practices of the
beer business. The inclusion of marketing team will ensure an effecting advertising content for
communicating the service offering of ‘flexible environment’ in association with the product,
beer. The inclusion of sponsorships through the awareness from the advertising content.
Sponsorships will allow the business to increase the reach of the beer company by addressing the

8IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
customer segment. The major difference between traditional and new communication process of
beer industry reflects the complexity in accomplishing the desired outcome of enhanced
consumer base. VR implication helps in creating a flexible environment, thereby making the
communication process quick and more effective, the stage of word-of –mouth and consumer
attract rate is higher in the new communication process.

9IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY IN BEER INDUSTRY
References:
Harms, Patrick. "Automated Usability Evaluation of Virtual Reality Applications." ACM
Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI) 26, no. 3 (2019): 14.
Rüßmann, Michael, Markus Lorenz, Philipp Gerbert, Manuela Waldner, Jan Justus, Pascal
Engel, and Michael Harnisch. "Industry 4.0: The future of productivity and growth in
manufacturing industries." Boston Consulting Group 9, no. 1 (2015): 54-89.
Sherman, William R., and Alan B. Craig. Understanding virtual reality: Interface, application,
and design. Morgan Kaufmann, 2018.