Facebook hires Brian Irving as AR/VR marketing lead

Facebook has turned to former Eventbrite chief marketing officer Brian Irving to serve as its head of AR/VR product marketing as social media giant seeks to double down on its early lead in the sector in pursuit of its stated goal of reaching 1bn virtual reality users. Reporting directly to AR/VR chief marketing officer Rebecca van Dyck Irving will help promote a range of new initiatives in the sector including Horizon, a planned VR world in which people can create personalised avatars which are then transported to a variety of public spaces and games. This follows Facebook’s $2bn acquisition of Oculus VR in 2014, since which the social media giant has released a series of increasingly advanced headsets designed to tempt people into the new world. While the medium hasn't quite taken off into the mainstream despite the weight of Facebook's expertise and marketing behind it, the category remains in its infancy.