Case Study

Brief

The task was born out of research by Sony into the way that people purchase the televisions in the age of increasingly gigantic flat screens and Sony’s desire to make the choosing of the right set easy and engaging for consumers. Brand interaction agency Tonic responded to this brief by developing an augmented reality application that will help people decide what size and style of TV is right for them by allowing to “place” it in their own home which is currently being tested by Sony for use as a standard tool on their extensive product website.

Strategy

Research indicates that consumers are often left confused with the experience of purchasing large screen televisions, both in physical stores and when researching online. Often the perceived size of a TV in store is very different to the actual size when a consumer gets the product home. The purchased set may prove to be uncomfortably large for the living room. But the research indicated the opposite is actually more often the case. In many cases people are left realising that they could opted for a much larger screen, which represents a missed commercial opportunity for many retailers, and leaves the consumer less than delighted with the experience , having just invested a considerable amount of money in their new set.

Execution

Capitalising on the advent of increasingly powerful mobile telephones and advancements in augmented reality modelling technology, Tonic have developed a mobile-based application that allows people to visualise real products in their home. The application uses AR to allow users to view their living room via the camera of their smartphone, and place televisions in situ where the TV will be sited. They can move around the room, viewing the set in 3D and obtaining a 360° view of the set. They can move the set from place to place within their room, and they can browse through the product range to in order to see not only which screen size, but which design series from the range best matches their needs.

Following launch the product is expected to help reduce return rates, a major source of both customer dissatisfaction and profit erosion while giving consumers the confidence to trade up to large screens or more radical modern designs, knowing exactly how these will fit into their living environment.

Executive Creative Director, Ranzie Anthony says “There are still too few examples of AR that really go some way to solving consumer needs. Like many new technologies, there are lots of fun campaign gimmicks coming out of digital agencies. We believe we have identified a real consumer need and are using AR as a means to address that need for the benefit of a manufacturer, their retail partners and, most importantly consumers”.

Nick Fowden, Head of Conline content at Sony Europe commented “ We were impressed. AR’s a buzzword and this is pushing the technical boundaries of integrating web, mobile and real time content in a single app. But the result is a delightfully simple, easy to understand aplication that’s really going to enhance the process of choosing a TV. We are excited by this new dimension to the shopping experience and we see many ways in which we can use this technology to make other products ‘come alive’ at home for the consumer”

Results

The application is still in testing and Tonic hope it will launch on www.sony.eu shortly.