Emerging Technology We Love
If you’re an early adopter of Emerging technology like me, every new product release or leap in innovation is like Christmas morning. The excitement, the anticipation, the eagerness to see the latest and greatest is just like opening your favorite present under the Christmas tree as a kid. Just like a kid, sometimes the anticipation surpasses the present itself, while other times the present is timeless – maybe you still have some of those presents today. This post will cut through the clutter and we’ll share our perspective on a few emerging technologies we love. We’ll also share which might be relevant to your brand and their limitations as you consider interactive and emerging technologies for your exhibit, retail, or festival experiences.
AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)
You may be thinking, Yeah, I know AR – That’s what Pokemon Go! is, right? I’m level 32, what about you? No doubt, Pokemon Go supercharged the AR relevancy in the marketplace leaving brands trying to figure out if AR could help cut through the marketing noise at tradeshows, festivals, and retail experiences. The answer – yes and no.
Augmented Reality is poised to be live on with some real business applicability. That said, much of the market believes Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) will merge into Mixed Reality (MR) experiences. MR blends the best of augmented & virtual content into a single experience. Like Alice going deeper down the rabbit hole, we go the more immersive things become.
Earlier this year, Apple released its AR kit and we like it – a lot! AR is a great tool for exhibits, retail, and some festival experiences for users to explore and discover content exposed via augmented reality. Imagine using your phone or tablet in a booth experience that reveals key product information or the materials used to construct it.
You might also imagine a user-driven interaction with your brand, removing the necessity for a heavy sales process. We like the natural interaction a well-designed AR experience provides and the engagement factor results across retail & exhibit experiences. We also see tremendous value in medical training and industry exhibits using AR to create an exact anatomical reference for medical and physician experiences.
Precision. Interactivity. Education. It’s not science fiction, it is here now.
SMART THINGS
Like you, we’ve been hearing companies tout the Internet Of Things (IoT) and smart home technologies for a while with little to be excited about. Just because something is ‘smart’ doesn’t mean it can’t be stupid. 2017 has been a year of change and strong strides towards more tangible value provided by these brands. We can’t wait for 2018!
Which smart technologies provide real business value for your exhibit, retail or festival experience vs in-home experiences? Smart items allow for human interactions that learn behavior over time leveraged in a way to create a meaningful interaction. A lot of words I know, but simply put, smart things enable users to be efficient with repeatable tasks. A few solid leaders in the market include:
– Amazon Alexa:- Amazon's virtual assistant and smart home technology. It uses voice recognition and AI to perform tasks like playing music, setting reminders, controlling smart home devices, answering questions, and providing weather updates and news. Alexa primarily runs on Amazon Echo devices, which are smart speakers and displays.
– Lutron Caseta In-Wall Wireless Lighting Kit – Lutron’s are the best-performing, most fully-featured smart switches currently available, and well worth the money if you’re serious about connected lighting. LEDs save money, and they can change colors to mimic a sunrise or sunset. They can also be programmed them so that when my certain people send me a text message, they all turned red and I can turn down our Sonos jamming my favorite music (below).
– Sonos – If you like music, this wireless system is immersive. Play anything anywhere. We think this works great for exhibits, retail and festival experiences. The sound quality is fantastic and in a connected experience (home or business) this warrants serious consideration.
Interact with, capture data, product automation, build relationships, enhance a presentation, target attendees, spur conversations, or play your favorite Rod Stewart album. Just enjoy and interact on. Future homes and businesses will be managed via smart technology. As a result, the questions we ask at VOXX inform what smart technology might enhance audience acquisition at a trade show, retail experience or festival. We don’t chase gimmicks at VOXX and each experience and brand challenge is unique.
With the world changing every millisecond, staying up to date is daunting. You may be wondering which emerging technology is the best solution for your exhibit, retail or festival experience. This is where VOXX comes in. The key is to be relevant and engaging to your audience. The strategic consultation we provide will help guide purchasing decisions avoiding common pitfalls.
