Tag: Hololens

Rémy Martin Develops HoloLens AR Experience To Promote High-End Champagne

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Spirits brand Rémy Martin is embracing augmented reality with the roll-out of a unique experience powered by Microsoft’s HoloLens headset. The AR experience, named “Rooted in Exception,” is designed to introduce customers to elements of its Cognac Grande Champagne and Cognac Petite Champagne vineyards in the Fine Champagne region, with a voiceover from the brand’s Cellar Master. Rémy Martin worked with AR studio Kazendi to create this AR experience, which is set to launch at a private party in Los Angeles on June 15 before rolling out to luxury retail stories and events worldwide.

What Brands Need To Do
This is the latest example of brands experimenting with augmented reality technologies as an eye-grabbing way to demo their products and craft an engaging brand narrative. While AR headsets, such as the HoloLens, are still far from mass adoption, they are already great tools for this type of experience marketing efforts. Given that all major tech companies are already starting to support mobile AR functions on their respective platforms, now is a good time for brands to formulate an AR strategy and start leveraging this reality-altering technology to supercharge your campaigns and add value to your customer experience.

 

Source: PressWire

Header image courtesy of Microsoft’s promotional image.

Sony Creates HoloLens Mixed Reality Game To Promote New Smurfs Movie

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
To promote the release of the new Smurfs reboot movie, Sony Pictures is inviting moviegoers to explore the Smurfs village in a mixed reality generated by Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets. Collaborating with media agency OMD, AOL advertising content creators Partner Studio, and VR production company UNIT9, this mixed reality experience asks players to explore various exotic locations taken from the movie and eventually find a “Lost Village.” After placing on the headset, players can use flat surfaces and tabletops as foundations to activate the experience.

What Brands Need To Do
This is a commendable effort on Sony’s part to leverage interactive HoloLens content to drive engagement and interests. While HoloLens is still limited in its availability and therefore low in consumer adoption, it provides a platform for brands to create cutting-edge immersive experiences that will stand out from the run-of-the-mill VR content many brands have started dabbling in. In the long run, this type of interactive experience will provide the digital assets crucial for establishing franchises. When it comes to picking the right immersive content platform to develop content for, brands need to take its long-term value into considerations and chose one that best fits their campaign objectives.

How We Can Help
Our dedicated team of VR experts is here to guide marketers through the distribution landscape. We work closely with brands to develop sustainable VR content strategies to promote branded VR and 360 video content across various apps and platforms. With our proprietary technology stack powered by a combination of best-in-class VR partners and backed by the media fire-power of IPG Mediabrands, we offer customized solutions for distributing and measuring branded VR content that truly enhance brand messaging and contribute to the campaign objectives.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Lab can help you tap into the immersive power of VR content to engage with customers, please contact our Client Services Director Samantha Barrett ([email protected]) to schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: VRScout

Header image courtesy of AOL Global Partner Studios

Adobe To Supercharge Retail Management With HoloLens Apps

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Adobe has created three apps for Microsoft HoloLens that aims to supercharge retail management via data visualization. As reported by ZDNet, the trio of new AR apps consist of:

• Traffic paths. Using the HoloLens, store managers can view augmented data above the floor of a store showing what percentage of people have traveled down those paths. This would likely be recorded with beacons or cameras.

• Digital mirror overlays. By overlaying graphics onto a smart mirror, a store manager can see information about user demographics, such as how many items have been tried on in which color, and how many of those purchases converted

• Giving voice agents an augmented display. Screens provide a canvas for rich information display and interactivity that isn’t practical with voice output, at least today. By taking advantage of a virtual display, HoloLens users can interact with an agent such as Cortana and see visualized analytic information about their businesses wherever they might be in a room.

What Brands Need To Do
These new AR apps developed by Adobe highlight the potential of augmented reality in business use cases, granting retail managers the superpower of understanding customer behaviors and traffic patterns in stores in real time, which, in turn, allows them to more effectively allocate their resources and offer better customer services.

This retail use case is but one of the many ways augmented reality will transform the customer experience and help brands blend their digital assets into real-world scenarios. As AR technology continues to develop apace, more brands need to start thinking about ways that they can leverage it to create an enhanced customer experience with contextual and personalized offers.

Source: ZDNet

 

British Fashion Brand Uses HoloLens To Showcase New Collection

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Martine Jarlgaard London found an interesting way to showcase its new collection during London Fashion Week. Instead of a typical runway show, attendees will enter a seemingly empty space and strap on a Microsoft HoloLens headset to see the new collection populate the space as holograms. This will allow attendees to walk around and check out the items from all angles. Working with the Fashion Innovation Agency and 3D capturing company DoubleMe, the brand hopes the use of HoloLens can help reimagine the runway and remove “the barrier between the physical location and the audience.”

What Brands Need To Do
This initiative is the latest example of an early-adopting brand exploring augmented and mixed reality to showcase their products and content in an innovative way. The viral success of Pokémon Go has been familiarizing millions of consumers worldwide with augmented reality technologies, and brands that wish to stay ahead of the curve should consider partnering with tech providers and content creators to start working on augmented and mixed reality now.

The Lab has extensive experience with AR technologies and how they apply to marketing. For anyone that has yet to experience augmented reality, the Lab has a HoloLens that is ready for demo. Please get in touch with our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to request a HoloLens demo or have a client opportunity.

 

Sources: Forbes

Header image courtesy of Martine Jarlgaard London’s Twitter

Intel Dives Into Virtual Reality, Works With Microsoft To Bring HoloLens To Windows PCs

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Virtual and augmented reality technologies were the star of the show at Intel’s annual developer conference on Tuesday. Intel announced a series of new VR and AR initiatives that mark the company’s full-speed charge into the VR and AR fields.

• To begin with, the company unveiled an all-in-one VR headset named Project Alloy, which packs everything – from cameras to battery, sensors to input controls – into the wireless headset without the need for a PC or smartphone to power it. Alloy will also be integrated with Microsoft’s Windows Holographic platform, allowing it to run holographic apps much like a HoloLens.

• Intel is launching a VR studio in Hollywood dedicated to producing 360-degree sports and entertainment experiences. The studio will utilize Intel’s 360 Replay technology, which was employed in the NBA Finals this year to showcase the action from all angles.

• Intel announced it is working with Microsoft to bring the augmented reality experience generated by HoloLens to Windows 10 PCs, which are expected to work with a head-mounted display and run all Windows Holographic applications starting next year.

Why Brands Should Care
Intel is diving deeper into the VR and AR fields because it plays to its strength, namely making chips with high processing power needed to run VR and AR devices. These initiatives inject some momentum into the development of VR and AR technologies and push them one step closer to mainstream consumer adoption. As more and more consumers become familiar with these types of immersive and interactive content, now is the time for brands to start working with content creators to develop branded VR and AR content.

The Lab currently has three VR headsets and a HoloLens ready for demo. Come by the Lab and request a demo to see how engaging and magical VR and AR experiences can be, and understand why consumers would be excited by them.

 

Sources: various sites as cited in article

 

Legendary Partners With Microsoft To Create Holograms Of Warcraft Characters

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Legendary Entertainment is teaming up with Microsoft’s HoloLens team to create mixed reality content. The production studio is beginning with holograms of the characters from its Warcraft and Pacific Rim movies. At the Hollywood premiere of the Warcraft movie, Legendary showcased a HoloLens experience where users could see people interacting with a hologram of Orgrim Doomhammer, a main character from the Warcraft franchise.

What Brands Need To Do
This partnership sets a precedent for brands looking to explore augmented and mixed reality and create next-gen branded content. Recently, the viral success of Pokémon Go has been familiarizing millions of mainstream consumers worldwide with augmented reality technologies, and brands that wish to jump on this hot trend should consider partnering with content creators to develop branded AR content.

The Lab has extensive experience with AR technologies and how they apply to marketing. For anyone that has yet to experience augmented reality, the Lab has a HoloLens that is ready for demo. Please get in touch with our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to request a HoloLens demo or have a client opportunity.

 

Source: GeekWire

Header image courtesy of Legendary’s YouTube Video

Microsoft Starts Selling HoloLens To Everyone

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
If you have been waiting to experience the magical augmented reality generated by HoloLens, Microsoft has good news for you. The company announced on Tuesday that it is starting to sell its HoloLens AR glasses to all business customers in the U.S. and Canada on a limited basis. Previously, only developers and select business customers developing showcase apps were able to get their hands on the $3,000 HoloLens Development edition. Now, companies can purchase up to five HoloLens devices for internal use and development. And since all Microsoft requires is an address in the U.S. or Canada and a Microsoft account, technically anyone can now buy a HoloLens if they have three grand to spare.

What Brands Need To Do
As we pointed out in our recent Fast Forward on the Pokémon Go phenomenon, AR technology holds great potential for brands to explore, especially in its capability to bridge the physical and digital world. Thanks to Pokémon Go, a mass audience is falling in love with augmented reality, opening the door for brands to leverage AR to reach consumers. Therefore, brands that wish to stay ahead of the curve should consider investing in some HoloLens devices, which is arguably the most mature AR headset in the market right now.

The Lab has extensive experience with AR technologies and how they apply to marketing. For anyone that has yet to experience augmented reality, the Lab has a HoloLens that is ready for demo. Please get in touch with our Client Services Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) if you’d like to request a HoloLens demo or have a client opportunity.

 

Source: ZDNet

What You Need To Know About Microsoft’s Build 2015 Event

Posted on by Lab Team

Yesterday, Microsoft kicked off its annual developer conference, Build 2015. Several big announcements were made that could have a ripple effect on the overall tech ecosystem:

Windows 10 Aiming High
Throughout the event, Microsoft expressed high hopes for its upcoming operating system Windows 10. The company reportedly wants to see Windows 10 on 1 billion devices within two or three years of its official release. Aiming to unify the Windows applications on PC, Windows Phone, Xbox One, as well as new product categories such as Surface Hub and HoloLens, with a common core, Windows 10 could be the first true universal OS.

Open Arms To iOS And Android Apps
As if uniting all Microsoft platforms under Windows 10 isn’t enough, Microsoft also unveiled two new software development kits (SDKs) that will enable iOS and Android developers to leverage their existing codes into building Windows apps, in some cases even porting their apps and games directly to Windows universal apps. By simplifying the process, Microsoft is clearly hoping to lure more app developers into Windows OS to enrich its ecosystem.

HoloLens Growing Fast
As mentioned above, the Windows 10 universal apps will also run on its hologram-generating HoloLens headset that just debuted back in January. At the demo event, Microsoft showcased some applications in a living-room environment—including apps floating on the walls, a hologram dog, and even a holographic Start Menu—all running smoothly as if in a sci-fi movie. Moreover, Microsoft announced a partnership with Unity Technologies to fully explore HoloLens’s incredible potential in becoming a platform for immersive AR gaming.