Immersv has launched its mobile VR ad platform, after a private beta which began last December.

The platform is currently aimed at VR app publishers, as both a distribution and monetisation solution, and is compatible with smartphone-based VR viewers like Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR.

Ads will appear within VR apps and are activated by the user gazing at them, which will then put them in a virtual cinema – or an equivalent space customised to match the app being advertised. A trailer will then play, either as a 2D video on a flat screen – which rather seems to defeat the object of advertising in VR – or a 360° video on a spherical screen.

At the conclusion of the trailer, users can gaze at a branded end card to be taken to the apps download page.

“VR has reached its tipping point, and just about the only thing holding it back is consumers’ ability to find great content,” said Mihir Shah, co-founder and CEO of Immersv. “Our goal is to build a marketplace to help consumers discover great VR apps and experiences, and to empower all the artists, content producers and game publishers building VR content to turn their hard work and creativity into commercial success.”

Ads are bought using an open bidding system, and results are tracked via the Immersv SDK. Publishers can integrate the ads into their apps wherever they see fit.