Administration, Author at 360dgrees

August 14, 2024August 14, 2024

Azure partner 360dgrees develops VR for Country Road

Microsoft partner 360dgrees has developed a VR “shopping experience” platform running on Azure for clothing retailer Country Road, with plans to bring it to other retailers in the near future. The platform uses Microsoft’s Hololens to allow customers to select garments to try on, buy, or put on a wish list within a VR environment.
Retailers can also gather insights about customer shopping habits, like being able to identify which items are selected but not purchased.
The platform will be showcased at the US National Retail Federation (NRF) trade show later this month along with retail use cases.

“We are excited about the opportunity for retailers to experience 360dgrees at NRF,” 360dgrees chief executive Toby Ellis said.

“With our partner Microsoft we are committed to empowering retailers through a solution which can not only provide a unique training solution for staff across the organisation but also deliver a heightened experience for customers.”
“One of the conversations with Country Road group – is about how to create immersive retail customer experiences,” Ellis said.

azure 360dgrees

“Imagine going into the retail clothing store and instead of seeing the clothes hanging there – you put on a VR headset and see the fashion in the context it was designed for – that could be on the beach, at the races, lunch with friends – you are seeing the clothes in action.”

He added that Azure has made the 360dgrees platform more affordable by doing away with computer generated images and 3D modelling, in what he describes as “interactive reality”.
360dgrees will facilitate training by placing people into situations they might not previously have experienced, allowing employees to prepare for and refine their customer engagement strategies.

“Knowledge retention from listening is at 5 percent, from writing something down 10 percent – but from doing it’s 75 per cent,” Ellis said.
“When we make the content interactive and gamify the experience people are learning by doing so knowledge retention goes from 5 percent to 75 percent.”
“But the real kicker for interactive reality is the ability to experience consequence safely – experience drives behaviour. In nine out of ten cases knowledge is not the problem – if you can let someone experience the consequence of something whether it be the customer experience in a store or instruction while driving you can go a long wayto changing behaviour.”

Founded in 2016, 360dgrees is a venture tied with Sydney-based “reverse incubator” Lakeba, whose more than 100 staff backs up 360dgrees’ five full-time staff.

“360dgrees.com came from conversations with industry looking to solve problems using emerging technology,” Ellis told CRN.
“We conceived the solution responding to an industry request to help solve a business problem using emerging technology, created the platform with our development teams and have commercialised it as 360dgrees.com and taken it to market as its own venture.”

This article has been published on CRN

October 24, 2018August 14, 2024

Marketing to the power of Interactive Reality 360 videos

How Interactive Virtual Reality provides customers with unique experiences, making them more prepared and willing to purchase both in-store and online

The world has gone digital.

We can’t imagine our lives without our smartphone, laptop, headphones, iPad. The list is endless.

Everything has fundamentally changed in the last 15 years. The way we work, we interact, we train, we learn, we shop, we move, even the way we meet people has been disrupted by the large adoption of digital technology and, of course, the internet.

Retail is just one of the many industries disrupted by digitalisation.

Statistics show us that almost 71% of customers go online during the buying process, meaning that only a small 29% of shoppers now walk into a store and buy something without online preparation. A major shift in customer behaviour in the last few years.

Moreover, the online experience drives the customers’ behaviour in both directions. Webrooming, when customers research online and then purchase in a physical store, or maybe the opposite, showrooming, when people browse an item in-store and then buy it online.

But what should we expect in the future?

A higher number of online buyers: Online shopping is now mainstream not only in the developed world but it is spreading to the emerging markets like Africa.
A higher number of online purchases via mobile: Forecasts predict that more and more people will buy online via mobile and that customers will expect payment to be fast and smooth, which means more payment options and stripping away any barriers to pay.
Streamlined websites for speed: We’re all busy, and typically a user leaves a webpage if it takes more than two seconds to download. So, not only customers do expect the same level of ease in all transactions, there’s a proportionate demand for fast websites requiring retailers to streamline their content for speed.
More options for paying and more channels where to buy: In 2019, shoppers will want to access products online, via mobile, through marketplaces, and in person, if possible. Sephora, the beauty multimillionaire business is a great example of how multichannel – online, in-store and mobile – offers an array of choice for consumers on how, where and when they want to buy their products.
More Tech savvy and prepared customers: Digital natives will increase in numbers, sporting some serious technology in their phone, and looking for new and shiny things to try and buy.

These are only some of the reasons why Retailers and other businesses are looking for new ways to market their goods, in order to provide experiences which are unique and able to engage customers.

How can Interactive Virtual Reality help?

In the past few years, Virtual Reality is being increasingly used both for content marketing or to enhance the customers’ experience.

We refer to ‘’Interactive Virtual Reality’’ when you are viewing a virtual reality experience that contains hotspots, digital elements you can interact with to see additional content, including videos, photographs or text elements.

Real Estate Marketing

We first saw this with VR tours of properties in real estate, but it was complex and expensive, and on top of that, difficult to view. A problem partially fixed by the introduction of more affordable 360degree cameras.

Today you can just film in 360, upload to 360degrees and gamify. Your audience will have the opportunity to experience the builder’s new display home – as if they were there.

Imagine walking into the kitchen and as you look at the stove – the specs from Miele appear as if by magic. When you check out the bench, a video window appears overlayed over the benchtop explaining why Caesar stone is such a great material and included in the price of the house. The use of hotspots, in this case, encourage the user to explore another room or space.

Marketing for Events & Venue

Another example of how to use Interactive Virtual Reality videos are Events and live experiences.

Want to buy online a ticket for a football match? Before you purchase your ticket from the website, you can actually select your seat and see the best spot as you were seated there already. Then a hotspot shows up and you can select an option for food and drinks by clicking the overlayed window at the corner of the screen.

Wedding planner agencies are experimenting new ways to engage customers making available detailed tours of the venue in 360dgrees, with some hotspots you can click on to call up additional information, such as menus, short videos or even footage of previous weddings held in that same space.

Automotive Marketing

As mentioned before, customers tend to spend more time researching online before purchasing and this is particularly true when it is a sophisticated product, such as a smartphone, a laptop or a car. The use of 360 degrees video can literally boost the car industry market allowing the customer to experience a virtual driving tour and to evaluate vehicle options and features before physically visiting the showroom for the final phase of the purchase cycle.

Tourism Marketing

Some travel companies have started using VR technology to give a virtual tour of the flight, or hotel room in advance, in order to increase ticket or complimentary services sales, using the support of hotspots to make the experience interactive. Like Hawaii? Do a tour with a 360 headset and click on hotspots to explore accommodation, availability or suggested activities.

Thanks to the increased adoption of 360 videos and the introduction affordable 360 headsets, we are confident Interactive Virtual Reality will continue to offer a more attractive experience to engage customers, providing them with detailed visual information to create a unique experience.

About 360Dgrees

360Dgrees.com is an Interactive Reality platform for uploading, managing, customising, and publishing 360 Immersive experiences. 360Dgrees.com empowers anyone to do great things with Interactive 360 Videos with a range of customisable features such as playlists, picture-in-picture video, and hotspots.

Want to create new experiences and engage your customers using 360 videos? Discover more 360dgrees.com or contact info@360dgrees.com for more information.

September 14, 2018August 14, 2024

Immersive Reality – How to make VR affordable for the masses

How VR Technology has been evolving across the years and it is now more affordable and efficient

Did you remember the first 360 VR Cameras? Back in 2016, 360Degree cameras were heavy, uncomfortable and expensive. About half a kilo in weight and working only when connected to an external computing device, a gaming quality PC, smartphone or game console, and roughly the price of $400 per headset.

Despite bringing an exciting technology, for years, VR technology have required huge computation power, the creation of complex simulation using proprietary software and expensive, tethered goggles in order to view the experience.

With the growth of 360Degree camera market, driven by extreme sports cameras like GoPro for example, the entry of all in one Android VR headsets, and options like Google Cardboard, the Virtual Reality world has gradually changed becoming far more affordable. The evolution that’s occurred in this technology, means it’s now ready for greater industry adoption.

VR for everyone – but how?

Affordability

Thanks to the innovation of technology and the lower cost of production, the cost of devices has greatly decreased making the prospect of VR much more affordable. HTC, HTC Vive, Oculus VR and Pico, are manufacturing and selling the hardware at far lower price levels and this has driven much momentum in terms of VR adoption. Oculus’s pricing cut in the summer of 2017 demonstrated consumers had a big appetite for VR at lower prices, starting a boom what was widely followed by other businesses. This trend culminated in the launch of Windows Mixed Reality headsets at the end of last year, together with the announcement of multiple standalone VR headsets (where the price range varies from $80 to $500).

An approach to Immersive Reality

The second way to make VR more affordable for the public is embracing Immersive Reality. While Virtual Reality is the presentation of an artificial environment that replaces the users’ real-world surroundings, Immersive Reality experience starts with filming the real world. So, why create a fully virtual world, when you can film the real one and overlay an interactive layer, delivering a truly immersive experience, to a large audience for a fraction of the cost?

View an immersive reality video here

The evolution of technology

The increasing production of more Virtual Reality hardware both in terms of comfort and efficiency, at a wider range of price points than ever before, is bringing VR into the tech mainstream. Compared to the first 360 headsets, today there are compact, comfortable standalone devices available on the market, that provide better quality videos and can be purchased at more affordable prices.

The next VR’s challenges – The future of Immersive Reality –

There are still a number of challenges VR should overcome in order to become a true mainstream consumer technology, such as getting more content, lowering prices even further, and upgrading the quality of their devices. But thanks to the Immersive Reality approach, the affordability of the cameras and the adoption of standalone hardware, we are confident VR will keep growing and it will be ready soon for a mass-adoption. It’s reaching an exciting tipping point.
According to market predictions, VR is set to become a $38 billion Industry by 2026 and at 360dgrees we believe this is already happening, with VR driving massive change in the way we work, train, apply information, and interact with people.

Explore 360dgrees.com and start creating some powerful Immersive 360 Videos. Visit 360dgrees.com

July 17, 2018August 14, 2024

360Dgrees Voices: The story of Caleb Rozario

Today we have the pleasure to interview Caleb Rozario, a talented video editor with more than 7 years of experience in corporate, commercial and post-production.

Caleb is currently working at Picture Perfect Productions in Singapore, and he has garnered strong experience as a freelancer, working for both private companies and individuals. During this time, he has had the opportunity to develop and nurture his skills and specialise in the post-production phase. From in-house graphic design, to film editing, retouching and visual effects, Caleb has worked across a variety of areas in the video production sphere, and now wholly focused on video editing and post-production.

How did you end up working in videos production/editing?

I started making and editing videos when I was only 14 as a hobby. Then, when it was time to choose a school, I chose something that I was sure I liked and I started thinking of video production as a job and not something to do in my spare time anymore.

How did you hear for the very first time about 360dgrees?

I heard about 360dgrees.com almost two years ago when Picture Perfect Productions started a collaboration in order to move from the linear videos to start working on some interactive/dynamic videos. Lately, we have started to use the 360dgrees platform consistently using all the different features, Namely using 360dgrees hotspot technology, which allows the viewer to interact with objects and locations, in order to freely navigate within the 360 experience.

How has your work changed since then?

The platform is very helpful. The primary way our production workflow has changed, is that while with linear 360 video the journey of the viewer is dictated by the production team, with fully interactive

360 experiences the viewer has almost total control. So every possible avenue of movement needs to be considered. And 360dgree’s tools and platforms have been a great help from start to finish of the entire workflow.

What do you think about 360dgrees from a professional point of view and from a user point of view?

From a product perspective, 360dgrees enable us to have a better control of the videos we are working on. Making them interactive including hotspots and links, the videos became actually something completely different from the flat linear videos we previously produced. From a user point of view 360dgrees is definitely user-friendly and offer a wide range of features which makes our end production very competitive in the market.

How do you see the way of producing videos evolving in the next years? What about the way audiences are consuming visual content?

We will see the number of videos circulating around us increase, but they will be sharp and shorter. They will increasingly be rich with details, but most importantly they will take the user inside the action. Beyond the WOW factor, they will invite the audience to immerse and” and jump into the video.

In terms of a professional point of view, as a consequence of an increasing number of videos, we will be required to be more competitive, flexible and accurate. We are heading to an even more customer-centric era which will challenge every video production business to research for the last trend and to really understand what is engaging and effective.

How do you define ”a good video” and what ”good” means to you?

If we want to identify the three main characteristics of a ”good” video, we should first clarify between content and technical quality.

A good video, in my opinion, should always be short and sharp. Try to keep this as original as possible, and ideally make them interactive, allowing the users to engage with them and not just be watchers, but able to jump into the action.

What are the best ways to use 360dgrees? What are the best features?

If you are looking to take your 360/VR experience to the next level of interactivity, without having to utilize costly 3^rd party custom-built software, 360dgrees is definitely one of the most powerful and user-friendly platforms out there.

Tell us something crazy you have done in your life – with videos?

One of our more interesting projects would probably be in early 2017, when working together with FOX Sports, we shot and edited five 360° videos for the upcoming.

Australian Open in Melbourne. During this time we created five 360° Tennis Master Class episodes, hosted by Paradorn Srichaphan. Both 360 and 2D footage was shot at the same time, with the 2D footage acting as close up popup windows within the 360 experience. Overall it was quite an interesting experience as this was one of our earliest 360/VR productions.

Thanks to Caleb Rozario for telling us your story.

It is always great to listen to real stories from real people using our 360dgrees platform and hearing compelling insights, particularly from the experts in the field.

Want to know more about 360dgrees platform? Visit 360dgrees.com

February 1, 2018August 14, 2024

360dgrees and Azure create Country Road’s compelling retail experience, boost insight

360dgrees.com is an Interactive Video Content Platform. You can upload, manage, customize and publish standard and 360 Video content.

When Toby Ellis’ young daughter asked what he did at work he told her that he used technology to help people see things differently.

Sometimes that’s in training videos to show people how to operate safely and effectively, sometimes it’s creating new and engaging retail experiences for consumers, sometimes it’s showing someone the inside of a theatre or stadium and letting them see the view before booking that seat from directly within the platform, or it’s about showcasing a property that’s for sale; the fact is that immersive and interactive virtual reality has few limits.

Ellis is the CEO of 360dgrees, a flexible platform developed using Microsoft Azure Media Services to support live streaming and immersive virtual reality (VR). Azure’s rich APIs means video content can also be integrated with additional functions that, for example, navigate a user through a training exercise, allow consumers to order and pay for goods and services displayed in the video, or experience something unfamiliar for the first time in preparation for the real thing.

The company is now working with a series of retailers, including Country Road, to create brand new customer experiences, drive revenue and deliver innovative training.

It will launch and showcase the technology and retail use cases at the US National Retail Federation trade show in New York in January 2018.

“We are excited about the opportunity for retailers to experience 360dgrees at NRF. With our partner Microsoft we are committed to empowering retailers through a solution which can not only provide a unique training solution for staff across the organisation but also deliver a heightened experience for customers”, says Ellis.

“We had this theory that if you use virtual reality you can connect better to customers, and let customers and staff experience unique events like Black Friday sales”.

“One of the conversations with Country Road group – is about how to create immersive retail customer experiences. Imagine going into the retail clothing store and instead of seeing the clothes hanging there – you put on a VR headset and see the fashion in the context it was designed for – that could be on the beach, at the races, lunch with friends – you are seeing the clothes in action.”

Retail in action

What sets the solution apart from advertising videos which might also show the clothes in real settings, is the interactive component of the solution that allows people to select garments to try on, to buy or put on a wish list from within the virtual reality environment. If you use the system in a store the clothes you want to try on will be in the change room waiting for you – in the correct size and color.

“For Country Road this is about how to connect better to the customer – and create an innovative experience, new opportunity. So at the races you can create a pop-up store – with the full range there without you being in the store.”

“Or if you are in the store and the next season hasn’t been released they might have some previews of it to experience it virtually,” says Ellis.

The experience can also be gamified in order to influence behaviour, or reward loyalty.

Meanwhile the platform drives better insights for the retailer says Ellis. “Think about the analytics – the retailer can say ‘what items are people selecting that they are not necessarily trying on? How can we leverage the customer loyalty system? Can we use a point of sale inside the VR to expedite that transaction?’”

Retailers are alert to the necessity to turn data into usable insights and 360dgrees’ patented analytics layer provides a unique insight about buyer behaviour.

Using Azure as the platform has made the solution much more affordable and largely done away with the need for computer generated images and 3D modelling that have in the past slowed the adoption of virtual reality. It’s created a new class of service – what Ellis describes as “interactive reality.”

“This essentially democratises the technology for the first time. This is technology that anyone can use to design, create and publish their own experiences.”

Training for tomorrow

It also offers a compelling training opportunity by placing people into situations that they might not previously have experienced; it both prepares them for the unknown and optimises responses to particular situations, enabling them to experience the consequence of any action.

In retail where there is an often young and mobile workforce the opportunity to allow employees to prepare for and refine their customer engagement is particularly useful, says Ellis.

The training applications of the solution are gaining traction outside of retail also, particularly in logistics, supply chain, mining and construction, airports, health and education.

He also says that knowledge retention is boosted significantly.

“Knowledge retention from listening is at 5 per cent, from writing something down 10 per cent – but from doing it’s 75 per cent. When we make the content interactive and gamify the experience people are learning by doing so knowledge retention goes from 5 per cent to 75 per cent.

“But the real kicker for interactive reality is the ability to experience consequence safely – experience drives behaviour. In nine out of ten cases knowledge is not the problem – if you can let someone experience the consequence of something whether it be the customer experience in a store or instruction while driving you can go a long way to changing behaviour.”

This article has been published on https://news.microsoft.com

January 12, 2018August 14, 2024

360dgrees and Microsoft – showcasing how interactive reality is shaping the face of connected retail at NRF 2018

With retail environments across the globe undergoing highly disruptive digital transformation, 360dgrees.com and Microsoft have developed an immersive, interactive solution to help retailers delight customers and drive profitability.

The solution not only enables a vastly improved customer experience but can benefit retailers across the supply chain, and drive cultural alignment across geographies and brand portfolios.

360dgrees at the NRF in New York

Regarded as one of the top retail events in the world, NRF attracts over 35,000 attendees from over 95 countries and provides a fantastic opportunity for attendees to experience first-hand the 360dgrees solution.

Retailers, like all companies operating in the new digital economy, understand the necessity to turn data into usable insights and 360dgrees, which is delivered over Microsoft’s Azure platform, has a patented analytics layer which provides a unique picture on staff and customers which becomes valuable IP across the organisation.

360dgrees delivers more impactful, standardised training of retail staff, regardless of their geographic location. From warehousing to marketing to in-store sales staff, 360dgrees can enable staff to both experience the consequences of their actions and experience the environment from the customer’s perspective. The business benefits range from more efficient supply chain management through to building greater empathy and affinity with the customer.

About 360dgrees.com

For customers, 360dgrees provides more rewarding experiences for shoppers to drive sales, loyalty and advocacy. This includes providing retailers, real-time, deep insights for more personalised communication of offers and promotions.

Toby Ellis CEO of 360dgrees said: “We are excited about the opportunity for retailers to experience 360dgrees at NRF. With our partners Microsoft we are committed to empowering retails through a solution which can not only provide a unique training solution for staff across the organisation but also deliver a heightened experience for customers”.

Author: Administration