40 Days of Immersive Brands: Days 21-25

We’re only halfway through our salute to the bold brands, marketers and agencies who are dipping their toes into the metaverse and we’ve already seen so many great examples of ways marketers are using immersive media like AR, VR, 360, 3D and more all in the name of breaking through the noise and better connecting with consumers. 

This week we highlight 5 more brands ranging from retail to travel who are breaking new ground in the rapidly growing field of immersive media marketing and advertising.

DAY 21: ASOS

There’s no questioning that the Covid pandemic has impacted the world of retail. Some were quicker to react than others and British ecommerce fashion retailer ASOS is a great example of a brand seeing their early investment in immersive media pay off. They had a strategy of “test, build, and learn” and had been experimenting with augmented reality for years. So naturally when the pandemic hit, it was easier for them to adjust than the competition. 

The ASOS team was quick to react to the changes the panedemic inflicted on their sector and accelerated their experimentation with virtual try-on technology.  With both consumers, staff, models, and photographers stuck at home they quickened the pace of innovation and started using augmented reality (AR) tech via a tool they called “See My Fit”. The tech enabled them to keep their staff and the people they hire safe at home as every week remote teams could “digitally map” the products on models while they were sheltering in place. They were able to map approximately 500 new products per week on models of all varying sizes. These “simulated fittings” helped solve the problem of enabling consumers to better visualize how products might look on them and helped ASOS weather the storm caused by Covid.

DAY 22: ABU DHABI

While ASOS is a great example of a more utilitarian use of technology in the metaverse, Day 22 brings us quite the opposite! In fact, it’s truly a larger than life example of augmented reality being used by a travel brand to generate buzz and create awareness. The Department of Culture and tourism in Abu Dhabi received a Guinness World Record title for the “Largest Augmented Reality Screen”. The efforts were part of bigger campaign promoting the UAE capital as a leading global destination for those looking to plan a holiday. 

The record-setting event took place over a two-week period on an infamous 40-foot tall billboard that stands in the heavily trafficked Picadilly Circus area. At ten minutes before the hour, every hour for those two weeks, the billboard would become a highly engaging experience for passersby who saw themselves on screen and at times found themselves being transported on the ‘big screen’ to some of Abu Dhabi’s most popular attractions and destinations. The execution was timed with weather-triggered overlays that could take advantage of the poor weather happening in London and post messages conveying that you’d be in sunshine if you were in Abu Dhabi. A contest to win a trip was also incorporated and involved the people taking selfies of themselves enjoying the AR experience and then sharing and tagging it appropriately via social media channels.

I for one would love to see the tourism board also extend their use of the metaverse for marketing to include immersive deep display ads where consumers can further experience the brand better than traditional media can. 

DAY 23: JAMESON WHISKEY DISTILLERY

Some argue that immersive 360 degree technology is perfectly suited for the travel and tourism industry. We’ve seen the evidence and we agree! It makes sense as 360 images and video can capture the true look and feel of a destination unlike anything else. That’s why the famed Jameson Whiskey Distillery in Dublin turned to 360 imagery to help showcase and promote the multi-million dollar renovated facility in a pre-pandemic digital ad campaign. 

The brand team went in and took 360-degree photo shoots of the facility, stylized them a bit, and the team at ADVRTAS then created highly engaging digital ad units featuring the content. A myriad of ad units were run as part of the campaign. One featured 360 images and hotspots (see below ad unit) which enabled people who came across the ad to take immersive tours of different parts of the distillery while other immersive ads enabled people to explore just one. The was also an immersive qube unit which used 2D images of the facility and there was even an immersive ad unit where users could make their own cocktail while “seated” at the bar. 

As the world begins to open up and more of us feel comfortable or are able to travel, we can expect to more ads and marketing executions like this which leverage the power of elements of the metaverse to better connect with consumers today. 

DAY 24: LANCOME PARIS

The brand team at Lancome is also no newbie to using immersive tech of the metaverse for brand strategy and growth. This Spring they were able to draw from some of this background as they built a truly immersive in-store experience in their flagship Paris store. It was part of of their efforts to bring people back into the brick and mortar location that pre-pandemic saw about 30,000 visitors walk through its doors monthly. 

The brand hired the crafty team at Wilkens Avenue AR to build a highly engaging experiential retail experience that could be activated via people’s mobile devices or by people donning a Magic Leap mixed reality headset (heavily sanitized between uses of course!). Consumers were taken on a journey that included stops in Paris and along the French countryside to visit a new, stunning property in Grasse, France recently purchased by Lancome where they’ll be cultivating all kinds of aromatic roses and blooms. It truly delighted the senses and further immersed those who were able to experience it in the brand. 

“What better way to immerse visitors in the magic of the Lancome brand than an innovative journey taking them to our rose fields in Grasse?” -Jule Adouin-Urdangara, GM of Lancome France

DAY 25: NISSAN QASHQAI 

Here comes another execution out of London, this time from auto manufacturer Nissan and their agency TBWA/London. When it came time to launch the latest model of the Nissan Qashqai, the team turned to technology to help make a bang and did just that. Their 3D Cube installation in the Southbank area of London was the site for a fun immersive experience where people’s senses were heightened as they saw a virtual version of the new crossover vehicle heading straight towards them. It was as if the vehicle was exploding out of the screen.

People viewing the experience in person could also use their mobile devices to scan a QR code to access an additional AR experience. A shame the 3D installation only stood for 2 weeks. But that’s what makes it a novelty and attract attention. That said, we would have loved to see Nissan continue to theme across digital advertising channels by leveraging our immersive deep display Qube format, maybe next time. 😉

And that’s a wrap for this week’s edition of “40 Days of Immersive Brands”. Feeling motivated and inspired to dip your toes into the metaverse? We make it easy to get immersive media into your digital marketing plans, and you don’t even need 3D or 360 creative to have an incredibly effective immersive experience! Drop us a line, email Rob Bruza at rbruza@advrtas.com.  

View Days 1-5, “40 Days of Immersive Brands”

View Days 6-10, “40 Days of Immersive Brands”

View Days 11-15, “40 Days of Immersive Brands”

View Days 16-21, “40 Days of Immersive Brands”