My feedback to an article written by Martin Swant in Adweek

Marty-

My name is Richard Oleff and I am the co-owner/CMO of Unofficial Cardboard. We make custom branded cardboard VR headsets.  I wanted to give you my feedback on your article since you asked a question in the title.

​For my latest Blog, I'm going to repost this email (with your responses if you agree) so I want to give my readers the full article name and advise them to read it.  (He never responded to my feedback)

The article I refer to is in AdWeek and written very well and thorough by Marty Swant.  It is called "Which comes first?   Will it be cool content that makes consumers buy VR headsets or powerful technology that creates demand for the content?
​
We took over majority ownership of UC almost a year ago and what I learned in that time, I mentioned in my blog titled, What I learned in my first year as co-owner of Unofficial Cardboard.  I know, perfect Blog title, right?

In any case, I talk about a lot of the things that you mention in your article and have literally been obsessed with the question you ask because for me, the answer is EASY.  There ALREADY IS great content out there, regardless of what anyone in your article says.  What the so-called "experts" don't understand is that the content that is on YouTube, Vimeo, LittleStar, Within, Jaunt and other great content providers IS GREAT CONTENT for the AVERAGE EVERYDAY PERSON THAT HAS NEVER EXPERIENCE VR.  The ONLY way to get that content to the masses is with Cardboard viewers because they are affordable and they can also market the content itself on the viewers.

This is what I've been trying to get out to the public Marty.  It's very frustrating because all the HMD companies talk about the latest and greatest new technology for headsets  The long-awaited device-free headset coming from Google (how exciting).  What frustrates me most is that these big companies that put out this new technology don't understand that the public isn't going to purchase these high-end HMD's until they come way way down in price.  These companies should actually allow us to make custom cardboard for individuals just to SEE VR for the first time.  If someone really likes it, which most people will, maybe then they'll pony up the big money for a high-end device.

YouTube introduced 360 videos years ago and then soon after the ability to view them in VR, but they did a very poor job of educating the public about this and therefore most people in this universe haven't experienced VR and it's a shame.  Sony sold 2 million viewers in 2017, but how many people are on this planet?  How many of them have phones that they carry everywhere?  Why fight it, this is the year for the Cardboard Revolution, which hopefully makes those numbers you mention for purchases of HMD's by 2021 (by the so-called experts) come true.
It is my hope that the AVERAGE EVERYDAY PERSON either buy custom branded cardboard, which they can do from our website for $9.95.  That's right, 1 custom viewer for $9.95, under $10 US dollars.  OR these big companies that are producing content should purchase our viewers and give them away for marketing purposes with their logo all over them for less than a premium giveaway that they pass out at sporting events.  

If you create 360 content, don't you want people to see it in VR or do you want it to sit out there in cyberspace for people to view in 360.  People need to "get it" Marty, that's all I"m saying.

THE CONTENT IS THERE PEOPLE AND EVERYONE SHOULD EXPERIENCE IT BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME.  THE BEST WAY TO JUMP IN TODAY IS BY PURCHASING CARDBOARD AND THEN, AND ONLY THEN, THEY CAN DECIDE FOR THEMSELVES IF THEY WANT TO SPEND THEIR HARD EARNED DOLLARS TO UPGRADE THEIR DEVICE.

I'm very passionate about this Marty and apologize about all the capital letters, but you finally gave me a great story to respond to and I hope you will publish this response in your publication.

Thanks for listening,