How VR and AR are transforming video content strategies

The next wave isn’t going to replace video, but elevate it into an immersive experience that resonates with Hong Kong.

Video has dominated marketing strategies across Asia for years, with platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram shaping how brands engage with audiences. 

A new trend is emerging with immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) influencing not just the content but how audiences engage with it.

Marketing in Hong Kong – with its tech-savvy, globally connected, and selective audience – the integration of VR and AR into video strategies is a challenge and opportunity.

Why VR and AR are making waves in Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s networks remove key friction: latency. Since its commercial launch in 2020, 5G now covers over 99% of the population, including MTR lines and core business districts. 

Low-latency, high-bandwidth AR filters, WebAR try-ons, and volumetric video are more reliable at street level.

Hong Kong’s “destination retail” has been engineered for experience. K11 MUSEA and other flagship venues blend art, architecture, and digital craft to turn shopping into a cultural experience – perfect for AR-enhanced storytelling and location-based video.

Examples of local strategies
McDonald’s Hong Kong used Instagram AR filter games during Chinese New Year to gamify participation and reward engagement. This is proof that bite-sized, socially native AR can take video a step beyond passive viewing. 

Once viewers get the hook, the AR feature delivers an interactive experience that keeps them glued to the screen.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation's (HSBC) AR “wishing tree” campaign tapped into beloved local tradition, turning a brand trend into a city-wide interactive ritual with gamified fun and offers. The campaign showed a virtual wishing tree that carries the wishes of 7 million residents, all supported by a full suite of product offers.

Hong Kong’s first-ever Disney “Mickey Keep it Real” campaign at The Peak transformed the iconic destination with Disney-themed installations and activities. The campaign featured interactive photo zones, a themed Peak Tram, and pop-up stores alongside an AR scavenger hunt.

Cultural-retail destinations like K11 MUSEA have made immersive design a unique value proposition with brands deploying in-mall AR and spatial content that complements live programming.

Benefits of VR/AR in video strategy
Top-of-the-funnel interactions
Hong Kong campaigns are pairing top-of-the-funnel video with an interactive layer like WebAR or AR lenses. This move shifts key performance indicators (KPIs) from views and completion to activation rate and average interaction time.

Place-based content
With the ubiquitous 5G and dense footfall corridors like Tsim Sha Tsui, Causeway Bay, and Mong Kok, AR can be tied to precise locations like MTR exits, storefronts, or atrium installations to make the experiences geo-specific.

Virtual try-ons and visualisers
WebAR try-ons and product visualisers like furniture scale models and cosmetics shades bridge the gap between a watch-and-click format to true virtual testing. The video sparks the desire for the product, but AR offers the near-real-world experience that inspires the purchase.

Best Practices for VR/AR marketing
Like different platforms, different VR/AR technologies are ideal for different campaigns.

Social AR is ideal for reach and user-generated content (UGC), whilst WebAR removes app friction for on-site activations, which is ideal for tourism trails or pop-ups.

Meanwhile, app-based VR/AR is best if you need loyalty integration, persistent worlds, or commerce, such as content linked to membership programs or special offers.

You need quality assets for immersive video. Create 3D single source of truth for products and environments that can be modified for AR mesh and short volumetric clips that work for reels, stories, and WebAR.

Even with VR and AR, the hook matters. Short video teasers with a compelling hook and an “open camera” or “scan to see” call to action set the stage. 

AR lenses like face filters or gamified effects or WebAR scenes on MTR ads or product packaging offer the payoff, such as a virtual try-on, spatial storytelling, or a mini game.

After the VR/AR interaction, guide users to e-commerce checkout, navigation to the in-person store, or financial onboarding like a pre-qualified offer or quick-apply form.

Along with platform metrics, track local metrics for the environment. Visit rates can be measured through QR and Wi-Fi logs around MTR exits and out-of-home (OOH) advertising to WebAR. 

Lead quality should be tracked by monitoring AR-originated form starts, form completions, and conversion rate. Earned reach can be evaluated by comparing the performance of UGC from lenses during festivals or events against paid efforts.

One of the challenges of VR and AR is that it can involve facial features, location, or biometrics that fall under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO). It’s crucial to ensure compliance with PDPO and the guidance on biometric data, which include data minimisation, clear purpose, and explicit consent.

Inspiration for different sectors
Retail and Luxury: Use short-form video to showcase artisanship, then switch to WebAR to place a true-to-scale product in the customer’s home or to unlock location-anchored animations in-store. Experiential destinations like K11 MUSEA demonstrate how spatial stories can enhance basket size and dwell time – especially combined with loyalty programs.
Tourism, Attractions, and Hospitality: Leverage cinematic reels with AR treasure hunts like the Disney campaign. The tourism board’s AR scavenger-hunt models show how to guide visitors from their arrival to curated vantage points, capturing first-party signals for remarketing campaigns.

Banking and Insurance: Financial brands have an opportunity to pair explainer videos with AR visualisations like a “savings growth” simulation. HSBC’s virtual wishing tree is good inspiration for culturally relevant, high-reach engagement that can feed into buyer’s journeys.

Food and Beverage: Like loyalty programmes, seasonal AR games can turn short-form videos into in-person visits. Games that unlock coupons when customers reach certain interaction thresholds, such as McDonald’s game that challenged participants to dip virtual McNuggets as many times as possible, promote high engagement.

Future outlook for VR and AR video
With widespread 5G, dense urban footfall, and a desire for cultural and destination retail experiences, Hong Kong is ideal for VR/AR video strategies. 

The next wave isn’t going to replace video, but elevate it into an immersive experience that resonates with Hong Kong’s tech-savvy audience whilst building trust and driving conversions.