Mark Zuckerberg on Meta Quest 3 vs. Apple Vision Pro– PR Disaster or Marketing Genius?

By now, everyone’s probably seen the viral video from Mark Zuckerberg about his thoughts on Meta Quest 3 vs. Apple Vision Pro. It was a very controversial piece where he said the Meta Quest 3 was a better product than the 7x more expensive Apple Vision Pro. Some people loved the video and others were shocked and dismayed.

Here are my thoughts from an XR expert’s marketing perspective:

1. Most people outside the gaming and XR space have written off the Meta Quest 3 as a gaming headset. Mark calling direct attention to MQ3 vs. AVP introduces the idea that MQ3 does more than gaming to non-gamers.
2. The internet has been BUZZING with AVP chatter. This video brings the attention back to MQ3 but now to an even larger audience.
3. Using terms like “fanboy” is extremely controversial. It preemptively addresses the backlash he’ll get from Apple fans and stirs up even more controversy (more chances for virality).
4. The entire video comparison now officially places Meta in a head to head “competition” with Apple, reminiscent of the Microsoft vs. Apple days. Again, it’s almost “borrowing” from Apple’s wider audience outside of the gaming space by pitting the two companies against each other.
5. He filmed the video using MQ3’s cameras! Again, preemptively addressing concerns before they’re even raised. He’s not only telling how good MQ3 is, but he’s also showing it. (Although, there has been some controversy around how the passthrough on MQ3 doesn’t actually look as good as what’s shown in the video.)

There’s been a lot of backlash for this video but also a lot of people agreeing with Mark’s points. When creating a PR piece like this, it’s important to set expectations and understand the pros and cons. Yes, people are hating on Mark. But also, how much wider is the audience now for MQ3 after this? FYI – this tactic isn’t for everyone but it certainly is interesting to analyze.

I love XR and PR/marketing. If you’re interested in these types of services, please reach out to us at Impact Reality XR.

Original video on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3TkhmivNzt/