Immersive technology used to be a far-fetch concept, provided only by lofty-funded companies and experienced and appreciated only by banked consumers capable of grabbing cutting-edge tech. Today, innovation in tech has seen more than just a sophistication in features but has evolved to provide the most important development of all – AR and VR can now be experienced by everyone. 

When mobile game Pokémon GO was released in 2016, AR had started to become a household name. Now, with the unprecedented digital lifestyle brought on by the pandemic, AR and VR had similarly risen to new heights – becoming brands’ top consumer engagement strategy, infiltrating people’s everyday life.

For the latest episode of MARKETECH Spotlight, we sat down with Malaysia’s fast-growing digital experience agency Unicom Interactive Digital (UID) to deep dive into how these digital experiences are developed. Through a conversation with its Chief Operating Officer Jareth Eng, we were let on the behind-the-scenes of AR development, and most importantly, the best practices and future trends in immersive technology straight from the experience builder.

Watch the full MARKETECH Spotlight episode on Unicom Interactive Digital feat. Chief Operating Officer Jareth Eng

Pivoting from on-ground activations to digital experiences

Pre-pandemic, UID started out as a provider of on-ground activations, but just like every business during the pandemic, the digital agency had to pivot to meet new demands with the firm finding itself at the cusp of a challenge and an opportunity.

“UID is in [the] position [of] bridging traditional marketing norms with digital touch,” said Eng in the MARKETECH Spotlight interview.

With its core specialization in physical to hybrid marketing activations, it didn’t come easy for the agency to shift to crafting purely web and digital experiences.

One of the on-ground activations UID did pre-pandemic for Eu Yan Sang, a Traditional Chinese Medicine brand in Malaysia.

“Suddenly, there was an influx of inquiries [asking] could you do this web-based campaign for us, could you build this digital site for us, and then we thought, why not?” shared Eng. 

Before the demand for digital risen, UID had worked with brands like Clarins, Victoria’s Secret, and TeaLive, and a staple of the on-ground activations UID mounted was installed with touch-screen and sensor devices that amplified consumer engagement. 

Transforming the firm’s value proposition to delivering web-based experiences was not something that UID was a stranger to. As Eng puts it, UID had the skillset and the ‘tools’ to build ‘software’ and that although partially an uncharted territory for them, there had been no reason to “stop us from trying.”

“Since then, we went full-force ahead, trying out [and] testing out what works [and] what doesn’t work, and we just kept finding our process, and that’s how we got to where we are today,” said Eng.

The characteristics of a good digital experience

With consumers locked in the four corners of their abodes at the height of the pandemic, the ways to explore products and services have been drastically reduced. With the presence of e-commerce, consumers are still able to fulfill their transactions, but only a similar live brand engagement can answer to consumers’ indulgence – and this is what has been the greatest role of AR and VR at this period.

After over a year, UID is finding firm its ground and has since launched a virtual concept store for skincare brand Sulwhasoo and AR applications for FMCG Nestle and Ascenda, telco Maxis, and skincare Aiken, among many others.

First off, Eng says that the common denominator among successful campaigns is content, emphasizing on the importance of ‘personalizing’ content. Eng’s advice? Be real, be sincere.

One of the things enjoyed today is the increased accessibility to almost any type of digital content and comes with that is the heightened demand to rummage through and find the one that’s most engaging and trustworthy, therefore, making personalization and authenticity top values, according to Eng.

“More and more, let’s be honest, we start to get bored of the same stuff, and we start to look for authenticity in content, because there are so much paid advertisements today [and] so much paid endorsements, and we reach a point where we do not know what is being said is real or not.”

Technically, Eng cites the element of building a good digital infrastructure, more specifically on the issue of loading speeds, as a vital aspect of a good digital experience. On-demand is now the name of the game and said area, when overlooked, can be a dealbreaker for brands. 

A basic example would be, Eng continues, when a brand is running an AR campaign based on QR codes and upon scanning, a consumer is made to wait, that dead air becomes a potential pitfall where they ought to abandon the experience. 

“It’s a matter of milliseconds that you will lose a potential customer, this is why infrastructure is very important,” said Eng.

Now, Eng says that besides knowing the components of a highly-engaging digital experience, brands must simply decide to be a proactive player in the digital space. With digital the present and future of marketing, this is the way brands are able to stay ‘relevant’.

“The drive towards digital transformation may have been fueled by the pandemic but even as the world recovers and we are no longer restricted by social distancing constraints or pandemic constraints, the perks of adding digital elements to campaigns have proven themselves during the past year. Even as we head back to a norm that we were used to, digital elements will still play a part,” said Eng. 

Lastly, as a digital partner themself, Eng stresses the importance for brands to find a ‘good match’. He says it all boils down to the chemistry between the brand and agency.

“Finding a good digital partner is very important. We could be a good fit, we could not be a good fit,” Eng commented. 

He adds, “A digital partner that understands what your brand is trying to achieve is gonna be key.” 

With UID’s case, Eng believes the firm’s strongest suit is their unique perspective of having been able to execute both on-ground and digital campaigns, and therefore having a good combination of the skills and knowledge of both. 

“As a company that was borne out of delivering on-ground campaigns to the digitalization of campaigns…I’m not saying that we are the best but [we] have learned the lessons,” said Eng.

The process of building a digital experience

According to Forbes’ tech council, remote try-on capabilities will be one of the biggest tech trends that will impact business and consumer marketplaces moving forward, and therefore, VR and AR will carve an even more pivotal role in making this stride possible.

In order to bring this to fruition, players in the digital ecosystem must work hand in hand. A brand with a platform to engage and influence the consumer must forge strategic partnerships with VR and AR experience builders that share the same values and vision. 

A combination of simplification, innovation, and strategic data, Eng says, is what will hit the ground running for both agency and brand, and what would, eventually, set the record for one-of-a-kind and out-of-the-box marketing campaigns.

First, the process from conceptualization to execution must be simplified. Eng shared that in UID’s case, the process is made seamless by simply removing any technical jargon from the communication. 

“As former marketers ourselves, we understand the pain that marketers face especially when dealing with tech. We don’t bombard you with all the technical jargon,” said Eng.

With AR and VR a fixture of the burgeoning new-age tech, innovation will always be at the heart of building these ultra-immersive brand engagements, and Eng couldn’t agree more. 

He says that with UID, innovation is built from dealing with the roots, that is, learning a brand’s story – how they operate pre-pandemic so that the agency is able to bring out a digital experience that is both never-before-seen but also a continuity of a brand’s identity. 

“As brands are restricted by physicality in recent times, such restrictions don’t apply in the digital space,” said Eng. 

He adds, “Tell us what you used to do before the pandemic, what your objectives were, which touchpoints were important to you, and what your measure of success [was] for on-ground campaigns…for your audiences, it is like you [have] always been there.” 

Lastly, strategic data or the right metrics is what will keep the campaign team aligned – the brand and the agency to be on the same page. With the wave of creative innovation today, marketers on the client and agency side must not lose sight of best-serving metrics that will assure precedents to enable the repetition of success, and foolproof action plans from rewriting mistakes.

On UID’s side, Eng says that its strength comes from the team’s marketing background; that as former marketers, they know which metrics will best serve as compass for directing efforts into the most befitting strategies and channels.

“We filter off what is coined ‘white noise’ and keep the data that matters,” said Eng. 

He adds, “Again, as former marketers ourselves, we know the type of metric that you need for improving customer retention, we know the type of metric in driving your sales.”

The future of AR

AR has started to penetrate the general consumer’s lifestyle and campaigns have been evolved to commercialized and friendly formats to make AR inclusive – not just for those that have hi-tech devices to experience and not only for the tech-savvy to appreciate. So if AR is the present, what more can we expect for the development of this area in immersive tech?

Eng says that the amount of research & development had been immense in the past year, and immersive tech definitely hasn’t seen the best it’s yet to offer.

Tech and social media behemoths Apple and Facebook are determined to lead the way in immersive tech by announcing futuristic new features and products with premature news surrounding Apple’s launch of a headset and glasses with AR and VR capabilities and of course Facebook’s investment in the metaverse. 

Not getting too ahead of ourselves, Eng said that a much proximate innovative feature that’s as exciting to both brands and consumers is that AR is no longer restricted by app-based experiences. 

“The beauty of web AR is you don’t need to download an app for ease for accessibility,” said Eng. 

When face-to-face interactions were phased out in the pandemic, brands had to cruise through with the biggest question of all: How can we show our products to consumers? 

“Brands no longer [have] consumers going to them, [in your] brick-and-mortar stores and retail shops,” said Eng. 

“Augmented reality provided a way for consumers to experience a product and to still be educated, and to have a sort of [an] experience with a brand,” Eng adds. 

Now, with just a simple scan of a QR code, and by being connected to holy grail social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, consumers can be transported to different realities, be entertained with games, and even go as far as experiencing AR-activated concerts without lifting a finger. 

“Brands should start incorporating AR technology into their everyday business simply because they are now easily accessible, engaging for consumers, and most importantly, drive sales,” said Eng.

Brands who want to reach out to Unicom Interactive Digital may visit their website at uid.asia and may contact the agency at [email protected].

Listen to the full conversation between MARKETECH APAC’s Regional Editor Shaina Teope and UID’s Chief Operating Officer Jareth Eng on Spotify:

Singapore – As more brands venture into various media to create branded content, camera and technology company Snap, the parent company of social media platform Snapchat, has announced the launch of Arcadia, a global creative studio for branded augmented reality (AR), powered by a team of world-class experts that pioneered mobile AR advertising at Snap.

Arcadia will develop new technology and aims to deliver the most innovative, impactful and effective AR experiences to brand and agency partners. Furthermore, the creative studio will be platform-agnostic and will develop experiences that can live across platform, web and app-based AR environments. 

Arcadia will work on a studio model and will take on select projects that require the most creative and technical skillset. In doing so, the studio will be developing the next generation of branded AR experiences with the goal to lead the charge on innovation for the larger AR creation ecosystem.

“Arcadia is the newest member of Snap’s AR ecosystem that we’ve been developing for the last decade and we have seen proven results with our over 40 trusted partners and success in tools like ‘Lens Web Builder’ and ‘Creator Marketplace’. By launching Arcadia, we are further cementing Snap’s commitment to Augmented Reality as a format that truly pushes the boundaries of creativity and performance in digital marketing” said Jeff Miller, global head of creative strategy.

Arcadia shared that it has already secured partnerships with world-class marketers including P&G Beauty, Verizon, WWE and Shake Shack. Through the launch, the studio will partner with brands, agencies and creators to elevate what is possible in AR, further cementing it as a must-buy, always-on format to engage with the millennial and Gen-Z audience.

In terms of how Arcadia can serve both brands and creators, the studio offers the following prospects namely ‘Studio of Record’ where Arcadia will become the official ‘AR Studio of Record’ and take on all of their AR production, strategy and insight needs across platforms; project-based work where Arcadia will deliver against a specific scope-of-work that align to Arcadia’s mission; and strategic partnership where Arcadia will offer AR Strategy expertise to clients or agencies in the form of workshops, insights and trend reporting to up-level their own capabilities 

“By focusing sharply on the AR format, the creative studio will set the highest creative and technical standards in the market, capture an early-mover advantage, command credibility and reframe the value that a modern studio brings to its clients,” Snap said in a press statement.

Marketers have long held the belief that attention is a diminishing commodity, especially among Generation Z. However, attention has not diminished, it has diversified. To manage the onslaught of information they face each day, consumers prioritize content that engages them. For brands, this means working harder than ever to capture the attention of their audience – and this involves rethinking the way they sell and service by using interactive and immersive technologies like augmented reality (AR).

Immersive AR ads have shown to be an impressive user engagement tool, garnering 17-times more engagement compared to static ads, according to a study by Snapchat, which compared shoppable Snap ads to standard Snap ads of the same products. Here in Asia-Pacific (APAC), spending on AR and virtual reality (VR) is expected to grow at a rapid rate of 47.7% and reach US$28.8 billion by 2024. Recent data from Statista also estimated that by 2023, there will be 2.4 billion mobile AR users worldwide, a rise of 2.2 billion from the 200 million seen in 2015. Clearly, there is a demand for this technology.

There is opportunity for marketers to capitalize on. As a digitally native generation, Gen Zs spend a large part of their time on mobile. In APAC, almost a third of Gen Zs spend six hours or longer a day on their phone but at the same time, they are also thoughtful about the ways they engage with the internet. It comes as no surprise that Gen Zs turn to AR to communicate with their close friends, and to explore the world around them. This situation lends itself as an opportunity for brands to engage with them in this manner as well.

Before we delve into how brands can use AR, let us take a step back and look at what makes Gen Zs tick.

Understanding Gen Zs in APAC

With an attention span of mere seconds and a wealth of content available at their fingertips, engaging Gen Zs can be a challenge. As such, it is doubly important for brands to fully understand the unique traits of this demographic so they can tailor their offerings to this audience.

Like their global peers, APAC Gen Zs have a strong appreciation for digital communications and technologies. A Generation survey by Snapchat conducted in December 2020 found that Gen Zs in APAC are not confined to traditional methods of communications, and favor communicating with photos (78%), emoji or emoticons (75%), videos and video messages (59%), among others. They also gravitate towards immersive video and mobile games, including AR experiences.

In addition, Gen Zs are strong supporters of the causes they believe in. The same piece of Snapchat research found that half of the surveyed respondents say they are less likely to buy from a brand that chooses to promote the opposite side on social issues that matter to them. Conversely in APAC, Gen Zs are more likely to shop from brands they support, even if it’s less convenient for them to do so.

There is no better time than now to leverage AR

By 2025, Gen Z will make up a quarter of the APAC region’s population. As this generation of digital natives rapidly warms to the concept of AR, it will become an increasingly important tool in the marketing mix of advertisers.

Consider AR as you would with any tool in your marketing arsenal. The two marketing fundamentals – objective and audience – still stand. Brands will first need to define their objectives and the results they hope to achieve from the campaign, then understand their audience like the Gen Zs. By defining these parameters at the onset, brands will be able to use AR where appropriate to elevate their current offerings to the audience.

There are many great examples of creative AR-powered offerings. One example worth noting is the work done by Singaporean creative technology studio, MeshMinds. They held the city-state’s first AR-powered exhibition Sustainable Singapore, where the AR artwork of 20 local artists used the AR app Artivive to weave in additional storytelling elements to lend more magnetism to their artwork.

Brands in APAC can also take a leaf out of their global peers’ books. Understanding Gen Zs’ need for engaging content, luxury brand Gucci launched its first-ever global AR shoe “try-on” campaign on Snapchat in 2020, where users can virtually try on Gucci shoes on the app. After seeing how they looked wearing the brand’s latest sneakers, users were able to purchase the shoes directly from the Lens.

A one-up from existing technology, AR brings to the table an optimized digital experience that can set brands apart. Advertisers need to view the AR as a permanent addition to their media plan and instead of a mere novelty.

AR will have a profound impact on the future of marketing

Gen Zs are a formidable force that is poised to take over the current active generations. Coupled with their growing spending power and influence, Gen Zs are set to reshape the future advertising landscape in APAC. 

As such, brands need to develop a better understanding of the devices that Gen Z consumers use; where and how they consume content; and the role they wish to have in the direction their content goes. This ensures the impact and relevance of a brand’s marketing piece and goes a long way in building brand love and brand loyalty.

AR is one of the many up-and-coming technologies that brands need to get on to gain a competitive edge. It is exciting to consider how we are only at the beginning of what is possible.

This article was written by Kathryn Carter, head of APAC at Snap Inc.

Singapore – REVEZ Corporation, a Singapore-based business-to-business (B2B) company, has announced it will be launching its first-ever web augmented reality (AR) experience, and it will be showcased across digital out-of-home (DOOH) campaign screens by DOOH media operator PGK Digital.

It should be recalled that REVEZ Corporation had previously acquired PGK Digital to expand its mediatech presence in Singapore.

Through the campaign, Singaporeans can scan a QR code on the screen, which will then transport them to an immersive experience in one of these countries – Japan, Korea or Australia. The public can also look forward to receiving a discount code from campaign partner, Burpple, for Burpple Beyond, a dining membership which offers 1-for-1 dining deals at over 500 curated restaurants. The campaign will run for four weeks starting from 11 June 2021.

By embedding web AR technology in an out-of-home digital screen, REVEZ has removed the friction typically associated with AR and transformed a conventional media experience with an interactive layer. 

Victor Neo, deputy board chairman and group CEO at REVEZ Corporation states that they are very excited to spearhead innovations within the MediaTech space. He notes that web AR is growing in prominence and it requires more than state-of-the-art computer vision, but also masterful coding capabilities to allow the AR experience to run smoothly within the constraints of standard web scripting.

“We want to breathe new life into DOOH advertising by using emerging technologies to bring delightful user experiences. This is a perfect example of how new technology like web AR can serve the community especially during a pandemic,” Neo stated.

Meanwhile, Giulio Dorrucci, founder and CEO of PGK Digital Networks, commented, “Due to the pandemic, many advertisers are seeking innovative ways to demonstrate the effectiveness of DOOH advertising in reaching heartlanders who are spending more within the neighborhood.”

Manila, Philippines – As part of its Asia-Pacific campaign, soft drinks brand Pepsi and creative agency in the Philippines BBDO Guerrero have teamed up in a latest campaign that transformed Pepsi’s soft drink cans into light sticks bearing the colors and figures of popular K-pop group BLACKPINK.

BLACKPINK was unveiled as the brand ambassador in the Asia Pacific region in January this year, following thereafter the launch of the limited-edition Pepsi cans that bore each of the group’s members images namely Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa.

The campaign, launched through augmented reality (AR), is activated through a custom Instagram Stories filter, where the cans transform into the Pepsi BLACKPINK Light Sticks—giving every fan a chance to finally own a light stick and cheer for their favorite girl group.

It also comes with its own K-pop music, so fans could wave their light sticks and dance like they’re in a BLACKPINK concert. Thousands of Pepsi cans lit up during its launch, lighting up the spirits of all BLACKPINK fans stuck at home.

Pepsi-Blackpink-Campaign-BBDO-Guerrero-1

“When we announced BLACKPINK as Pepsi’s newest brand ambassador, we wanted fans to have the full fandom experience especially at a time where concerts aren’t the way they were before anymore. We’re very happy that BBDO Guerrero was able to deliver this,” said Mikey Rosales, marketing director at PepsiCo Philippines.

Said campaign has garnered 2.56 million engagements on Instagram, attesting to BLACKPINK’s massive popularity among its fanbase in the Philippines, one of the biggest and most passionate K-pop fandoms worldwide. 

The campaign’s launch also has a functional facet, resolving the issue of donning light sticks which are an essential part of any K-pop concert-going experience. Normally, a real commercial light stick costs at least US$40, a price most fans can’t afford. 

“We’ve seen more opportunities open up in the digital space as we went into lockdown. And this Instagram filter is something that our team developed to show how existing technology can be made into something that our clients’ fans can enjoy,” said David Guerrero, creative chairman at BBDO Guerrero.

This is not the first time Pepsi has utilized AR technology for its other campaigns, as its Malaysian arm recently partnered with Entropia EXR to to launch a concert in a Pepsi bottle, which featured Malaysian singer and actress, Siti Nordiana (Nana), together with the winners of its #PepsiBoldTalent TikTok challenge.

Sydney, Australia – Creative agency We Are Social in Australia has rallied its support for Australian independent charity The Kids’ Cancer Project with a new pro bono campaign encouraging people to support the charitable cause.

The Kids’ Cancer Project aims to raise money to fund scientific studies that look into better treatments and ultimately a cure for brain cancer, which is the biggest killer by disease among children.

To collect funds, The Kids’ Cancer Project has launched ‘Pirate Day’, a day where people dress up to raise funds for childhood brain cancer research, and was first observed during 2015.

We Are Social has partnered with visual effects company Alt.VFX and through its visual studio T&DA, have created an augmented reality (AR) filter for Instagram, which aims to provide an opportunity for people to virtually dress up as a pirate and show their support online using #PirateDay2021.

The ‘ARRRR filter’, a Spark AR Filter for Instagram and Facebook, lets users dress up as a pirate. After donating on PirateDay.com.au, users can also unlock the special parrot, Rosie, by entering the code in their donation receipt. The filter, developed by Alt.VFX’s visual effects studio T&DA, can be accessed via the @TheKidsCancerProject Instagram page.

The agency has also enlisted TV stars and social media influencers like Olivia Vivian, Ben Polson, and Mel Schilling to join the initiative and nominate their friends to do the same, helping spread awareness of the charity day among their followers and drive further use of the filter and donations.

“Childhood brain cancer is a horrible disease, and one that has affected my family directly”, says Ewan Harvey, copywriter at We Are Social

“We are incredibly proud to put our creativity towards a worthy cause and, with our partners at Alt.VFX, help The Kids’ Cancer Project raise much-needed funds for research,” he added.

Shanghai, China Midea, the global appliance manufacturer headquartered in China, has announced its upcoming state-of-the-art virtual factory – the Midea Thailand Smart Factory – and it has partnered with creative technology company MediaMonks to create an innovative immersive experience for Midea’s customers.

MediaMonks was named partner during this year’s Midea RAC (Residential Air Conditioning) Online Canton Fair, with the aim to deliver richer, and more interactive experiences to consumers, and to give greater clarity and understanding on its brand, vision, and products. The smart factory is only one of the two main projects that the two are working on, with the other being the Midea Vision or what is also called the M-Vision project, a digital interactive platform. Both aim to demonstrate Midea’s strong vision for the future. 

Midea
The Midea Thailand Smart Factory

On the smart factory in Thailand, MediaMonks utilized a WebGL experience to provide customers with all aspects of its construction. To give them a comprehensive view of the innovative construction process, MediaMonks came up with the idea to create a virtual tour to this ‘future factory’. Customers are able to freely explore the facets of the factory online and get a deep understanding of its key features and highlights.

According to Technical Director for MediaMonks Shanghai Ron Lee, the virtual factory environment was achieved with the combination of aerial and ground photography footage built upon a 3D modelling technique called photogrammetry. 

“On the fly through experience, we enabled our digital visitors to navigate across a 3D modeled factory represented in the clean, modern aesthetic of minimalism,” Lee said. 

Lee further explains that visitors can now explore interactive hotspots. Alongside the archived time lapse videos, customers can choose to watch a live camera feed for a real-time look at the factory’s construction, and finally, a dedicated news tab keeps customers up to date with relevant information.

Ramzi Chaabane, also a head of strategy for the Shanghai team, said, “The factory of the future is characterized by the integration of digital technologies into manufacturing processes. The ‘smart factory’ – or Factory 4.0 – aims to achieve further competitiveness and will rely on the convergence between the industrial and digital worlds.”

“This is hinged on existing tools and creativity – sensors, automation, big data, IOT, cloud computing – being propelled, and the arrival of new activities in energy, green products, robotics, molecular biology, genetics adding value and innovation to marketing. This thinking will empower Midea and its partners and help future-proof and create lasting business impact,” Chaabane adds.

The Midea Vision

Meanwhile, the Midea Vision, which is under the air conditioning line of Midea, is a digital interactive platform, which will be the integrated home to all the latest RAC and Light Commercial Air-Conditioner (LCAC) products, as well as core technologies, branding, manufacturing and company information. It will also be including the RAC Canton Fair virtual center, enabling Midea RAC to connect all global business customers closely by utilizing a cutting-edge AR product launch event, interactive live streaming and immersive product experiences. 

“Midea is a category leader when it comes to R&D, manufacturing, and shipping to name a few. The ambition is to build a solution to solve ongoing business challenges and pave the path for the future. The core of what we try to deliver is to allow users to have more discovery moments and information touchpoints to create a seamless experience,” said January Zhang, head of marketing department at Midea RAC OSC.

As part of the efforts with Midea Vision, MediaMonks will also be building Mia – Midea’s holistic AI solution – which will help solve a host of business challenges. In the near future, Mia is targeted to be a tech that helps achieve a variety of things not seen before, such as knowing customer insights and applying them on behalf of every user to improve R&D, and engaging directly with customers and managing manufacturing, shipments, logistics and production lines to improve the sales experience.

Midea Vision is already live and Mia 1.0 has already been launched this month. Meanwhile, the Thailand Smart Factory is slated to open in October 2021.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Food and beverage company PepsiCo in Malaysia has partnered with Entropia’s extended reality arm EXR in creating an augmented reality (AR) concert experience all within a Pepsi bottle, featuring Malaysian singer and actress, Siti Nordiana (Nana), together with the winners of its #PepsiBoldTalent TikTok challenge.

Malaysian consumers can access the AR concert by activating the AR camera at pepsiARconcert.com, which will be available from 16 April 2021. Users will need to pick up a bottle of Pepsi Black Raspberry, and when the AR camera gives them the prompt on their phone screen, they can scan the bottle for the AR Pepsi bottle to load and the concert will play.

The earlier #PepsiBoldTalent was launched to residents of Malaysia 13 years old or above, challenging them to submit a 15-second video on TikTok showing their best talent. The contest winners who will be gracing the AR concert are Bell – a dancer, Syafeek – a singer, and Aidil – a freestyle footballer, whose audition videos amassed viewership close to 1.4 million views each.

According to Jennifer Lee, beverage marketing lead at PepsiCo Malaysia, the newest AR campaign speaks to the company’s objective of a renewed, innovative approach to engaging with Pepsi fans, as today’s consumers want to connect with brands in an instant and feel an immediate impact.

“Together with Entropia, we shifted our focus and unlocked unfamiliar yet entertaining territory with this campaign. Most brands in Malaysia have yet to tap into AR, the new exciting channel of marketing and communications. Pepsi decided to take the tech to the next level, by bringing a concert right to the homes of our most loyal fans,” Lee stated.

Meanwhile, Ramakrishnan CN, partner at Entropia and head of EXR commented that the newly-launched AR experience is a testament to the agency’s commitment to reinventing the ways brands strategize their communications and more so for an experiential bold brand like Pepsi.

“We believe the future of brand experiences is fluid and atemporal where all touchpoints should have a branded extended reality layer over them. The iconic Pepsi bottle was the best place to provide the experience like no other, using AR tech and deliver Malaysia’s first augmented reality concert in a bottle,” he added.

India – Global broadcasting news company BBC News in India has teamed up with AliveNow, a global creative tech studio, for a campaign that sees the fusion of both OOH and augmented reality.

BBC news has launched its very own Instagram AR effect that will give users the opportunity to be part of the BBC News billboard, with the BBC audio track even playing in the background.

The campaign is to encourage its audience to ‘make more of their world’. BBC News said the initiative reflects its ambition to represent all those that come to them for trustworthy, impartial journalism. 

“Through this initiative, we are taking our commitment to ‘make more of your world’ to our audiences in the comfort of their own homes. With the help of this idea, we intend to engage with our audience at a deeper level and offer an honest opportunity to be part of our campaign. For this innovation, we’ve worked closely with the AliveNow team and are pleased with the fantastic outcome. I invite everyone to join in and be part of our campaign,” said Tejash Kothari, marketing manager of BBC News in the Asia Pacific.

The campaign is a first of its kind. The new Instagram AR effect is made available in six Indian languages, and offers three different billboard styles in various environments to select from.

Raghav Sharma, account manager at AliveNow India, shared, “It was exciting to partner with BBC News India to bring to their audience for the first time ever, a chance to see themselves on a BBC billboard through an Augmented Reality filter on Instagram. We hope that users are delighted by this Spark AR experience and tune-in to BBC in their regional language.”

The news company also encourages users to tag them when posting Instagram stories using the new filter for a chance to be on an actual BBC billboard.

Singapore – DIGIX Lab, operated under the services of the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), has officially been opened in Singapore to help app developers drive idea exchange, business growth and collaboration.

The innovation hub works in the way that it offers a space for developers to connect and experience the full range of HMS developer resources, ranging from augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), HMS Core kits and other open technological capabilities. The DIGIX Lab services can also be accessed online, allowing developers across the region to make use of the resources virtually.

DIGIX Labs also operates under a so-called ‘1+8+N’ Seamless AI Life strategy, which is defined when the smartphone serves as One (1) centre, and Huawei’s ecosystem partners connect across Eight (8) supporting Huawei devices to create a fully connected IoT environment consisting of Endless (N) services.

Huawei-Mobile-Services-DIGIX-Lab-Tech-Developer-Inside
HUAWEI DIGIX Lab @ Singapore’s “Experience Zone” showcases Huawei all-scenario products. Developers, partners, and tech enthusiasts can look forward to a series of Residency Programmes like developer workshops, knowledge sharing sessions, and onsite consultation with tech experts hosted by Huawei online and offline. (Photo Courtesy of Huawei)

For Shane Shan, director for Asia Pacific at Huawei Consumer Cloud Service, the strategy system aims to empower tech developers and partners in the Asia Pacific in the mid of 5G rollout.

“The new DIGIX Lab serves as an all-encompassing innovation hub to give developers the boost they need to succeed. Huawei will continue to strengthen our collaboration with partners and institutions in the community and cultivate a resilient, evolving pool of tech talents in the Asia Pacific region,” Shan said.

The DIGIX Lab is divided into three main zones where partners and developers can communicate within the community:

  • Experience zone: An area for visitors to experience Huawei’s “1+8+N” all-scenario ecosystem. This area displays the latest smartphone models, and eight different types of Huawei devices including tablets, PCs, smart wearables and VR smart glasses. In addition, third party IoT home products supported by HUAWEI HiLink are also exhibited here.
  • Engage zone: A multipurpose zone with a collaborative area and training rooms to support community building. Developer programmes such as training, workshops, industry and networking events will be held in this area. Meanwhile, tech enthusiasts or individual developers can also book the space to host community events related to mobile app development.
  • Enable zone: This zone consists of three meeting rooms where developers who are facing challenges while developing an app can meet with Huawei engineers or business teams to get hands-on support. Four debug terminals are also available at the lab to support developers with the resource requirement.

HMS has also recently launched the HUAWEI Developers app, an official open platform for Huawei developers to manage their apps backend system, access the latest developer activities and receive event notifications on the go.

Three community programs are also slated to launch this year, namely the HUAWEI Student Developers (HSD), the HUAWEI Developer Groups (HDG) and the HUAWEI Developer Experts (HDE) to help developers of all levels grow with the HMS ecosystem. Developers in APAC will also be able to sign up for training courses to learn how to deploy HMS development tools into their apps and receive the ‘Huawei Developer Certification’ upon course completion.