Quest and VR as a whole was perceived as a gimmick, a device that was only for gaming. Ultimately, people just didn’t understand the value Quest could bring them in their everyday lives.

To overcome this challenge, we tapped into an emotional truth about the product: Quest lets users expand their worlds. We wanted to inspire audiences with the very real value Quest offers in their everyday lives. From more immersive virtual experiences to merging virtual experiences with your physical space with mixed reality, Quest 3 lets you experience the world and your interests in exciting new ways that extend far beyond just gaming.

Meta Quest 3 is a new mixed reality headset that does a lot more than just gaming. Instead of showing the audience the intricacies of the tech, our goal was to launch the product with a human story to resonate with gamers and non-gamers alike. Our solution was "The Instrument," a film showing a young woman using Quest to learn to play a special piano song for her Grandmother. The song was Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five,” which we adapted to score the film as well as work inside the piano education app. The film ends with a moment of true human connection, showing the true impact technology can have.

In 2023, Meta Quest was set to launch its next headset: the Quest 3. Despite the significant technological leap the Quest 3 represented over the Quest 2 - especially with the arrival of mixed reality experiences for a mass audience - the brand and its products continued to face a relevance problem.

Quest and VR as a whole was perceived as a gimmick, one that was primarily for gaming. Ultimately, people just didn’t understand the value Quest could bring them in their everyday lives.

To overcome this challenge, we tapped into an emotional truth about the product: Quest lets users expand their worlds. From more immersive virtual experiences to merging virtual experiences with your physical space with mixed reality, across +500 apps.

The resulting integrated campaign was built to drive consideration and sales. Across channels and touchpoints, we demonstrated the impact Quest 3 can have on peoples’ interests and lives.

Finding and adapting the right song was challenging. Beyond being right for the emotion of the story, the song needed to be recognizable enough so the viewer could notice our hero’s progress. At the same time, the score needed to interweave those imperfect piano-learning moments to drive the narrative, culminating in an emotional climax at the end. After exploring hundreds of songs, we landed on Dave Brubeck’s classic “Take Five.” We adapted and prototyped it with a full orchestra to hit every emotional moment of the story. The song served as both product demo as well as flexing to be the narrative backbone to the whole film. One sign that we picked the right track…the most common question on the film’s YouTube is “What song is this??!.”

Prior to the launch, Meta Quest 3 faced a relevance problem with their new, broader target audience. Quest was seen as primarily for gaming. People just didn’t understand the value Quest could bring to their everyday lives. ‘The Instrument’ was highly effective in changing perception of Quest, as just something for beyond just a gaming device. Since ‘The Instrument’ reached a much wider audience given the strength of the media plan, we turned skeptical VR gamers into advocates and boosted awareness by 14%. We knew creating desire and intent around the holiday period would be key to a successful launch. Our strategy paid off, ‘The Instrument’ increased Quest device recommendation and purchase intent by 21% and 16.5% respectively.