Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Amid the lockdown this year, it would be an understatement to say that people have had a drastic shift in their perception of reality. Staying apart became an act of love and hugging became an act of foolishness. Birthday and Raya celebrations via video calls and no entertainment outside home became the new reality.
Anticipating the consumer need for safe entertainment and physical distancing, Entropia’s Extended Reality arm, EXR, recently partnered with milk brand, Goodday Milk to launch the first-ever web-based Augmented Reality (webAR) celebrity home visits during Hari Raya in Malaysia and with Wonda Coffee to launch a safe distance visual filter guide using webAR technology, again a first-ever of its kind.
Goodday’s ‘Selamat Selebraya’ allows consumers to teleport three top celebrities virtually into their home, by just clicking a link on their mobile. With this innovation, Malaysians got a unique opportunity to celebrate Raya this year with singer Andi Bernadee, Mark Adam, and artist Elfira Loy right in their own houses. Better yet, the user can walk around the celebrity, take pictures, make the celebrity perform a song, and personally wish them and their family for Raya, all without the need of downloading an app.
Meanwhile, WONDA’s Gap-puccino is a first-ever social distancing guide that helps you keep a safe social gap using webAR. Coffee brings people together, but WONDA Gap-puccino encourages Malaysians to keep a safe physical distance by a visual guide using their phone camera. Easy to comprehend, WONDA’s Gap-puccino social distancing guide highlights areas around the user as either ‘caution’ or ‘danger’ as indicators for measuring safe distance between people. Users simply have to open the link on their smartphone browser.
“While we may not have been able to visit as many members of our families and friends this year, with the WebAR technology, consumers are able to celebrate Raya with national celebrities, thus adding a creative and personal touch to their celebrations through ‘Goodday’s Selamat Selebraya’ house visits,” said Santharuban T. Sundaram (pictured right), Senior Vice President of Marketing and Alternate Business at Etika Sdn Bhd.
“Since the beginning of the MCO, WONDA Coffee has been proactively involved in community activities and efforts to strengthen our fight against COVID-19. Whether it is showcasing support to front-liners or creating economic opportunities for local businesses, WONDA Coffee has stood by the community in these trying times.
To stay ahead by reacting with relevant and purposeful marketing efforts from time to time is the core principle of the Brand, this allows the Brand continues to create a meaningful brand connection with consumer.
Santharuban T. Sundaram,Senior Vice President of Marketing and Alternate Business at Etika Sdn Bhd.
Ramakrishnan (pictured left), Partner at Entropia and Head of EXR, shared, “We are extremely proud to partner with the challenger mindset of Goodday Milk and WONDA Coffee, who have constantly demonstrated that they are way ahead in the innovation curve in the industry. The future of experience is based on a seamless blend of immersive technology and human emotions, as demonstrated by both the campaign where consumers can get their favorite celebrities to wish them Raya in their own homes and help the masses maintain a safe distance using just their phones.
Technology can help in getting through these tough times and WONDA’s Gap-puccino and Goodday’s Selamat Seleb-raya is our small contribution towards that bigger goal of putting a smile on everyone’s faces and be of help too”
Ramakrishnan, Partner at Entropia and Head of EXR
“WebAR is a fast evolving tech and it marks the evolution from App based generation to ubiquitous web based one, thereby opening tremendous opportunities for Marketers to add a layer of personalized augmented information over every conceivable touchpoint. It is evident that the future of brand experience is immersive and at EXR, we provide strategic XR transformation solutions, that includes AR, Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality solutions to our clients” added Ramakrishnan.
Both these campaigns have been very well received and with more than 10 million Malaysian consumers reached, as on date and counting.