Beyond the Trailer: Leveraging AR and VR for Immersive Pre-Show and Post-Show Marketing

Let’s be honest. The old playbook for promoting a concert, play, or festival feels a bit… thin these days. A poster, a social media blast, a trailer. It gets the info out there, sure. But does it build the kind of gut-level, can’t-wait anticipation that sells out venues and creates superfans? Often, no.

That’s where the magic of immersive technology comes in. Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are flipping the script, letting you build worlds around your event—not just ads for it. Think of it as building a bridge. The pre-show experience is the approach, building excitement step by step. The event itself is the destination. And the post-show? That’s the souvenir, the memory you help fans hold onto. Here’s how to leverage AR and VR to master all three phases.

The Pre-Show: Building Anticipation, Not Just Awareness

Pre-show marketing has always been about teasing. But AR and VR let you invite instead of just tease. You’re giving fans a key to a door, not just a peek through the window.

AR: The Accessible Gateway Drug

Everyone has a smartphone. That makes AR your easiest entry point. It’s low-friction but high-impact. For instance, a movie studio could drop an AR filter that lets fans “find” the film’s magical artifact in their own living room. Point your phone, and there it is—spinning on your coffee table. Snap a pic, share it, and boom: user-generated content that’s way cooler than a standard poster retweet.

Or, imagine scanning your ticket barcode and seeing the stage blueprint or a 3D model of the set piece materialize on your floor. You’re not just holding a ticket; you’re holding a blueprint for the experience. This kind of immersive pre-show marketing turns passive buyers into active participants before they’ve even left home.

VR: The Deep Dive Teaser

VR is for when you want to go all in. It’s a commitment, but the payoff in emotional connection is huge. A theater company could release a 90-second VR experience placing you in the lead character’s shoes during a pivotal scene. The sound of rain, the dim light of a lamp—you’re not watching a story, you’re in it.

For a music festival, a 360-degree VR tour of the grounds is golden. Let potential attendees “stand” at the main stage, look around at the food stalls, get a feel for the layout. It answers practical questions while selling the vibe better than any map ever could. This is the ultimate tool for leveraging VR for event promotion—it reduces uncertainty and builds a powerful, sensory-driven “fear of missing out.”

The Post-Show: Extending the Magic and Mining the Memory

The curtain falls. The lights come up. Traditionally, that’s it—until the next email blast. But the emotional high is still there, buzzing in your audience. This is your golden window to extend the lifecycle of your event and solidify fan loyalty.

Post-show, AR can bring the memorabilia to life. A simple poster or t-shirt becomes a trigger. Point your phone at it, and it plays the finale song or shows a behind-the-scenes rehearsal clip. You’ve sold them a piece of merch that’s also a permanent, interactive portal back to the show.

VR, though, is where post-show content can become truly legendary. Not everyone gets a front-row seat. But what if, a week after the concert, ticket holders get access to a VR recording from that exact spot? You’re selling an experience twice—once in person, and once as a perfect memory. For a play with multiple casts, offer VR experiences of different performances. The applications are, frankly, endless.

Making It Work: A Realistic Game Plan

This all sounds futuristic, I know. But the tech is here and surprisingly accessible. You don’t need a Hollywood budget to start. Here’s a quick, practical breakdown of approaches:

Technology	Best For Pre-Show	Best For Post-Show	Barrier to Entry
AR (Web-Based)	Social media filters, interactive posters, ticket activation.	Animating physical merch, sharing UGC galleries.	Low – No app download needed.
AR (App-Based)	Complex interactive games, detailed product previews.	Persistent world markers, rich story expansions.	Medium – Requires app.
VR (360° Video)	Venue tours, atmospheric teasers, character introductions.	Recorded performance highlights, backstage access.	Medium – Needs headsets or phones for full effect.
VR (Full Interactive)	Deep narrative experiences, interactive training (e.g., for festival staff).	Re-playable interactive moments, fan-driven alternate endings.	High – Requires development and hardware.

The key is to start with a clear goal. Is it ticket sales? Merch revenue? Fan community growth? Don’t just do AR/VR because it’s cool. Use it to solve a problem. Maybe your problem is that people don’t understand the scale of your event. A VR tour solves that. Maybe your problem is that merch feels generic. AR activation solves that.

The Human Connection in a Digital Space

Here’s the deal: at its heart, every live event is about shared human emotion. The worry with tech is that it feels cold, isolating. But when done with intention, AR and VR do the opposite. They connect. A fan in another country can “stand” in your venue. A memory can be revisited in more than just a grainy phone video.

You’re not replacing the live experience. You’re bookending it with deeper layers of story. You’re building a world that exists before the doors open and long after the lights go down. That’s the real shift—from marketing an event date to nurturing an ongoing experience. And in a crowded attention economy, that’s not just clever marketing. It’s the future of how we gather.