Brands in Asia should boldly go where digital and physical worlds collide

Agencies in Europe and the US have merged the physical and digital worlds to create interactive consumer experience, such as the Heineken Ignite interactive beer bottle, adidas NEO window shopping, and Ballantine’s programmable T-shirt.

Nico Abbruzzese, Asia-Pacific head of digital for Maxus, said these experiments help brands interact with consumers who are increasingly resistant to traditional and digital advertising. “These examples we have seen either add a new layer to the experience of a brand or create a new form of useful engagement that people are happy to spend time with, because IT fundamentally adds value to their experience.” 

A recent example is Coca-Cola’s 'Small world machines' campaign, a big hit at this year’s Cannes. Created by Leo Burnett Sydney & Chicago, the campaign used vending machines to encourage people from India and Pakistan to share a Coke after completing a task together, such as waving, touching hands, drawing a peace sign or dancing.

“Asia is a ‘post-PC’ market, with a large uptake of technologies that are about getting up and interacting with the world, such as NFC, tablets and mobile,” said Victor Knaap, CEO of MediaMonks. “Together with Asian consumers’ eagerness to experiment with technology and gadgets, I fully expect to see this region play a leading role in merging digital and physical worlds across products and consumer experiences.”

Abbruzzese agreed. “Asia is perfect for the growth of these technologies as development capabilities are far more approachable. Asians love creative technologies more than anyone in the world. The average Asian technology proficiency is pretty high, as well as the propensity for change.”

With audiences being highly receptive to emerging technologies, Asia has been driving a lot of innovation around the world. However, brands in this region are not adapting quickly enough.

Budget is one reason for this—as these experiments can be very expensive, brands are not easily convinced to try them out.

“Such proactive ideas of combining physical and digital experiences are usually from agencies, rather than budgets that brands already have,” said Tuomas Peltoniemi, head of digital at TBWA’s Digital Arts Network (DAN) Singapore. “Changing budgets from what has always been done to something completely new is not always possible.”

Rohan Lightfoot, integrated business director at Isobar Asia-Pacific, added that some marketers in Asia may not be looking for this type of innovation, as those types of budget have traditionally sat in head offices in other parts of the world. 

This is understandable because traditional advertising allows brands to relatively measure the impression delivered by a certain amount of budget, while innovations might only create short-term social buzz, instead of tangible results and sustainable engagement.

“The effect of product development and the focus on consumer experiences are not that easy to predict,” said Knaap. “It tends to start with brands that have innovation and experimentation as part of their DNA.”

Peltoniemi added: “A brand experience doesn't always translate to consumption occasions. Creative executions and brand experiences should rather be seen as part of a longer-term brand-building plan.”

If a brand only aims to use technology to bring consumers together in a new and interesting way, it can result in a one-off stunt. “If it’s just an empty gimmick, leave it in the lab. Technology should enhance the experience, not hinder it,” Knaap said.

“It’s important to understand how the application of a particular technology is going to help tell the brand story in a better way or going to improve consumer experience,” said Lightfoot.

Campaign-style executions are more short-term and designed to drive brand experience and buzz,  while "the longer-term strategic initiatives, which are designed to drive utility and value to customers, usually involve designing a product and a service to work together,” Peltoniemi pointed out.

Despite these concerns, big names such as Coca-Cola, Heineken, Singapore Airlines and adidas have recognised the value of technological experimentation.

At the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore travel fair last August, Singapore Airlines’ interactive travel booth, created by DAN Singapore, allowed visitors to experience the airline’s inflight activities—including Krisworld movie samplers, music and games—through a radio-frequency identification tag, and share the experience through a Facebook app.

Another playful experiment from Coca-Cola was a motion sensor dance vending machine used to encourage South Koreans to copy the dance moves of the country’s popular boy band 2PM in order to win free soft drinks.

“Brand experiences have always been about creating a moment of fun, surprise, or other positive emotions for consumers,” Peltoniemi said. “These experiments create opportunities for consumers to experience something they might not have been able to before. That has a tremendous amount of value and benefits.”