Tag: Immersive experience

India – Prime Video has teamed up with PivotRoots, a digital agency under Havas Media Network India, to launch an immersive campaign for the latest season of ‘The Rings of Power,’ inviting audiences to experience the magic of Middle-Earth.

For this campaign, PivotRoots has collaborated with MakeMyTrip and Truecaller to craft immersive experiences that seamlessly blend real-world and digital elements through innovations and media integrations.

PivotRoots and Truecaller have launched an innovative post-call experience that presents users with an interactive banner featuring the three main characters of the show after each call. Clicking on these banners activates a transparent, animated cinemagraph of the selected character, filling the screen with immersive Middle-Earth visuals and soundscapes. 

The experience concludes with a smooth in-app trailer cutdown, allowing users to click through to Prime Video’s page to sign up and explore the new season.

Vanita Uppal Rathore, senior director of global ad sales at Truecaller, said, “At Truecaller Ads, we’re driven by a commitment to push boundaries and create innovative ad formats. PivotRoots has consistently inspired us to deliver impactful solutions, and we’re thrilled to have partnered with them once again for this global trailer launch. The result speaks for itself—a visually captivating solution that meets global standards and seamlessly aligns with Prime Video’s creative strategy.”

Meanwhile, PivotRoots’ collaboration with MakeMyTrip aims to transport audiences into the world of ‘The Rings of Power’ by offering travel experiences inspired by the series. When users open the MakeMyTrip app, they are greeted with a banner promoting The Rings of Power Holiday Packages, directing them to a branded hub featuring mystical visuals and five exclusive travel packages. Each package is inspired by the series’ iconic characters and breathtaking settings, giving fans a unique opportunity to experience the magic of Middle-Earth firsthand.

Raj Rishi Singh, chief marketing officer and chief business officer for corporate at MakeMyTrip, said, “We are delighted to bring the magical world of Middle-Earth to life through our cutting-edge ad-tech capabilities. At MakeMyTrip, we pride ourselves on leading the way in travel innovation and curating unique experiences. This initiative seamlessly blends the reel with the real, turning cinematic stories into unforgettable adventures. By offering fans immersive travel inspired by The Rings of Power, we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Commenting on the campaign, Jinit Shah, AVP for media & partnerships at PivotRoots—a Havas Company, shared, “Our collaboration with MakeMyTrip and Truecaller for the launch of The Rings of Power allowed us to blend the magic of storytelling with innovative digital engagement, offering fans a seamless journey from screen to reality. We’re thrilled to have played a role in bringing Middle-Earth closer to the audience.”

Singapore – Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel) has signed a three-year partnership with Trip.com to enhance Singapore’s appeal as a premier travel destination, offering new and immersive travel and leisure experiences for visitors.

Through this partnership, Jewel will utilise Trip.com’s vast global network to attract a broader international audience, boosting travel to Singapore and increasing visitor numbers to Jewel. Meanwhile, as Trip.com expands its global footprint, this collaboration will also enhance its brand visibility among Jewel’s diverse mix of international and local guests.

As part of the new co-marketing initiatives, Jewel will launch targeted campaigns on Trip.com to drive more visitors to Canopy Park and boost spending at Jewel’s premium retail offerings.

Jewel and Trip.com will also launch a new ‘Trip.com Light & Music Showcase’ in October, designed by renowned Los Angeles-based water feature designer WET. The showcase, inspired by Trip.com’s mission to enhance global travel experiences, will feature a captivating narrative centred on travel, offering a visually and auditorily immersive experience aimed at connecting audiences worldwide.

Additionally, visitors can look forward to more new immersive experiences. Starting 7 October, Trip.com will launch “Traveller’s Wonderland,” an interactive travel-themed pop-up event set within Jewel’s lush indoor gardens.

“Traveller’s Wonderland,” a first-of-its-kind experiential display, will transport visitors on a global journey without leaving Jewel. The exhibit will highlight iconic attractions from China, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Thailand—top travel destinations for both Singaporean and international travellers. Through four immersive displays, visitors will experience vibrant cultures and stunning landscapes, providing numerous photo opportunities.

To complement “Traveller’s Wonderland,” a social media event will offer visitors the chance to win prizes by sharing their photos from the exhibit. Prizes include flight coupons, Jewel’s Canopy Park tickets, and travel merchandise. Trip.com app users can also take part in an online scratch card game for a chance to win a trip for two to Australia, tickets to Universal Studios Japan, and more.

James Fong, CEO of Jewel Changi Airport Development, said, “We are pleased to partner Trip.com in our efforts to drive tourism in Singapore and promote Jewel as a must-visit destination to international travellers through Trip.com’s global reach. The synergy between our two brands presents opportunities for strategic collaboration, and we are confident of solidifying Jewel’s position as a premier destination for travellers through the various co-marketing initiatives.”

Bo Sun, chief marketing officer of Trip.com Group, added, “The Jewel Rain Vortex is an iconic global attraction, and Trip.com is thrilled to partner with Jewel Changi Airport to create immersive new experiences that elevate the travel journey. This collaboration will allow us to engage with and delight visitors of all ages from Singapore and around the world, and we look forward to debuting this spectacular experience in October.”

This partnership comes as Jewel Changi Airport experiences significant growth, with footfall up nearly 15% and foreign visitors increasing by over 20% from January to June 2024. In August, Jewel set a record with more than 1 million visitors during the National Day weekend.

Singapore – ION Orchard, a prime retail landmark in Singapore, has merged physical retail with digital innovation to introduce “Another Sphere,” an immersive augmented reality (AR) experience designed for modern shoppers.

‘Another Sphere’ offers modern shoppers a unique journey that seamlessly combines art, technology, and exclusive rewards, introducing new ways to interact with brands and offerings.

The initiative features three distinct augmented reality (AR) experiences: the gamified “loot box” Garden Gems, the larger-than-life Booms AR filter with blooming florals in motion, and the immersive TWG Tea AR luxury retail experience, where shoppers can explore interactive details about tea varieties, including fine harvests, single estate teas, exclusive blends, and beautifully crafted tea accessories.

These AR experiences can be accessed through QR codes available in ION Orchard’s official mobile app and physical installations throughout the mall. Shoppers can also engage with the in-app Adventure Perks gameboard, which rewards them with a ticket to Garden Gems upon completing tasks. Additionally, a captivating floral installation at Level 1 provides unique photo opportunities and access to the Booms AR filter.

With ‘Another Sphere,’ ION Orchard seeks to enhance its shopping experience by offering new and innovative ways for shopper engagement.

Yeo Mui Hong, chief executive officer of Orchard Turn Developments, said, “We are thrilled to unveil Another Sphere, an initiative that offers a fresh take on the retail experience in a creative and memorable way. Leveraging augmented reality, ION Orchard transports shoppers into a world of wonder and rewards, engaging our shoppers anywhere and anytime with exceptional, distinctive, and enriching experiences.” 

“Another Sphere reflects our dedication to elevating every single visit and curating lasting memories for our shoppers, ensuring ION Orchard remains at the forefront of experiential retail. We invite everyone to join us on this immersive journey through Another Sphere,” Yeo added. 

Singapore – Supergiant, a new immersive experience, multimedia, and entertainment agency, has officially launched in Sydney, London, and Singapore. The agency is helmed by a collective of award-winning creatives, event planners, designers, and production experts.

The immersive experience agency was founded by former Imagination director Heath Campanaro, Heckler co-founders Will Alexander and Jamie Watson, and former Imagination creative director Simon Connell. 

Campanaro spent the past 20 years leading Imagination, where he and Connell orchestrated some of the most dynamic events nationwide. Joining forces with Alexander and Watson, whose globally awarded design and post-production studio Heckler is renowned for award-winning films, TV commercials, and experiential installations, they aim to create an entirely new kind of creative offering.

Supergiant combines design, VFX, entertainment, lighting, technology, and music to deliver culturally iconic projects and immersive experiences. For its debut project, the team worked on Glastonbury, providing large-format content design and production for three of the iconic music festival’s biggest stages.

The ‘Pyramid Stage’ and the ‘Other Stage’ showcased over 250 motion graphics packages designed by Supergiant in collaboration with the festival’s graphic artist, Stanley Donwood. Additionally, Glastonbury’s new Dragonfly installation (created by Arcadia Spectacular) and the ‘DJ Stage’ featured stunning 3D motion content for the Opening Ceremony with Fatboy Slim.

Supergiant also supported Australian immersive media studio Astral Projekt in collaboration with Barry McGuire, an Aboriginal Songman from the Balladong, Whadjuk, and Noongar nations, to tell the Dreamtime story of the dragonfly.

Speaking at the launch, Campanaro said, “Supergiant was founded to create the kind of experiences that we all love, crave, and rave about. To entertain people and to immerse them in design, music, light, technology, and ideas that create core memories.” 

“Simon and I have had a long and incredible creative partnership; however, partnering with Will and Jamie—who together at Heckler have created some of the world’s most exceptional art installations, music videos, live events, activations, and experimental performance pieces—we now bring a whole new level of artistry to Supergiant,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Alexander shared, “We’re excited to see the awesome potential of this partnership. Heath has an unrivalled reputation in the event industry, and he and Simon have delivered some of the biggest and most dynamic live experience projects on the planet. When you add the high-end artistry Jamie and I have built at Heckler, plus the depth of our teams across Sydney and Singapore, you get this multiplication effect that is really hard to beat. We know we’re on the cusp of something new and really exciting! ”

Singapore – The Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) has launched its latest talent attraction campaign that illustrates the exciting and purposeful career pathways into Singapore’s global and dynamic maritime industry. 

Titled ‘Choose Your MariTimeline’, the campaign uses an immersive digital experience to tell the career stories of four real-life maritime professionals with different educational backgrounds. The profiles include Ringo Tan, business development manager from A.P. Møller-Mærsk; Richard Tan, network planner at Ocean Network Express; Roshni Selvam, sustainability manager from the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore; and Jacqueline Lam, charterer from Rio Tinto. 

The inclusion of the four maritime professionals emphasises the diverse pathways individuals, with or without direct experience, can take to enter the industry. 

The campaign, featuring an industry exposure component, also invites jobseekers to enhance their domain skills or leverage transferable skills to contribute to Singapore’s maritime sector, a vital hub in global trade and the international supply chain.

‘Choose Your MariTimeline’ centres on an immersive microsite that brings each professional’s key career moments to life as they enter the maritime industry after graduating from diverse disciplines. 

Participants can select a discipline and learn how each person’s unique skills, education, and accumulated work experiences create value in sustainability management, green fuel trading, chartering, and network planning roles through bite-sized video stories.

Participants on the microsite will have the chance to win the ‘MariTimeline VIP Pass’, an industry exposure experience organised in collaboration with multinational shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE). Now in its second edition, winners of this year’s VIP Pass can board one of ONE’s vessels to learn about shipping technologies, have lunch with the chief executive officer, and network with senior maritime executives at the company’s global headquarters in Singapore.

A ‘Navigation Guide’, offering job seekers guidance in their maritime job search, will be made available on the microsite at a later stage of the campaign.

SMF’s latest campaign launches as Singapore transforms its maritime industry, developing a future-ready workforce equipped with new skills driven by the twin forces of decarbonisation and digitalization.

‘Choose Your MariTimeline’ is the latest addition to SMF’s larger talent attraction and industry branding campaign ‘Own Your Future’ aimed at youths and young adults.

Tan Beng Tee, executive director of the Singapore Maritime Foundation, said, “The maritime sector is dynamic and transforming. Therefore, the need to give youths and young adults an up-to-date understanding of the industry is a continuing quest. Building on the first two years of the successful Own Your Future campaign, the latest edition engages young Singaporeans in fresh and authentic ways by featuring real-life professionals whose pathways into maritime are sometimes unexpected and yet rewarding. The campaign illustrates this by spotlighting a global industry open to people of varied skill sets and perspectives, offering diverse roles and career pathways for professionals to thrive. I thank our partners from A.P. Møller-Mærsk, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, Ocean Network Express, and Rio Tinto for working with SMF to share these stories.”

The Asia-Pacific, which has come to be known as a hub for VR innovation, is embracing this moniker with gusto! Recent advancements in VR hardware and software, have overcome challenges that prevented it from entering the mainstream for several years, and countries like Japan and China are now leading the way with their innovation in immersive virtual reality experiences.

Statista predicted the VR software market in Asia to generate a revenue of US$1.6 billion by 2024, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9% from 2024 to 2028. VR hardware projections indicate that the revenue in this market will reach US$4.7 billion by 2024, with a CAGR of 10.9% from 2024 to 2028 and a projected market volume of US$7 billion by 2028. 

From a marketing perspective, VR provides a unique platform for immersive brand storytelling. Advertisers can transport users into different worlds and narratives, allowing them to engage with brands on a personal level. Interactive storytelling captures attention and creates a lasting impression on the viewer.

One notable sector in the APAC region that has accelerated the adoption of VR for immersive storytelling is tourism. This region is home to some of the world’s most awe-inspiring tourist destinations, and VR allows consumers to virtually experience these locations. By donning a VR headset, potential tourists can navigate, explore, and familiarize themselves with destinations in a safe and controlled environment. This empowers them to make more informed choices regarding their travel plans and activities.

There are a multitude of opportunities for advertisers to integrate themselves into this space and effectively reach target audiences. Travel agencies and governments are among the entities benefiting most from using VR to promote tourism. For instance, visitors can virtually explore renowned sites in Rajasthan and four prominent tourism destinations in Thailand: Phuket, Bangkok, Surat Thani, and Chiang Mai through tours put together by governmental tourist authorities. And the computer-generated Virtual Osaka, which incorporates the city’s famous castle and other major tourist sites, is being used to promote the 2025 World Exposition.

Another promising application of VR in Asia Pacific is in e-commerce and retail. It has demonstrated great potential in facilitating commerce to drive purchase decisions. By utilizing virtual showrooms and product demonstrations, customers get firsthand experience with products before making a purchase. This helps alleviate the uncertainties of online shopping. Fashion brands like Charles & Keith have moved beyond augmented reality to virtual reality. The Charles & Keith Virtual Store Experience enables customers to immerse themselves in their virtual stores, which are “located” in renowned cities across Asia. This immersive experience provides a comprehensive, 360-degree view of store interiors as well as the retailer’s latest collection of bags, shoes, and accessories.

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Charles & Keith Virtual Store Experience, Raffles City Shopping Center, Shanghai, China (Source: https://www.charleskeith.com/sg/virtual-store)

It’s no wonder that key e-commerce players in the region are already embracing VR technology to enhance the shopping experience. In Singapore, Procter & Gamble collaborated with Shopee for their Regional Super Brand Day, during which it introduced an enhanced virtual home shopping experience. Users could explore different virtual rooms and discover P&G products, which were categorized according to their respective rooms. This immersive and interactive online shopping journey transformed the way consumers discovered and browsed products, going beyond the limitations of traditional product pages.

With the rapid advancement of VR in Asia Pacific, what does the future hold for this technology? Welcome to the world of mixed reality (MR)! VR creates a fully immersive digital environment best experienced through a headset or head-mounted display, but MR takes it a step further by seamlessly blending digital and real-world settings. This allows users to witness the coexistence and interaction of physical and virtual objects in real time.

We are already seeing glimpses of this technology. Hospitals and medical institutions in Singapore, for instance, have been actively exploring MR applications. As reported in The Straits Times, Singapore’s first successful holography-guided heart surgery was performed by a team of surgeons from the National University Heart Centre, Singapore in 2022. Since then, four other patients have been treated with this technology-assisted heart surgery. Surgeons utilized MR technology in the form of the HoloLens 2 for presurgical planning. This enabled them to visualize and practice procedures in a simulated environment, resulting in more precise surgeries.

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Associate Professor Theodoros Kofidis with a hologram of a heart as seen through a HoloLens 2 headset. (Photo Source: Ng Sor Luan from The Straits Times, Singapore) 

In today’s ever-evolving digital landscape, we are continuously witnessing remarkable advancements in technology. With its ability to create immersive experiences, VR has the power to transport consumers into different worlds and narratives, fostering a deeper connection with brands. As the technology continues to evolve and merge with mixed reality, we will see even greater real-world, real-time brand applications of this technology that seamlessly blend the digital and physical realms, to deliver captivating and transformative audience experiences. 

The brands that embrace this potential and stay at the forefront of advancements, will unlock the potential for new avenues for growth, innovation, and engagement. The best is yet to come.

This thought leadership piece is written by Abygayle Brani, Regional Marketing & Communications Strategist, UM APAC

Singapore – The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced the launch of its immersive experience ‘Singapore Wonderland’ on the popular sandbox game Roblox. Said experience is part of STB’s efforts to reach new audiences in innovative ways, and allows users to experience Singapore as they accomplish various tasks in a virtual world.

The tourism board has teamed up with Publicis’ gaming specialist Publicis Play and Roblox developer Wonder Works Studio to develop the immersive experience over five months. 

Singapore Wanderland puts a playful spin on real-life attractions in three mini-games, where players earn magic orchids to transform a garden with STB’s destination mascot Merli. Gardens by the Bay, Mandai Wildlife Reserve and Marina Bay Sands are featured in the mini-games, alongside iconic attractions such as the Merlion Park, Singapore Flyer, Adventure Cove Waterpark and The Fullerton Hotel Singapore.

Moreover, the experience is based on popular entertainment formats on Roblox, and aims to drive affinity for Singapore by featuring elements inspired by the country’s destination icons. 

For example, users can express themselves through fun personalisation options. They can amass virtual collectibles to customise their avatars, such as a Supertree hat, a Singapore Flyer Backpack and a Lotus race car.

Kenneth Lim, assistant chief executive for marketing group at Singapore Tourism Board, said, “STB is constantly exploring creative ways and fresh channels to engage new audiences and connect with potential travellers. Singapore Wanderland demonstrates how we push the boundaries of innovation while inspiring travel to Singapore. We welcome visitors to explore Singapore virtually, and for tourism partners to collaborate with us in the virtual world to create impact in the real world.”

Singapore – For this year’s Chinese New Year, William Grant & Sons’ Scotch whisky brand, Glenfiddich, has launched its new immersive 360° cinematic experience called, ‘The Cosmic Voyage’, which is set on the rooftop of Design Orchard in Singapore and White Box @ Publika in Kuala Lumpur. 

Brought to life by regional independent agency The Teeth and event agencies Idea Fabrik in Singapore and Virtue Communications in Malaysia, ‘The Cosmic Voyage’ is a vivid passage that invites visitors to a bright galaxy of possibilities as they follow Glenfiddich’s Royal Stag through the ethereal cosmic forest, an enchanting place alive with storytelling and embedded with hidden gems.

Moreover, the experience includes a starry sky containing the familiar sights of Lunar New Year – lanterns, fireworks, and dancing lions – alongside an array of rockets, planets, and other cosmic features that bring to mind space exploration at its most fantastical and takes visitors’ imagination beyond earthly limitations. Visitors can also discover the Limited Edition Gift Packs designed by celebrated artist Rlon Wang, as well as the Tree of Fortune, where visitors can draw exclusive branded red packets and stand a chance to win exclusive vouchers on the gift packs.

Zee Agnew, The Teeth’s founder and business partner, shared that lots of marketers are keen on engaging with consumers on a bigger scale again as many consumers want to reconnect and are craving unique and entertaining experiences more than ever.

“We’ve shaped our experience in a way that fits well within the COVID limitations, while bringing our consumers on a journey through The Cosmic Voyage – designed to unleash their imagination and get them thinking ‘Where Next?’, embracing the Glenfiddich DNA of curiousness and future-thinking vision,” said Agnew.

Meanwhile, Ling Versteegen, William Grant & Sons’ head of marketing for SEA, said they wanted to encapsulate a feeling of optimism for consumers as they journey with Glenfiddich towards a future of good fortune this Lunar New Year.

“The agency managed to bring to life the celestial-themed illustration of Rlon Wang, into an immersive cinematic experience that brings them into a galaxy of exciting possibilities. It’s heartening to be able to create impactful brand experiences in a safe environment for consumers,” said Versteegen.

India – VICE Media Group’s international news network, VICE World News, has launched a new multimedia project, aimed at exploring the most disputed artifacts displayed in the British Museum. 

Titled ‘The Unfiltered History Tour’, which was developed in collaboration with creative agency Dentsu Webchutney, includes an interactive mobile site, where users can take a tour of the museum via Instagram filters and immersive audio. They can also scan objects including the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon Marbles, and Benin Bronzes, to unlock an augmented reality, which steps back in time to show the moment these items were removed.

Moreover, the immersive history tour includes a series of podcast episodes, featuring interviews with experts from these countries, namely Aboriginal rights activist Rodney Kelly, Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor, and Rapa Nui governor Tarita Rapu. It is accessible through the mobile site TheUnfilteredHistoryTour.com and all major podcast platforms.

John Montoya, VICE Media Group’s senior director of audience and content strategy, shared that they wanted to continue to educate the audience on the historic and modern inequalities, using technology and social media. 

“There is still so much to unpack about colonialism in Britain today, and we hope that this project can play a part in furthering this,” said Montoya.

Meanwhile, Dentsu Webchutney’s COO PG Aditiya, creative director Binaifer Dulani, and group account director Karishma Changroth, believe that through the project, the people from the countries these artifacts came from can tell their side of their artifact’s history to every visitor in an incredibly immersive way. 

“We hope this encourages every visitor to start engaging in meaningful dialogue about reconciling with our uncomfortable shared pasts in an equitable manner,” they said.

Vice said that the project follows VICE World News’ video series ‘Empires of Dirt’, which uncovered stories of colonialism.

The project is accompanied by social activation across VICE Media Group’s network, including VICE World News’ Instagram account.

Malaysia – The pandemic has changed the digital consumption habits of your everyday user. On average, digital consumption rose by over 30% since COVID-19 started. With the increase in digital consumption by consumers, one would assume that it is easier to grab the attention of your audience, however, the opposite is true.

Attention spans are at an all-time low – another byproduct of the pandemic. How then can marketers attract and retain the attention of their target audiences? One of the ways we can do this is through an ever-growing popular term, ‘Gamification’.

Gamification is “the concept of using game design elements in non-game applications to make them more fun and engaging.” By providing an immersive, engaging, and fun experience for users, it is more likely that we would be able to retain their attention which then, in turn, leads to association with your brand.

Unicom Interactive Digital (UID), a Malaysia-based digital company, that focuses on creating immersive experiences for its clients, offers a simple process for brands to start their gamification digital journey.

Through an entire library of games, brands would only need to choose one that is most relevant to their messaging and have it reskinned to its brand colors. Brands can mix and match however they like and can re-skin and customize them to suit their brand and messaging. In addition, the user journey has also been mapped out by the digital agency.

Some of the recent works of UID for brands Maxis, PepperLunch, and Tsubaki

For example, beauty brands could choose UID‘s Face Analysis system for product recommendations or security brands could reskin Space Invaders, or real estate companies could remodel Monopoly. The possibilities are endless.

Jason Yong, founder of UID, commented, “Build a door if opportunity doesn’t knock! The pandemic may have kept us indoors and grounded but it was no reason for us to stop trying. We can only adapt and keep striving in finding new ways to engage with our target audiences. We saw an opportunity to put our skills into helping brands bridge the physical divide with their audiences through gamification and we have never looked back since.”

Coupled with its backend dashboard, UID helps brands make sense of all that raw data the internet provides to deliver campaigns and activations in the new normal.