When virtual reality first began to emerge as a (somewhat) mainstream technology, nonprofits and advocacy marketers were some of the first to realize that one of its biggest benefits wasn't entertainment, but rather generating empathy.
VR put people—potential donors, often—in the world and bodies of people undergoing experiences that might seem otherwise impossible to imagine. Charity: Water effectively used VR to transport wealthy donors to a small Ethiopian village to see a young girl's struggle to find clean water each day. Amnesty International used VR to give a personal view of the devastation in Syria, and prison reform advocates used it to highlight the plight of incarcerated youth.
But the idea of simulating an environment or experience to create empathy first-hand doesn't have to require a VR headset.
In a fascinating campaign from Wunderman Thompson Australia called the "No-Escape Room," visitors who thought they were taking part in an escape room puzzle faced an unexpected series of challenges—each representing a difficult aspect of life with Parkinson's disease.
Created for nonprofit Parkinson's New South Wales, the No-Escape Room used technology and props (such as stiffened shoe laces or scrambled keys on a keyboard) to simulate the often misunderstood symptoms of a disease that can take hold at a much younger age than people realize.
Definitely check out the No-Escape Room to see how it was pulled off. (The project was filmed before quarantine but released now after an understandable pause to acknowledge other medical priorities that needed donations in recent months.)
David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com
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