he 2020 Drum Experience Awards winners were revealed last night during the virtual ceremony, held on Thursday 3 December.
Experiences are the most effective way in which brands can engage with their audiences and drive both brand awareness and growth and so, [nofollow]The Drum Experience Awards were created to give those behind the scenes the opportunity to take centre stage and celebrate those amazing experiences. This year we saw some great uses of Augmented Reality from award winners.
The competition was open to entries from around the globe, and there for anyone who was able to showcase innovative, creative and most importantly, effective events.
Entries were made into a vast amount of categories, including, Small Venue, Product Launch and Best Technology, to name a few.
However, 2020 has been an unprecedented year for the events and experience industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the same principles that have made live events such a powerful medium will apply as the industry transitions to a new future.
This year has seen organisers and businesses developing groundbreaking and innovative events and experience and so, the 2020 Drum Experience Awards has seen the very best of activations, but also the teams, technologies and venues that made them successful.
A notable award, which heavily featured the use of Web-based Augmented Reality was the 'B2B Experience of the Year' category, which was won by creative agency [nofollow]Smyle, for the Samsung Life Unstoppable event.
Smyle pushed the unimaginable limits of virtual events in collaboration with long-term partner Samsung and Web-based Augmented Reality elements from WebAR agency Aircards. The experience was the first ever use of gaming platform, Unreal Engine, to host a fully immersive, live digital media experience for +5,000 press and partners.
Not only did Smyle carefully construct a 3D virtual world for the Samsung Life Unstoppable Event, but they also integrated the very latest gaming techniques, together with 8D audio, ray tracing, pixel streaming and AR integration by Aircards, to provide an immersive and interactive virtual event never seen before.
The Web-based Augmented Reality elements received high praise for its use within the live event. QR code activations were deployed throughout the livestream which enabled viewers to experience full 3D versions of the upcoming Samsung product releases in their own home.
Samsung wanted to develop an alternative virtual activation that would not only replace their upcoming physical events due to the pandemic, but set a new standard for online immersive experiences. The event showcased the latest developments in mobile, wearables, TV, audio and home appliances, as well as creating an area post-launch for hosted meetings to deep dive on products.
While trying to make the experience feel personal, yet simultaneously trying to push what the technology could do, Smyle developed an interactive digital hub; the “Samsung House”, A super realistic 3D virtual world.
During the Life Unstoppable event, real-life presenters appeared on a variety of TVs, tablets and phones to demonstrate Samsung innovations. Viewers could also learn more on their own and could explore on their own, interacting with specific products to create a more personalised experience using Augmented Reality.
Comics were also hidden around the virtual house for viewers to find. If all were found, the virtual world was transformed before viewer’s eyes into a superhero comic book experience. Gamifying the event added yet another layer of fun to the experience.
With over 4,000 tech and lifestyle press in attendance and over 870 comic books collected, the feedback was exceptional with the overall experience gaining a staggering 29% increase in dwell time over video stream views.
The experience also saw 1352 Web AR activations which equated to a staggering 26% engagement rate with ~3 minutes average dwell time viewing products using the Web-based Augmented Reality experiences. All of this meant Samsung saw a 293% increase in event engagement in the previous year, which is a great testament to the power of WebAR.
Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung Europe said:
“By creating the ‘Life Unstoppable’ virtual world, we pushed the boundaries of virtual immersive experiences to find an innovative way to share how Samsung technology defies limits by bringing life, work and entertainment together using products that seamlessly connect with one another.”
The Life Unstoppable event demonstrates how innovative technologies, such as Augmented Reality, is an exceptionally effective B2B marketing strategy.
The Drum Awards for Experience are now closed and will reopen in 2021.
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