ProfNet Experts Available on Virtual Reality and Marketing, More

NEW YORK, Oct. 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network who are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area.

You can also submit a query to the hundreds of thousands of experts in our network – it's easy and free! Just fill out the query form to get started: http://prn.to/queryform

EXPERT ALERTS

• Virtual Reality and Marketing: Are Consumers Ready? How Marketers are Learning to Tell Immersive Stories for Brands in VR
• How to Treat the Very Real Problem of Office Zombies

MEDIA JOBS

• Financial Enterprise Reporter – The Wall Street Journal (NY)
• US Correspondent, Tech – South China Morning Post (NY/CA)
• Supply Chain Editor  – Industry Dive (DC)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• The Seven Deadly Sins of Blog Writing
• Five Visual Trends to Watch
• Blog Profiles: Cryptozoology Blogs

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EXPERT ALERTS:

Virtual Reality and Marketing: Are Consumers Ready? How Marketers are Learning to Tell Immersive Stories for Brands in VR
Wendy K. Bendoni
Assistant Professor and Chair, Marketing & Fashion Marketing Department
Woodbury University School of Business
As virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) technologies mature, there's a growing need for new marketing strategies that can tap such immersive experiences. The world of storytelling is key for these new mediums, given that consumers can now co-create an experience using VR.  Although virtual reality can be used to create a better customer experience, it's essential that marketers not "push" products but enable customers to feel connected.
Says Bedoni: "Because most brands miss the power of VR and create gimmick-based experiences, brand messages often get lost. The big news is that this kind of immersive experience that cannot be shared on social media -- word-of-mouth drives consumers to experience the technology themselves since it cannot be shared. While the average attention span is 8 seconds, VR demands that the consumer focus on the message the brand is sending."
Collaborating with the university's film and media technology departments, Bendoni specializes in exploring consumer acceptance of immersive marketing. She developed "Digital Storytelling in Marketing: Immersive Realities," one of the first university courses of its kind, and recently published Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in the Digital World (Bloomsbury UK). In addition to her work in the classroom, Bendoni is also an established International retail forecaster and marketer, featured in Forbes, Mashable, WWD and Huffington Post as an expert in local and global trends analysis in the fashion and lifestyle markets.
Website: https://woodbury.edu/  
Personal Site: http://www.wendybendoni.com/  
Media contact:  Jennifer Spoerri, [email protected]   

How to Treat the Very Real Problem of Office Zombies
Dr. Dave Sharar
Managing Director
Chestnut Global Partners
You may not be able to see it, feel it or sense it, let alone measure it, which is what makes "presenteeism" one of the most persistent and pernicious drags on workforce productivity. Battling a mental health issue, illness, injury, etc., can be a huge distraction; people check in for work, but are mentally checked out. This is becoming an even bigger problem with the rise of opioid abuse and its drag on employee readiness, says Dr. Sharar, research scientist with Chestnut Global Partners' Commercial Science Division: "While you're at the office, it's difficult to compartmentalize and it's hard to put these issues on hold. A manager may sense an employee is distracted, or it may be apparent in the decline in productivity, but addressing it can be delicate, particularly if you suspect it's due to a serious behavioral or personal issue."
Dr. Sharar is available to discuss the correlation between employee assistance programs (EAPs) and positive effects on presenteeism. Chestnut Global Partners and the Employee Assistance Professionals Association (EAPA) recently covered this topic in their 2017 Workplace Outcome Suite (WOS) Report.
Report: http://www.eapassn.org/2017WOSReport
Website: www.chestnutglobalpartners.org
Contact: Charles Epstein, [email protected]

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MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Financial Enterprise Reporter – The Wall Street Journal (NY)
• US Correspondent, Tech – South China Morning Post (NY/CA)
• Supply Chain Editor  – Industry Dive (DC)

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OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• Don't Fall Into This Trap: The 7 Deadly Sins of Blog Writing. Being a serial writer is a demanding and mysterious craft. To succeed, you must constantly ooze creativity and new ideas – all while learning new tricks to keep up with the competition. Here are seven blog killers to avoid: http://prn.to/blogsins
  
  
• Stay Ahead of the News Curve: 5 Visual Trends to Watch. As technology continues to evolve, so does the way consumers view and engage with stories. Whether it's breaking or soft news, there is an increased appetite for instant access to information that's also visually stimulating. Here's a look at five visual trends to keep an eye on, if you want to remain competitive: http://prn.to/visualtrends
  
  
• BLOG PROFILES: CRYPTOZOOLOGY BLOGS. Each week, PR Newswire's Audience Relations team selects an industry/subject and profiles a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and contributing to the conversation. This week, they look at cryptozoology blogs: http://prn.to/cryptozooblogs

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SOURCE ProfNet