eBay India has launched an intuitive twitter feature called #eBaySmartAsk. The feature is a concierge service that will allow consumers to search for products on ebay.in through their twitter accounts. The #eBaySmartAsk feature will provide consumers with snapshots of the top four results and a link to the search result page. The responses received by the consumers will be intuitive and framed in a quirky conversational manner that gives the users a personalized feel rather than a computer generated experience. The feature will bring products searched by consumers directly on their timeline without having to leave their social profiles on twitter. Commenting on the launch of this service, Shivani Dhanda, Director Marketing, eBay India said “At eBay India, we believe in reaching out to consumers in a manner that excites them to further shop online. Our research and expertise in this space has propelled us to focus on heightened engagement with consumers via Twitter. Social commerce is fast evolving and will soon be of prime importance in the marketing strategies of ecommerce companies. eBay India has been a leader to launch an intuitive shopping experience feature that is intrinsic to the twitter platform.” The #eBaySmartAsk app is designed in a way to engage with consumers who spend most of their time on social networking platforms. This feature will assist consumers by presenting them with the search option right on their personal profile, thereby seamlessly integrating shopping into a buyer’s daily social networking routine.
Read More
LeEco the international internet and technology company has partnered with the Montreux Jazz Festival 2016, adding on to the premium content offered on the LeEco smartphones post IIFA 2016. Consumers of LeEco smartphones can live stream the performances of the fest which is in its 50th year starting July 4, 2016. This is one of the 50 plus concerts that LeEco smartphone members get access to as part of the unique membership program of 'supertainment'. Commenting on this association, Debashish Ghosh, COO Content LeEco India said, “We recently partnered with IIFA 2016 and handpicked two of our lucky members to be part of the IIFA celebration. This was an exclusive offer to our LeEco members. We understand the demand for diverse and genre specific content that our audiences have - and are committed to providing the same. Our association with Montreux Jazz Festival is of course targeting the niche Jazz music aficionados. Similarly, our other Music concert associations - that are streamed in future will cater to other genres - ranging from Rock to Fusion to Blues to Jazz - basically covering all forms of music - but exclusive to only our Members. For the duration of Montreux Jazz Festival our members will have the opportunity to access over live streaming, some of the best know Jazz musicians from across the globe. LeEco believes that such exclusive Content, Experience and Services (more details will be revealed in future) will ultimately drive consumer attention and engagement in our Ecosystem of Products and Services. And this will be the differentiator tomorrow.” Today, smartphones are more of an entertainment device and considering this mind set LeEco is offering Superphones that are not just communication devices but offer finest of entertainment, SUPERTAINMENT. LeEco is one of the pioneering companies in the world to understand consumers' needs and has designed its Superphones to provide consumers a content based ecosystem, which would give them an overall unique experience. It's content membership model is the only model of its kind in India where in the consumers can enjoy access to superlative content free for 1 year. LeEco has tied up with Eros Now and YuppTV, through its platforms - Levidi and LIVE. For music fans, LeMusic - our free Music App - will be powered by Hungama and also adding other music sources to create a vast catalogue music across genres.
Read More
Are you searching for a power outlet under tables at the local coffee shop or enter a restaurant to charge your smartphone all the time? This monsoon, KFC in association with Blink Digital turns the act of charging your phone into a service by launching ‘Watt A Box’- the 1st ever Meal Box which comes with a built-in power bank that can charge your smartphone while you enjoy your finger lickin’ meal! Driven by consumer insights and demand to access mobile chargers, KFC has created this innovative solution as part of its marketing campaign to engage with consumers. Lucky customers at select KFC stores in Mumbai and Delhi will get a chance to have their 5-in-1 Meal served in ‘Watt A Box’ and what’s more take it home too! Users can also participate in an online contest on the KFC India Facebook page to win these limited edition boxes. “We launched the 5-in- 1 Meal Box in March this year with the objective of providing an abundant complete meal and at an affordable price for our customers. With the launch of Watt a Box, we have gone a step ahead and also introduced an element of utility into the box. Each one of us spends a considerable time on our smartphones daily and the phone battery going dead is almost like a nightmare! No longer so with Watt a Box around,” said KFC India CMO, Lluis Ruiz Ribot. "In today’s day and age, smartphones have become as indispensable as food. Finding a charger when your smartphone battery is low can be stressful - whether in the middle of a meeting or in the middle of a meal. With the limited edition KFC Watt A Box, we wanted to offer a smarter and easy cool way for our consumers to recharge their smartphones while they have a ‘finger licking experience!”, said Dooj Ramchandani, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Blink Digital. The quick service restaurant market is a competitive one with restaurants battling it out to convert hungry and time sensitive customers and a meal box with built-in power bank holds the power to deliver more personalised customer experiences.
Read More
Kingfisher, brings the Good Times experience of a city to the comfort of your home with the launch of their latest virtual reality content- 'Kingfisher 360 Cities’. Kingfisher has created virtual reality campaign in association with Spectra VR, leveraging the growing popularity of VR headsets. Apart from this, the360 video content support on Facebook and YouTube enables the brand to further engage with their fans and followers on these platforms. With the larger goal of showcasing how Kingfisher is integral to having fun in the city, the videos walk users through the coolest & most popular parts of the country, showing them the best way to unwind in those cities with Kingfisher. While the brand has already released Goa & Pondicherry as part of their ‘KF 360 Cities’ campaign over the last couple of months and has seen a tremendous response across social platforms, places like Kerala, Rajasthan & Uttarakhand are ready to be released soon. Targeting tech savvy youth, Kingfisher has created a riveting series of virtual tours that can transport the viewer into any of the given cities. From the beaches of Goa to the sand dunes of Rajasthan, adventure seekers can get a 360 view of the city by logging onto the Kingfisher pages on Facebook &YouTube. Samar Singh Sheikhawat, Senior Vice President - Marketing, United Breweries Limited, said, “The ‘KF 360 cities’ campaign is the perfect opportunity to bring destinations to people instead of the other way around. Forget maps and GPS, and explore India like you’ve never done before. Whether it’s the backwaters of Kerala, the sand dunes of Jaisalmer or the beaches of Goa, Kingfisher will truly show you how to have a Good Time!” Virtual Reality is the latest buzzword online and with Samsung Gear VR headset already out in the market, it gives brands an opportunity to create amazing, immersive experiences for consumers. With its on-going digital campaigns, Kingfisher becomes one of the first few brands to bring the phenomenon of virtual reality into mainstream marketing. The other preceding campaigns like the Kingfisher Super Chasers VR Game, during the IPL season used VR gear to transport users into a virtual cricket stadium, giving them an immersive gaming experience. The game created a lot of fan frenzy during the Kingfisher on-ground activations across the country, with even cricketers trying their hand at the game. Virtual Reality is set to take the gaming industry by storm and if the response to the Kingfisher Super Chasers VR Game is anything to go by, then we sure are in for good times ahead!
Read More
OnePlus, the global technology start-up, is launching its third flagship smartphone –in virtual space. Behind this creative and break-through use of virtual reality technology is the combined efforts of creative and technology professionals from DigitasLBi. “The Loop” is the name of the VR experience that creates a mélange of animations in a virtual space station high above the Earth’s surface. While inside The Loop, users can explore many of the key features of the new OnePlus 3, and even order the smartphone in the virtual world – and then have it delivered to the real one. “To create the most realistic and immersive experience possible, we’ve employed a number of innovative, never-before-seen, usages of CGI and 4D technologies, as well as 360° films,” explains Rasmus Frandsen, Creative Director at DigitasLBi Nordics. “Together, these create an experience designed to excite the global community of OnePlus fans, as well as tech enthusiasts.” “Last year OnePlus held the first-ever product launch in VR. This time with The Loop, we’re taking things a step forward by pushing accessible VR technology to its outer limits,” said Carl Pei, Co-founder and Head of Global at OnePlus. “It’s going to go down in history as the first global shopping experience in VR!” The OnePlus 3 launched on June 14, 2016, and The Loop can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store. For the first 2.5 hours OnePlus 3 could only be ordered from inside The Loop. About the campaign: The campaign delivers the world’s first VR looping animation. Using a VR headset, potential customers are welcomed on board the OnePlus office of the future – a spacecraft called The Loop. While on board, visitors receive a tour of the spacecraft and an introduction to the OnePlus 3, as well as the opportunity to purchase the OnePlus 3 directly in the VR experience. The solution sets a new standard for VR experiences on smartphones. The campaign creates an interactive and engaging experience through ingenious use of seamlessly looped Hollywood quality CGI 3D stereoscopic visuals. The custom VR playback engine is optimized for low latency, high resolution, high frame-rate mobile VR immersion, making it possible for viewers to enjoy a rich VR experience on a normal smartphone. The campaign will run in the US, Europe, India and China.
Read More
Polycom was named the ‘Video Conferencing Equipment Vendor of the Year’, at the 2016 Frost & Sullivan India ICT Awards banquet held on June 2nd at Hyatt Regency, Mumbai. Polycom has been growing progressively in the Indian video conferencing market over the last few years and has provided superior video collaboration solutions for business use. Understanding customer demands and delivering a superior experience enabled the company to capture customer delight. The company catered to every enterprise segment with its unique offerings and enhanced value proposition. Its commitment to constantly innovate was visible through its new product launches, leading to its growth journey. Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Minhaj Zia, Vice President India SAARC and South Korea for Polycom said “Work has drastically changed from a place we go to - into something that we do, irrespective of time, location and devices we use. In order for collaboration and teamwork to thrive in the workplace of the future, organizations need the right tools. Our solutions help unleash the power of human collaboration across any distance, device, or timeline to help not only save costs and meet company objectives, but to create a true Workplace of the Future. For the past several years, Polycom has focused on changing our customers’ experience of video collaboration and enabling the workplace of the future. We make sure the solutions we bring to market are simplified for an improved user experience and easier adoption and today we are proud to be the recipient of this award” Extending hearty congratulations to Polycom on winning the 2016 Video Conferencing Equipment Vendor of the Year award, Mr. Benoy CS, Director, Digital Transformation Practice, Frost & Sullivan said, “Polycom is a key innovator in the video conferencing market in India and has achieved exemplary revenue growth of 22%. The company’s continued investments in technology backed by a strong go-to-market strategy have given it a competitive edge. The vendors focus on enhancing the end user customer experience has been instrumental, leading to acquisition of many new customers. Through strategic partnerships with leading unified communication solutions provider it offers cloud-based collaboration solutions leading to seamless communications for the enterprise.” The award recipients were judged on a variety of parameters that included revenue growth, market share growth, product portfolio diversity, key achievements, and Go-to-Market strategy. It involved in-depth primary interviews of various industry participants and secondary research conducted by Frost & Sullivan analysts. An elite panel of jury members comprising prominent CIOs/CTOs from the industry evaluated the compiled data and incorporated the end-user perspective. Frost & Sullivan then presented the Awards to companies that received the highest industry rank in each category.
Read More
Event planners, curators and sponsors, these days, want to experiment with technology; most are just toying with the idea, whereas the application of technology and digital innovation at events can literally transform the level of audience engagement. These days the audience at an event, want the planners, curators and sponsors to deliver beyond their expectations, which can be done with the use of technology. According to a Frost and Sullivan report, mobile event applications tend to increase the audience engagement by a third and such audience are not interested to listen the industry’s best practises but experience innovation. Usually, the people who attend B2B conferences or corporate functions are left feeling anonymous since the speaker sessions and their time at the various kiosks and business exhibits are not always relevant to their line of business. B2B events always appeal to the larger TG, rather than focusing on the individuals who attend it. With the use of technology, such as RFID tags/ bands, social media walls, augmented reality displays, interactive touch screen information centres among many others, can turn an event from a mass marketing activity to a personalised activation. The use of technology does not end at the event site, use of social media and digital avenues for pre and post event marketing can also be used to engage the target audience generating interesting content. Digital Corporate e-mailers or a personalised event social media page can keep feeding the audience pre and post event. Before the event, it can be used to talk about the agenda, schedule and activities that the audience can participate in. Post event the same platform can be used to generate feedback and conversations, making the people who attend the event, loyal customers to push related content, products and services. Through social media, event curators and sponsors can create features that can engage the audience in relevant groups, which can also be used to network and connect with their peers before, during and after the event. A current example is of conferences, which are creating digital resource pages or microsites for registrations. These registered users can get customised content and information which matches their business line and profile. Hence, adding a personalised approach, which not only works on a larger scale to enhance the overall event status in the industry but also is an approach of pinpointed delivery of content to the event organisers as well as the audience that registers. Mobile Event mobile applications too are slowly replacing event brochures and leaflets which talk about the event agenda, speaker sessions etc. Since the engagement game is all about personalisation, a mobile app that gives easy access to personal agendas, displays relevant content, allows interactivity among peers and participants, displays maps that tell the participant about the exhibits and touch-points of interest, have real time updates about the event, is integrated with social media to foster relationship building and lets the participant tweet and post pictures and topics of discussions. These mobile apps go a long way in creating interactivity and engagement between the audience and the curators. An example of this is a Vancouver-based mobile technology solutions company known as QuickMobile, which created an application called the MobileEvent, which was scalable from 1 to 1000 events. The app offered an array of tailored components that would help event sponsors, curators and planners engage and interact with their target audience on-site and outside the event environment and most of all it also offered analytics to help measure ROI. The app would act as a catalyst for discussions, show topics, timings and build a community that could later be used to push related content, products and services. On-site In the past couple of years, events have been boosted with the use of technology. The fact that sponsors, curators as well as participants can now create content around events has been boosted by the use of technology. For example one of the best ways of engagement that started a while back and is in use as of today is through YouTube, where one can create active audience engagement with innovative, informative and structured content. According to an event consultancy service in the UK known as Gallus, curators and sponsors can motivate their event participants to create content on YouTube, which in turn helps them increase audience attendance since it works as a Word of Mouth publicity as well as fosters engagement among the prospective consumers. Smartphone Integration According to a report from the UK events industry, more than three quarters of the audience that attends events own smartphones, which have social media connectivity and out of that number, half own tablets and carry them to events. The use of smartphones and tablets with social media capabilities allows the participants of the event to generate content and make their points on site, which is often today published on social media walls in conferences and trade events. This increases the social scalability of an event as more and more people know and get connected by Tweets, Instagram-pictures or new Facebook Shares. Innovative ‘Fun’ elements Technological innovations for events have also taken an interesting turn; the use of off-beat products to engage people at conferences and trade shows is picking up. For example, to get rid of the boring microphone that is passed around for audience questions and talks was replaced by something called ‘CatchBox’, which is claimed to be a ‘throw-able’ microphone. A box shaped soft covered microphone, that can be tossed from the panellist or the speaker to the audience to create a ‘fun’ environment. Or ‘Poken’ which gives a suite of products and software that can be used to exchange digital information in the real world with a touch. Conference attendees have been using this to exchange, coordinates, addresses, virtual visiting cards and other sharable company and corporate information at trade events with a simple touch or collect data through tags and stickers by touching them. Wearable Tech Taking a step further, a company called Wearable Experiment has recently created a jacket that participants of large conventions such as the CES or Comic Con, can use to navigate themselves to the places they would like to see. Post wearing the apparel, one can type in the exhibits they would like to go to, onto their smartphone. The apparel will tap the wearer on the shoulder for turning left or right and double tap when the location has been reached. By entering this application in the smartphone and putting it back in the pocket, the attendees get their eyes back and don’t have to look into the phones for directions. Though it has been a while since it has entered the events industry, an interesting wearable technology that is popular, especially pertaining to entertainment and technology conventions are RFID bands. Radio Frequency Identification technology has been in use for several years. It uses an electromagnetic field to transmit identification information. In concerts, there are many people to keep track of especially when it comes to security. RFID ensures that concert audience can come and go without trespassing and unauthorized entry cannot happen with RFID identification. Furthering to this, RFIDs nowadays are being used to transfer information, though basic, but data that can help the sponsors and curators of events generate prospective consumer data or even link it social media to create a community platform for further engagement. RFIDs are not only a boon for the event planners but also the audience that attends the event. Like Poken, these RFID tags/ wearable can be used to transfer data crucial for networking for a participant or data crucial for the organiser in terms of ROI. Look and Feel Holographs and Projection mapping is another technical innovation that is being used in a lot of events around the world to initiate the wow factor and engagement. For example in June this year a truck manufacturer in the United States used projection mapping over hoover dam to convert the dam’s wall into a huge screen that debuted its latest vehicle launch. Similarly to celebrate the start of the US Open Tennis Tournament, American Express curated an event where it used holographic projectors to illustrate the movement of an actual tennis court and urged the event participants to step into the holographic court giving them interactive and responsive tennis rackets that would create a real-time imagery of the sport, thus creating excitement and engagement among the audience. Return on Objectives and Return on Investment Event sponsors and curators claim that the only way for a trade event to know its ROI is when pre registrations get converted into clients. According to a talk at EventTech Live, the industry standards are somewhere from 30 to 40 per cent when it comes to conversions of pre-registered customers. But bringing in the tech aspect, things like event mobile apps are more capable of reaching out to the audience and sponsors and curators can track the conversations, number of downloads and how the audience is using it, to get a better data analytics. This data in some cases is the ROI that they require; data as well as a platform for keeping their consumers engaged. Another method of relating ROI to event engagement is through the use of celebrity speakers or industry professionals who can influence people to go to the event. Curators and planners are getting industry professionals on board who can strike a conversation on social media, tweet about the event and share their thoughts on a community blog, which in turn lures their followers to the event show. Thus, with a community following, one can ensure numbers as well as engagement. Talking about community, the purpose of an event is to get buyers and sellers from different walks of life onto a single platform to interact and do business. Hence, sponsors and curators have also devised different digital and mobile networking tools and platforms to facilitate the same. These platforms use the right communication tools to the right community and also help build communities that create content and engagement before the event. The audience can talk about their anticipation for the event; interact and see if there are valuable people on-board during the event and create a chain of feedback and conversations post the event. One of the oldest and most conventional ways of getting to know ROI is through surveys and polls. By collecting event feedback, sponsors, curators and planners can know what was good, what went wrong and what can be improved. It also highlights the participation as well as attendee interest. These days, apart from calling, most surveys are either online a mobile application. A lot of trade events send out online and app based surveys right after speaker sessions so that they can capture the thoughts of the audience while the topic is still fresh in their minds. Summing up With events becoming an ever more integral part of the marketing-communication mix, brands are seeking to engage with their customers and partners and technology has raised the expectation of the audience for an event. What used to be brochures and freebies, is now a full technological package outside their tickets and passes. Be it a product or a service launch, conference or trade exhibition; the event attendee in today’s digital era is connected all the time. And being online is only going to grow and hence events are going to evolve. For sponsors curators and planners, technological evolution is a method of innovative ways to communicate with their target audience with intriguing content. Industry professionals cite that the future of event technology is the use of large scale holographic, wearable and mobile technology. There was once a time where people were told to switch off their phones and turn down any instrument that could interfere, nowadays brands want their audience to be online tweet and generate content sitting in the events centre. By using wearable technology, curators and sponsors can track and generate business leads and with holographic technology and projection mapping, event organiser can engage and entice the audience.
Read More
Ever sent an Uber to take a family member to the doctor? Or called an Uber for your child if he misses the school bus home? You can now send and pay for hassle-free rides to friends & family across the world. The StayClose app lets you see how your loved ones are and send help when it’s needed - starting with Uber rides. Touchkin, the predictive care platform, today joins hands with Uber to unveil a new ‘send a ride’ feature on its StayClose family care app. Starting today, users will be able to send an Uber ride to their loved ones whenever they need it, anywhere across the world, with just two taps. No need to juggle texts and calls, trying to connect them to the driver so they can find each other. And best of all, they don’t need to pay. StayClose is a family care app that helps users take care of their loved ones. Families can see if their children or parents are okay without being intrusive using data from their mobile phone, and do something for them as well. Touchkin, the company behind the StayClose app, is a digital predictive care platform which uses artificial intelligence to analyze when someone may be in need of care. With ‘send a ride’, the StayClose app allows users to arrange a pickup for anyone in their contacts list. It uses Uber’s APIs to send them a ride, even if they don’t have the app installed. They need to simply click on the link when ready and an Uber will go to their location at no cost to them. This feature adds value to families and helps them care for each other better. It also reaches out to a wider audience, as users can now include non-smartphones owners and send them the convenience of an Uber ride. Commenting on the partnership, Jo Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO of StayClose said, “The StayClose app helps people care for their loved ones while being away. The first element of care is to know how someone is, which is the core of the Touchkin platform. The second is to be able to do something to help those you care for. This often involves getting someone picked up and taken to the doctor, or brought to you. We were looking for a global partner who can make it easier for families everywhere to care for each other, and Uber was the perfect choice. You can actually go the last mile and do something about an unwell sibling or parent. Sitting in London, you can book an Uber in India to take your parents to the doctor.” Commenting on this partnership, Saad Ahmed, India BD Lead at Uber said, “The Touchkin partnership came out of the Hackathon we hosted in Bangalore which was a first in Asia, following the launch of Uber Trip Experiences. We are pleased to collaborate and join hands with StayClose, in their efforts towards creating a unique family care platform. This is a great example of how Uber’s APIs are helping our developer partners develop innovative user experiences. India has been a significant source of ideas that are relevant globally, and we hope that StayClose will become an important part of our innovation and partner ecosystem.” The StayClose app is available for free on Google Play and the Apple App Store.
Read More
