SINGAPORE – Next-generation consoles like the Xbox One are leaving the basement and positioning themselves as the big screen in your living room and in the display windows of shops. The integration of advertising into this platform has made the experience more personal, by, “reaching the customers at the right contextual moment,” according to Guy Hearn, Chief Innovation Officer, Asia Pacific Omnicom Media Group.
The TechTalk, “Gaming for e-Commerce ” took the audience through the consumer journey and opportunities for brands to help consumers get more done across their digital life. By using this platform, the advertiser creates an immersive user experience, as ads are not just targeted towards a certain group but are now targeted towards the individual.
For example, a person playing a racing game can be targeted by a car company via an interactive car ad. They can not only see and interact with the image of the car, but they can experience what it looks like in a 360º 3D model and learn more about it in detail.
Another application of the new technology is hooking up Xbox Kinect sensors to any regular outdoor media to turn it into a virtual shoe store. In this way, consumers can not only choose, but immediately see what the shoes look like on themselves and, once convinced, they can make their purchase – It takes the consumer through all the steps they might experience in an actual shoe store, from selecting to the actual purchasing.
“It allows you to connect at the moments that matter,” said Adam Anger, General Manager of Microsoft Advertising in Asia-Pacific. Aside from gaming and personalized advertising, one can connect with family and friends using applications pre-installed in the console.
The advanced sensors of the console can also measure an individual’s reactions, whether they show it from they facial expression or body movement, or even the heartbeat of the person. The application of this technology can even be used to measure the effectivity of the media being consumed.
“Gaming is the way into the platfrom – it is the reason why people go the the platform in the first place,” said Hearn. “But you can do so much more to make an immersive experience other than just through games.”
