augmented reality

Big Interview > The Future of Digital in a World of Connected Homes & Augmented Reality

John Baker 8 years ago

We live in an age where seemingly anything and everything is possible with the application of digital technology.

Ideas are being made real by some incredibly talented people in the fields of shopping, research, sport, leisure, news, music and many others, and we as consumers are benefiting from the experience.

Among those fields are augmented reality and connected technology. We spoke to two companies who have worked with clients including Coca-Cola, Siemens, Samsung, Thomson, and Lord’s Stadium:


Augment (@Augmentedev) simulates life-size 3D models in real time for potential customers to see in their home, office or working environment; for sales teams to demonstrate to clients; to generate more leads at trade shows with augmented brochures; and to create interactive print experiences.

Omnifi (@OmnifiLtd) develops and manages a range of retail and venue technologies, supporting, amongst other things, user engagement, off-line and online-sales, digital shopper marketing and experiential activation.


Lindsay Boyajian, Global Marketing Manager, Augment

What was the inspiration for Augment? Who are the most inspiring people in the world of technology today?

"Augment’s CEO, Jean-François Chianetta, was inspired to create Augment as a remedy for his own frustrations. Several years ago, while shopping online, Jean-François came across an advertisement for a pair of compact speakers he was interested in purchasing. Yet he was left wondering from the traditional marketing photograph how compact the 'compact' speakers really were. How did they compare to his existing speakers? Deciding this guessing game had inconvenienced him for the last time, he began to prototype an augmented reality app, which today is Augment.

"Augment’s goal is to lead the ARaaS (Augmented Reality as a Service) space. With that said, Augment is inspired by Marc Benioff of Salesforce, the pioneer of the SaaS space and the leader in SaaS today."

Do you think enough companies are brave enough in utilizing augmented reality?

"I do not think that it is a question of bravery, but of not being aware of the innovations that AR can bring to their sales and marketing platforms.

ARaaS is a new industry. Many companies do not realize the specialized applications AR has for their businesses. From employee training to shopper marketing to product prototyping, augmented reality is a powerful enterprise solution.

Augment’s job is to give companies the tools, education, and confidence to bring AR into multiple facets of their business operations."

What are the current limitations of augmented reality, and how much further can augmented reality go?

"Right now, AR is limited by a gap in education in the marketplace about the technology and its versatile, comprehensive, and readily adaptable applications. Many people do not know what AR is or the tangible and immediate business results it can deliver by strengthening a positive experience whether with a customer, employee, designer or manufacturer, for example. We are just at the tip of the iceberg of AR. It has multiple applications in almost every industry.

For instance, Augment can be used by CPGs as a mobile sales tool to support and the sales team, by an architect for a space planning, or by an oil company to more effectively train its employees. Its diversity and intensity of experience are its greatest strengths in the long-term."

What would you say to people who are unconvinced by AR and see it as a gimmick? Do you have any people who come to you with outlandish and ridiculous ideas?

"Although in the past some people thought of AR as a marketing and advertising gimmick to lure in consumers, this way of thinking is completely obsolete.
The enterprise applications of the AR technology are the true value drivers.

As one example, Coca Cola Germany is using Augment as a mobile sales tool for its sales people. Coca Cola Germany’s sales team can now simulate 3D models of its coolers in the customer’s environment in real time. This enables Coca Cola’s sales reps to work closely and effectively with its clients on-site in real time to make immediate informed decisions about product placement, removing the guesswork and uncertainty. AR is much more than a gimmick. The AR visual experience is intense and amazing.

Our users surprise us all the time with their ideas for AR - everything from funeral casket sales to nightclub experiences in Ibiza."

Let’s say I have an idea for a new business – a nostalgia based app where I simulate how a city looked 50 or 100 years ago using black and white photographs that I have, to appear on-screen as people are walking down the street. How would I go about it?

"Since Augment enables you to simulate 3D models in the real world in the real environment, Augment is not a solution for this exact scenario.

Nevertheless, you can use Augment to bring your photographs to life by with the Augment for Interactive Print application. With this application, you would be able to invite others to scan your photographs with Augment to reveal spectacular 3D cityscape models overlaid onto your photos.

To achieve this, you would follow these simple steps:

  1. Create an Augment account, and then login to the Augment Manager. The Augment Manager tool is where you will manage your account and models online.
  2. Upload the 3D models you would like to associate to your photos. In this case, it would be 3D cityscapes of how a city looked 50 or 100 years ago. We have software plugins available to make importing easy. If you do not have 3D models, we have 3D designers that can create them for you!
  1. Upload your black and white photos to the Augment Manager, and then associate your photos on the Manager to the 3D models.
  1. That’s it! You are now ready to invite your customers to take a walk down memory lane by scanning your black and white photographs with the Augment app, revealing your 3D models.

What piece of work is Augment most proud of? Have there ever been any disappointments?

"We are very proud of our academic program. We have thousands of students and teachers using our platform for free. Augment offers free academic licenses to all students and teachers. AR is a powerful visual learning tool, and we are proud that we can offer our solution to facilitate learning. If just one of the thousands of students using Augment is inspired, then we have done our jobs. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.

As with any start-up, there are peaks and valleys. It is impossible to get it right all the time. The key is how you handle those valleys, and what you learn from the experience. After a recent disappointment, our CEO said, 'Look at the bright side, we can only do better next time.' For us, disappointments are not bad, they are invitations to iterate and improve."

It’s no secret that the print industry has suffered in the past few years. How many queries do you get from print magazines/ newspapers?

"We have had inquiries directly from print magazines/newspapers, and we also receive many inquiries directly from brands for their print campaigns. Print advertisements are still a large part of today’s marketing budgets, and brands are searching for new strategies to engage and entice consumers. Augmented reality not only enhances engagement, it bridges the gap between print and digital. It seamlessly connects offline marketing to online channels."

What advice would you have for any start-up company in 2015? How difficult is it for a company working across two continents?

"Focus on what you do well and do it really well. Listen to your customers and build impressive features based on their wants and needs.

Connection issues and time zone differences can be difficult for any company to navigate. However, the small inconveniences presented in navigating these differences do not compare to the immense benefits gained by promoting cross-cultural diversity, which instigates and informs Augment’s innovation and creativity."

What advice would you give yourself, if you had to start your career all over again?

"In today’s increasingly 'glocal' business community, cross-cultural communication and leadership skills are invaluable. Those skills are best cultivated while working in different cultures and environments, which I have been fortunate enough to do. Move beyond your comfort zone."

What are Augment’s ambitions for 2016?

"World domination! But actually, there has been serious movement in the AR ecosystem this past year. You have seen all the big players, from Apple buying Metaio to Google investing in Magic Leap, establishing their brands in the AR space.

Looking ahead to 2016, as an AR leader, Augment is primed to take advantage of that momentum."


Nick Holroyd-Doveton, Product and Delivery Director, Omnifi

Describe your role in one sentence

"Heading up Product & Delivery means I sit in between everyone in the agency, I have to act as the starter, the ideas man, the sense checker, the motivator, the good guy, the bad guy and the annoying guy. Mainly the latter, I presume."

What does the word ‘connected’ mean in the 21st Century?

"In its purest form connected means 'contacting or creating a notional link' - in today's world the reality is that the ‘connection’ always persists, and if it ‘drops’ people start to become slightly anxious. The fact that we're living in the time of the ‘always on’ means that 93% of the population of the UK have a mobile phone in their pocket or bag, and spend over two solid hours on it each day. It's the first thing they pick up in a morning, and the last thing they touch before they go to sleep.

Now, as marketers, that unleashes an amazing power. It's not just a new channel for us to push to though, that's a boring way to look at it - it's a connection, potentially an emotional connection and more importantly a connection that allows us to derive context. At Omnifi we’re solely interested in what we’re coining in-situ digital - so, ‘something’ that happens ‘somewhere’. Once you know the somewhere and control the something, you're laughing. Context, not content, is king."

Who are the most inspiring people in the world of technology today?

"I'm going to go with brands rather than people - I think the likes of Uber, Citymapper and JustEat are changing the way people rely, use and consume technology in the modern world. Uber have revolutionised the way people use taxis. Citymapper are bold enough to enter and shake up a fairly stagnant and monopolised market, while JustEat are putting me three taps away from my Friday night dinner. The above examples are a simple case of supply and demand, and a brain at each of them thinking, 'this could be easier' - and I’m all for that. They’re all, in a way, disruptive too - which ticks another box in the world of technology. No one ever got anywhere playing it safe.

You could look at my above examples and say I’m 'taking the human interaction away' - but I don’t care."

When did you first become interested in technology and its applications?

"I suppose I've always been interested in technology. As a kid I was often in the bad books for taking things apart, and wanting to know how they worked (I once remember being told off by my very patient parents for taking the family TV to pieces whilst they 'nipped to the shops') - my inquisitive nature just rolled into computers, then into a web design degree, and now I guess you could describe me as a hybrid between a project manager and creative technologist, and while I'm not as technical as a lot of people

I know and work with, I'm fairly good at understanding what's possible (everything!) and also how it might be applied in the real world to help, aid, alleviate or entertain."

Tell us about the Lord’s Connected stadium project. Is this something all sporting venues could be doing? Do you think enough people/businesses are aware of the capabilities of technology in 2015?

"Lord's came to us with a very simple problem. Well, simple on paper. They’ve got legacy systems, siloed processes and technology for technology's sake. We spent a lot of time with them working out their business requirements (the basis of any good project) and then learning about how their unique business is ran.

Working with their marketing and operational teams we developed approaches to in-venue technology, with a focus on supporting customer experience and commercial objectives. Lord’s now have an ambitious vision and roadmap for the future. The team know that excellent customer experience assisted by technology is key to delivering this, and we are looking forward to supporting this prestigious organisation as it prepares for an exciting new phase in its development.

A lot of the foundations to this challenge are firmly etched into my brain having worked extensively with Wembley Stadium, EE, Glastonbury Festival and the Premier League in a 'past life.' I was responsible for the Wembley mobile strategy and applications - which wasn't without its challenges.

I do think it's something all venues should be doing; however, they need to capitalise on their unique environment whilst maintaining a ‘heads up’ environment - that's the challenge. As far as general businesses go, I think they're aware of the capabilities, but there's also a peer group issue that we as marketers face. 'Well, they're not doing it yet so we don't need to either,' is a phrase I hear all too often - a healthier outlook would capitalise on that statement instead of waiting. I’ve noticed this issue across all of the sectors I’ve worked in. There are always movers and shakers."

If you could do anything with technology and money and time were no object, what projects would you take on?

"Something that feels impossible - like, really impossible. At Omnifi we're very much of the opinion that anything is possible with technology. Ideally I’d like us to be working on products and projects that don’t disappear off the face of the earth in a few months' time - true utilities and services that become the default choice for that particular action."

What piece of work is Omnifi most proud of? Have there ever been any disappointments?

"Right now I'd say that our latest project with a charity called World Vision is one of the best things we've produced. It’s a connected retail experience which is going live throughout some of the UK’s premier shopping malls. Think of charities and retail and you’re probably going to imagine scruffy shops on run-down high-streets in the North. We’ve developed and delivered a range of innovative interactive technologies that will form a key part of the experience. Visitors are rewarded with a rich digitally enhanced experience to match the scale of their giving - including large interactive video mirrors, IoT enabled fixtures and contactless giving.

If you asked me in a few weeks' time I'd say something different, but that's the nature of our agency - we're constantly outdoing ourselves, which sounds marginally big headed, but I mean it earnestly, honest.

In terms of disappointments, yes, of course - but these usually boil down to 'peer group' issue I mention above, or minor cock ups - but I shouldn't air our dirty laundry here."

I live in a rural environment – what are the challenges for your company and other similar ones working in non-urban areas?

"Connectivity and network availability are key to what we do. We just assume that everyone has great connection, which they don’t.

Even in shopping centres and sporting venues it’s still a challenge, so I imagine that rural areas can be even more of a challenge. The important thing is to have backups, fallbacks and failsafes in place, even for scenarios you don’t think exist - trust me, they will."

Which three people would you have dinner with, and why?

"Gary Vaynerchuk, Stephen Fry and Courtney Murray.

Gary is a serial entrepreneur and investor. I love the way he speaks so openly and brashly about things and think I could learn a great deal from him, and also have a bit of fun doing so. Stephen Fry because he’s Stephen Fry. And as far as Courtney Murray goes, she’s my better half and pretty good company. (Alternatively you can swap Courtney for Chip Bergh, the CEO of Levi’s Stadium with the reasons 'I’d like to know exactly what toys they have in the stadium, and how they all work'.)

What advice would you have for any start-up company? What advice would you give yourself, if you had to start your career all over again?

"When we first started out we had a very insular mindset, where we needed to keep our cards close to our chests. In hindsight that was more of a hinderance than a help. It held us back from getting out there. The bravest, and therefore hardest decision to make is simply starting ‘something’ - this is so important to my role as I fire the starting gun on all of our projects.

I'm not what you'd describe as a well-read man, but one of my favourite books is Poke The Box by Seth Godin. He drives home the importance of starting, and it’s something that gets forgotten quite a lot. Half way through the book I remember thinking, 'right, he’s just stating the obvious here', - but that made me realise that people forget the obvious far too often - which was probably his intended point.

I guess the advice is easy. Worry less. Start sooner. Do more.

What are Omnifi’s ambitions for 2016?

"We’re looking to grow our team and work with some new clients. Yes, typical agency stuff.

To go into it a bit more, I'd personally like to add a few more sporting clients to the list. The current market, technical capabilities and our unique proposition should allow us to do that.

We're operating in a niche and ever evolving space, one which I think we're almost defining as we grow and deliver projects - which is pretty exciting to be honest.

This time next year I'd love people in the industry to have conversations like, 'do you know any in-situ digital agencies?' And the reply to be something to the effect of, 'oh yeah, there's a few, Omnifi are your best bet, though'.

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