Driving Brand Empathy Through Immersive Storytelling with Amir Berenjian

Anika sat down with Amir Berenjian to explore how a former investment banker transitioned from multi-million dollar M&A spreadsheets to founding an immersive technology company. The conversation revealed a profound truth: the most powerful way to sell a brand or cause isn't through data alone, but through deeply emotional, shared experiences. Amir shares how REM5 Studios leverages virtual reality (VR) to transport trade show attendees to a Wisconsin dairy farm and global policymakers to the frontlines of polio eradication in Zambia, proving that immersive tech is far more than just a novelty.
In This Episode
How 12 years in M&A investment banking prepared Amir for immersive storytelling
The pivotal moment of trying the Oculus Rift in 2016 and seeing the future of human-computer interaction
Using pizza and beer to overcome VR skepticism in the corporate world
Why the ROI of immersive tech at trade shows vastly outperforms traditional marketing trinkets
Transporting global policymakers to Zambia to fight polio via VR with the Gates Foundation
How a premium cheese brand uses VR to tell the story of a 100-year-old family farm
The surprising dual-use of VR for both external marketing and internal employee onboarding
How to test out immersive tech for your brand without breaking the budget
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction: From investment banking to immersive tech
02:09 The surprising emotional throughline between M&A banking and VR storytelling
04:38 The Oculus Rift "Aha!" moment and democratizing the "magic school bus" experience
07:35 Overcoming the VR accessibility barrier and corporate skepticism
11:13 Transitioning from corporate events to purpose-driven storytelling and global causes
13:33 The economics of immersive tech and why it's cheaper than you think
15:08 Dominating trade shows: Why shared VR experiences beat traditional marketing flyers
17:29 Case Study 1: Transporting customers to a 3rd-generation Wisconsin dairy farm
19:38 Case Study 2: Putting policymakers on the frontlines of polio with the Gates Foundation
20:23 How immersive 3D video actually works (and the nostalgia of the View-Master)
25:13 The 9-month planning process and why distribution is the biggest hurdle in VR
29:39 The intersection of AI, implicit bias, and leveraging technology for good
31:47 Measuring the impact and ROI of immersive storytelling
34:33 How small businesses can test the waters of VR for under $500
38:33 The dual value of VR: Using marketing tools for internal employee onboarding
41:42 What’s next for REM5 Studios and the convergence of AI and spatial computing
Key Insights & Takeaways
Insight 1: M&A and VR are Both About Selling Emotion
Even in investment banking, multi-million dollar deals are driven by the emotional story of a business. Amir realized VR is simply the ultimate tool for democratizing that story, allowing clients to "tour the factory" and meet the founders without ever leaving the boardroom.
Insight 2: Immersive Tech Solves the Trade Show ROI Problem
Trade shows are filled with expensive, easily discarded trinkets and flyers. Immersive tech completely steals the show by giving attendees a shared, memorable experience that re-energizes them. Because the experience can be reused across dozens of events, it proves to be far more cost-effective and impactful than traditional trade show marketing waste.
Insight 3: The Technology is the Conduit, Not the Message
People easily get caught up in buzzwords like AR, VR, and spatial computing. But the goal isn't to talk about the tech—it's to use the tech to tell a story so effectively that users forget they're wearing a headset. Whether it's understanding the reality of polio eradication or the care behind a premium cheese, the tech is just a vehicle for presence and empathy.
Insight 4: Marketing Assets Make Perfect Internal Training Tools
An immersive experience originally designed to sell a product to consumers can instantly be repurposed as an onboarding tool for HR and accounti...