KFV - Kentucky Fried Virtual

My last blog brutally undermined the future of virtual reality (VR), especially in the context of marketing and product innovation. The idea behind my lack of hope for VR is backed by the concepts regarding human interaction and social behaviors. Humans seek to share experiences with one another, and want to be able to understand these interactions through body language and biological context cues. VR virtually limits almost all physical human interaction, especially with a giant headgear covering your eyes. Additionally, the ease of use, portability, and bulky price of VR technology is rather irrational in a world of "make things easier for me."

Alternatively, augmented reality (AR) allows users to combine their physical world with an alternative universe, such as Pokemon GO or Snapchat filters. This allows for current technology to be utilized by the user without having to purchase or carry around additional technology. Simply opening an app on your iPhone and superimposing your dream living room right on your screen makes life a lot easier than strapping on a VR headset.

In the context of marketing a product or service, I stand behind my anti-VR position. However, after continuing my research on VR use, I have discovered other ways VR can actually be useful.

KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), the international fast food chain famous for their fried food and cheesy mascot, has come out with a new way to train their prospective employees. Using a 10-minute VR simulation, KFC's Colonel Sanders mascot teaches users how to prepare chicken in an artificial environment. This allows KFC to reduce some of its employee training time and resources, and hand off some responsibility to technology.

A KFC VR simulation graduate holds a famous KFC fried chicken bucket showcasing his program certificate while wearing the VR headgear. 

This does not replace the full KFC training program!

In fact, the fast food chain is still working on changing and improving the virtual trainee process. KFC hopes that this innovative and trendy method of training its future fryers will attract the best of the industry to come work for the otherwise rather dated restaurant. In other recent efforts by KFC to modernize and attract a new generation of customers, they are carrying out a new advertising campaign in which Colonel Sanders is no longer an old fashioned character. Yum Brands, the parent company for KFC, hired Actor Rob Lowe to act the new part for the company mascot. Sanders now takes on a humorous and rather outrageous personality, in efforts to market their new "Spicy Zinger sandwich". In the VR training video, Sanders is portrayed rather humorously, such as shooting laser beams out of his eyes when an employee drops a price of chicken, as he walks the user step by step through the cooking process. This is not supposed to be completely facetious, but rather be a serious yet entertaining teaching method.

KFC is not the only company experimenting with integrating VR into their training program. The United Parcel Service (UPS) announced last month that it will begin training their drivers in Septembers with VR technology in a virtual world full of real dangers. UPS's Chief Information and Engineering Officer Juan Perez told FOX Business. “Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training. VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.” Perez understands that this is just one step in the intensive driver training process, and is simply using VR as a new tool for identifying everyday road threats to UPS couriers. The company is also looking to integrate augmented reality into the training mix as well. Eventually, AR might even be fully involved in the everyday business for UPS employees, even post-training.

A UPS trainee using Virtual Reality driver training software

VR for training and management purposes may be a progressive move for large companies like KFC and UPS. This should not be the only method for training new staff members, for it does remove other physical features from the real world, no matter how detailed or high resolution the VR technology might be. It acts as a fun and non-traditional method to attract skilled workers to businesses, especially those in competitive industries. As the world moves towards digital, marketers should shy away from VR tactics. However other departments such as management and HR should seriously consider implemented these interactive methods into their employee training programs.

Sources:
https://www.engadget.com/2017/08/25/kfc-bizarre-vr-game-wont-revolutionize-work-training/
https://www.pressroom.ups.com/pressroom/ContentDetailsViewer.page?ConceptType=PressReleases&id=1502741874802-243
http://socialmediaexplorer.com/content-sections/news-and-noise/kfc-virtual-reality-trains-cooks-hard-way/
http://www.foxbusiness.com/features/2017/04/21/rob-lowe-is-kfcs-new-colonel-sanders.html 
https://www.vrcircle.com/ups-starts-training-drivers-in-vr-to-improve-safety/