Posted in Experiential, Strategy, Technology Bookmark the permalink. What do you think?

#4 ways to educate your audience on VR

January 2, 2017 at 07:23

Virtual Reality (VR) is being heralded as the next frontier in advertising, marketing, and storytelling. We know global search interest in VR grew nearly 4X over 2015 alone (data from Google). Still, there are large amounts of people that never tried it yet. That is because many people still feel intimidated by the technology, especially by the use of a headset.

Here are 4 ways to get your audience to use VR technology with ease:

#1: Experiment with multiple entry points

Create multiple ways for your audience to interact with the content. Use clear instructions and clear choices every step of the way in every device.

#2: Guide people through the experience

Clear instructions at every turn: in website copy, in the content itself, even in the voiceover of a video. Think of it as a guided tour that will serve to educate rather than alienate new users.

#3: Create simple mobile experiences

We’re all turning to our phones more and more. Over 60% of YouTube’s views come from mobile. Use it as a medium to interact with your audience and introduce it to VR.

#4: Don’t forget about desktop

By bringing a fresh, new experience to a more traditional platform, like desktop, you can keep viewers engaged with your content. That is still the most used platform to reach content and the one most people are used to. Bring a new experience to a familiar platform.

In conclusion, like any other emerging technology, Virtual Reality presents challenges, especially to new users or users that are more averse to change. However, it has the potential to bring audiences into another world and allow them to interact with a brand in a whole new way. By putting the experience first, instead of pulling everything for technology, brands and marketers can develop welcoming experiences, both to VR pros and to newbies, thus overcoming the hurdles of new technologies.

What do you think about this? Give us your thoughts and personal experiences on the use of Virtual Reality.

Sources:

Cox, A.; Virtual Reality Is the Next Frontier. Make Sure You Don’t Leave Your Consumers Behind, Think with Google, July 2016.

Posted in Advergames, Custom Branded Games, Data Capture, Events, Experiential, Gamification, Interactive Brand Experiences, Lead Generation, mobile marketing tours, Strategy, Technology, Uncategorized Bookmark the permalink. What do you think?

What’s Hot in Experiential for 2016?

January 18, 2016 at 13:02

by Chris Rogne

About a year ago, I wrote about the Tech Trends for 2015 and which ones matter. I took the angle of discussing that choosing the right technology to fit campaign goals is more important than choosing solutions simply for the sake of having a trendy gadget. Of course that still holds true but technology has made great strides in the past year. And, for the most part, companies are using them wisely.

What you should to expect to see more of this year:

Virtual Reality—VR is still hot and is being predicted by many to be an even greater attraction this year. It’s use has been growing since last year. The number wearable devices have increased and can be found in prices that range from under $3 (Google Cardboard) to over $600 (Oculus Rift). There’s something for everyone’s budget. You’ll also see more immersive VR experiences that will include the senses—smell, sound and motion. Check out this experience for Boursin made in the UK.

Wearable Technology—This is not going away any time soon and the technology keeps getting better and the number of ways to incorporate these into experiences is improving. We are still seeing RFID for movement tracking, registration and data capture as a popular choice. Smart phones, watches and bracelets, and others, will be incorporated into experiences making more a personalized connection.

Beacons—I touched on this last year. It was starting to take off and made real progress in 2015. Forbes sites beacons will drive $44 billion in sales in 2016. Why wait for people to stop by your booth or attraction? By sending push messages, you can attract people to you or keep them informed about promotions, product information or meet me at cocktail hour to chat.

Vertical Video—Meercat and Snapchat were first. Vertical videos (ads) make sense for mobile devices, not so much for your office environment. Vertical LED’s look cool at events. It will be interesting to see how this is used this year.

What you should keep an eye on:

CES had so many great technologies available for preview. Many of them won’t be ready for incorporation into many events this year but hold promise for late 2016 and 2017.
Samsung Rink VR Controller—A series of palm controllers that give you the ability to use your hands and fingers within the virtual world. This should be big with gamification. Having the ability to interact with your hands and more intricately your fingers will open up many possibilities. I know our team of developers will have fun experimenting with this once it’s available.

8i Volumetric VR People—3D Hologram people at your event? How is this different than other hologram solutions? They are using 2 or more video cameras to build the figures rather than depth sensors.

HTC Vive “Chaperone” Mode–Tired of bumping into the coffee table while you are wearing your VR headset? Your actual living environments can be over laid into the experience so you can move around fearlessly.

With so many interesting items available, 2016 will be an exciting year for experiential technology. 2015 was amazing too. It just keeps getting better and better. Yes, I love my job—and I’m just a small part of it.

Learn How Elation Digital Can Create Experiential Solutions for You!

Elation Digital develops a wide variety of interactive experiential brand solutions to attract crowds for events, tradeshows and mobile marketing tours. Their cutting-edge technology includes photo & video activations, custom gamification, social media engagement, data capture, tracking and reporting. These solutions are perfect for all budget levels from simple solutions to complete integrated campaigns.

Posted in Custom Branded Games, Data Capture, Events, Experiential, kiosks, Lead Generation, mobile marketing tours, Technology, Tradeshow Technology Bookmark the permalink. What do you think?

Which Experiential Technology is Right for You?

September 23, 2015 at 12:02

by Chris Rogne

There are many options when looking to add an interactive experiential technology to your event. Where should you start? How do you choose? Start with your objectives. Ask yourself, “What am trying to accomplish? What are my campaign goals?”

Looking for leads? Sure, that’s top of everyone’s list. How can you accomplish this? Add a technology that people love to do such as a photo or video activation. Choose from animated gifs, slow motion video or simple branded photo solutions. People love getting their picture taken and this is a proven lead generation solution.

Teach something? Have a new product, new enhancements or simply want people to learn about your company? Infotainment solutions might be for you. We offer trivia, surveys, interactive product screens and puzzles to name a few. We can create something exciting that will teach the information you want your audience to learn.

Get people engaged? You want people excited at your event. Custom games generate engagement and create an emotional connection to your brand. People love to compete which elevates the fun and makes it more memorable.

Brand recognition? You want people to know your brand and remember it. Sharing on social media gets your brand attention well beyond the event. All of our solutions are social media ready. Just ask. Many people choose to offer prizes branded with their company logo to help extend the brand after the event. Our spin wheel solution with built-in inventory management helps manage the give-away process.

Another key to experiential success is seamless integration. Our gamification, photo & video, data capture, infotainment, prize management and more are all integrated for our clients. This makes it easier for them to manage only one experiential company and the overall customer experience is much improved. The participant can move from one activation to another with zero effort. Reporting is integrated as well, which makes developing an ROI for your event, even easier.

Elation Digital develops high impact, crowd generating interactive brand experiences and event technologies to draw crowds for tradeshows, events and mobile marketing tours. These solutions include: photo & video activations, custom branded games, infotainment, data capture, tracking and reporting that can easily be shared socially for maximum impact of your brand. Their solutions are perfect for all budget levels from simple activations to complete integrated campaigns.

Posted in Events, Interactive Museums, Technology, Uncategorized Bookmark the permalink. What do you think?

Interactive Exhibit Fantazia Showcases Art from Elation Digital’s Creative Art Director

July 22, 2015 at 12:20

by Chris Rogne

Not only does our Creative Art Director, Alejandro Gabriel, produce amazing digital interactive graphics for our integrated technologies, he is active in the art community and enjoys expressing his talents outside of Elation Digital. His animated work is being displayed at the Fantazia event at PS Gallery in Argentina.

The show opened July 17th and runs through September 18, 2015. It is an interactive exhibition for the whole family showcasing Contemporary Art: audiovisual, kinetic and animated shorts. DMAG magazine, in Argentina, described the show as being about Art, Sustainability and Interactive Technology.

Alejandro with his sister at Opening Night!

Felicitaciones Alejandro!

Learn how Elation Digital can create Interactive Solutions for your brand!

Elation Digital develops a wide variety of interactive brand experiences and event technologies to draw crowds for tradeshows, events and mobile marketing tours including photo & video activations, custom branded games, infotainment, social media, data capture, tracking and reporting. Their solutions are perfect for all budget levels from simple solutions to complete integrated campaigns.

Posted in Advergames, Custom Branded Games, Data Capture, Events, Experiential, Interactive Brand Experiences, Lead Generation, mobile marketing tours, Multi-Touch, Strategy, Technology, Tradeshow Technology, Uncategorized Bookmark the permalink.

Why Experiential Marketing Works

April 30, 2015 at 12:44

by Chris Rogne

Experiential Marketing is on the rise and we’ve been busy, so it must be true. Marketers are dedicating larger budgets toward incorporating these initiatives into their marketing mix. According to Event Marketer’s Event Track 2014, it’s an increase of 5% and is expected to be higher throughout 2015. It also says that marketers saw an ROI of 5 to 1–that’s 7% higher than the previous year.

But what is it about experiential marketing that makes it so successful? According to Quartz, it’s “an alternative to hard-hitting selling tactics, experiential marketing is fuzzy and abstract—prioritizing delight, touch, wonder, play, and encounter.” This is a great description and these attributes touch upon emotions and emotions are what drive sales!

Experiential marketing can be incorporated into the marketing mix in many ways and with that comes flexibility to develop a successful program. With so many choices, marketers select the solution(s) that best fits their brand and (prospective) customer. As new technologies continue to emerge, the number of options grows: gamification, RFID, custom apps, beacons, wearable technology, infotainment, interactive and immersion experiences—the list goes on.

Marketers are learning that active participation between the customer and these programs is increasing. It’s driving engagement and it’s deepening the emotional connection to the brand through these new and innovative experiential solutions.

Want more information on adding experiential solutions to your next marketing event? Learn more!

Posted in Events, Experiential, Interactive Brand Experiences, Technology, Tradeshow Technology, Uncategorized Bookmark the permalink.

Why You Should Have Photo Activation At Your Next Event

February 5, 2015 at 11:24

by Chris Rogne

People love capturing memories and photos are one of the best ways to do that. Truth is, people love getting their picture taken. A branded photo opportunity gives attendees a memorable way to keep the experience alive. People of all ages love to share photos whether via email or on their favorite social site: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and more.

What Photo Activation Can Do For You

• It’s an attraction draw to your booth.
• Participants generate branded user content for you!
• It’s socially viral and your brand will gain even more visibility
• Photos will live on even after the event is over.

What to consider:

• Give them a reason to stop–Make it fun and memorable
• Brand it properly–Use interesting backgrounds, filters, overlays or frames showing off your brand!
• Offer social sharing options¬–Make it easy and they will share!
• On-site print options–Some people just love getting things and your brand looks good in print.

It’s good for your ROI!

Elation Digital develops a wide variety of interactive brand experiences and event technologies to draw crowds for mobile marketing tours, tradeshows, and events including photo & video activations, custom branded games, social media, data capture, tracking and reporting.

Posted in Events, Experiential, Interactive Brand Experiences, Technology, Tradeshow Technology, Tradeshows Bookmark the permalink.

When Tech Trends Don’t Matter

January 27, 2015 at 10:15

by Chris Rogne

There are many exciting technology trends for 2015. We’ve even written about Google Cardboard and Samsung’s 3D Project Beyond. We’ve used Kinect technology to create motion games that generate huge crowds at events and tradeshows for launching new products. But when do these trends not matter? When they don’t meet the goals you’ve set for your campaign.

Be sure when choosing a tech trend for your event, tradeshow or mobile tour, that it meets the specific needs of your goals and brand – not for the sake of being trendy.

Ask Yourself:

What is your audience looking for?
Is it relevant to them?
Is it delivering the content you want your audience to know?
Will it reinforce and amplify your brand?

New tech trends might capture audience attention and be engaging but what will they walk away remembering? Will it be the technology or your message?

Posted in Events, Experiential, Interactive Brand Experiences, Technology, Tradeshows Bookmark the permalink.

4 Reasons Why Capturing Attendee Information is Key to Event Success!

December 17, 2014 at 14:59

by Chris Rogne

Companies attend events and tradeshows to generate new business and choosing the right data capture technology and tracking software is critical. Utilizing data properly drives future success.

1) Controlling the Queue—People at events are used to waiting for an attraction if there is something interesting they want to see or do. Good data capture software can help manage that queue process which makes it easier for you to control the line and your attendees will be happier knowing when it’s their turn. Dynamic personalization is a fun option to choose so the participant can see their name incorporated in the event. Having an attraction loop playing so your attendees will be entertained while waiting is a great idea.

2) Lead generation—Let’s face it, you participate in events to generate leads. Collecting information for potential customers allows you to engage over time to build a solid relationship and eventually convert those leads to customers. If the contact is already current customer, it allows you to further your connection through brand perception, drive demand, offer special discounts and coupons or provide education or information.

3) Consumer Insight—Staying in contact with the leads you have captured allows you to gain insight by conducting surveys and collecting information that can help you serve your customer better. What do they like, what do they dislike? It also can provide knowledge of features you could add or develop for your product or service to stay ahead of the curve and your competition.

4) Reporting—The numbers talk. The information you collect can help you develop reports to create an ROI for your event. How many attendees were there? How many leads did you capture? You can track follow through sales if you send them a coupon or special offer. Measuring success of an event helps you determine whether to participate in that event again and/or look for similar events if this one was a success!

Be sure the software you choose can integrate with your existing CRM platform.

Things to consider when choosing a provider:

What type of devices can be used to capture the information? Are these devices purchased or leased? Is a brand ambassador necessary or is it self-service? Is it easy for the brand ambassador to manage and set up?

Posted in Advergames, Strategy, Technology Bookmark the permalink.

Evolution of Advergames to Digital Marketing Platforms

July 7, 2013 at 11:29

by Chris Rogne

Advergames are simply games that have been branded at one level or another. Early on, brand marketers saw the potential of the video game market (in the old days 1995-2000) and started customizing game experiences with brand elements to connect with audiences.

One early brand experience created that I recall from this time period was from Nabisco and their Oreo brand. They created a race type game where you would float your Oreo “boat” through several obstacles down a river. It was simple, and fun and tied into the Oreo brand promise.

Fast forward to 2013; graphics have made a quantum leap, to hyper realistic 3D, augmented reality and mobile has opened new potentials, advances in physical controllers and sensors have created new brand experiences around physical digital blending our reality and virtual reality and providing the interfaces to bridge the experience, and social media platforms to play.

From our perspective as creative technologists, all the advances in technology has provided new canvases for creative and marketing directors to create new deeper positive brand engagements and even brand marketing platforms.

There is still a place for simple enjoyable advergames for events or mobile, where the goal is still simple to create a positive brand experience. However these interactive games can now leverage technology to extend and amplify this experience to a deeper level. Marketer’s can utilize the virtual digital marketing toolbox to design a platform that include games, experiences, user generated content, social media, mobile devices to create a virtual brand world of experiences, games, events, videos, live content, microsites and much more to add depth and relevance to the engagement of brand and audience.

Nike+ is a great example of Nike building a marketing platform utilizing all of the benefits of technology. Nike+ provides digital tools for their customers to achieve their fitness goals by providing customized senors to track and monitor activity, accounts to set goals and track progress, a social community to share and encourage each other, gamification elements of badges and achievements to bring rewards and recognition to meeting goals and encouraging performance improvements.

Nike+ combines the best of marketing and digital interactive. Marketing’s goal is to ultimately drive revenues by uncovering consumers needs and desires and solving them through products that are in alignment with a brand’s promise. Nike is about helping people reach their fitness and life goals. “Just Do It” is their well known brand tagline. Nike+ fulfills Nike’s brand promise and also has created huge new opportunities to sell products that work together, tied together by technology. As a first mover in this space, Nike has created an advantage with hundreds of thousands of fitness minded consumers using their products on their platform. The ultimate loyalty program providing useful, relevant services, information and products.

This type of marketing platform can be adapted to many industries, products and brands and provide early mover advantages. Advergames and brand experiences are only a part of what’s possible.

Elation Digital is a leader supporting brands with creative technology based engagement solutions. Please contact Elation to learn more or to discuss potential projects.

Posted in Experiential, Interactive Brand Experiences, Technology Bookmark the permalink.

Coca-Cola : Happiness Dispenser – Free WIFI for Students

July 5, 2013 at 09:06

by Chris Rogne

Here is a great use of creative technology by Coca-Cola; providing free WIFI to students in areas that charge for WIFI access.

This interactive brand experience has all of the hallmarks of a great Coca Cola brand activation:

1. Ties into Coca-Cola’s brand campaign message “Share Happiness”
2. Creates a physical icon to reinforce the Coca-Cola engagement through the use of a “dispenser” where people use their phones to push the dispenser paddle to “refill” their phones, mimicking refilling a coke drink at a drink dispenser. Refill=Happiness
3. Addresses the target market. By having a clear target in mind, Coca-Cola was able to create an attraction that served a need of that market. In this case students in many areas of the world don’t have access to free WIFI, and they don’t have much money. So this free WIFI dispenser located in areas that students congregate, socialize and connect had direct meaningful impact and reinforced the brand.
4. Tied in elements of social media, and additional brand experiences ( Coca-Cola FM ) to leverage the engagement into an amplified experience.

From a technology standpoint, Coca Cola was able to utilize WIFI distribution technology in a novel way. The dispenser was custom designed and created in small batches using the latest in 3D CAD/CAM technology.

Elation Digital is a leading forward thinking creative technology engagement solution provider to experiential, marketing, and creative agencies serving global brand clients. We help agencies ideate, and develop turnkey interactive marketing solutions for experiential, point of sale, and events that attract targeted audiences and deliver positive brand engagements.

Contact Chris Rogne at Elation Digital (crogne”@”elationdigital.com) to discuss project ideas, budgets, and implementation strategies.