Augmented reality (AR) has become an essential tool for developing customer experiences in retail, where brands can interface with consumers for a host of use cases, including instantaneous access to key food and beverage information, trying on AR clothing, real-time product updates, and non-fungible token (NFT) promotions, among others.
To learn more, XR Today interviewed Sasha Wallinger, Head of Web3 and Metaverse of the Futures Intelligence Group, which XR consultancy Journey acquired in May this year.
The current iteration of the company includes a star-studded lineup of XR professionals such as Cathy Hackl, Chief Metaverse Officer, Company Director Lee Kebler, and Andy Zimmerman, Journey’s Chief Executive.
The New York City-based enterprise has worked with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Ralph Lauren, Warner Music Group, PepsiCo, the Wall Street Journal, Proctor&Gamble, and others.
New Tools, New Strategies
When asked about how Journey designs immersive experiences for the customer journey, Wallinger explained Journey was respectful of the strategy and process, which required “a lot of different stakeholders in the room.”
-
Journey’s Lee Kebler will speak at the inaugural XR Summit with the XR Association’s Elizabeth Hyman on 20 September to discuss how businesses can fully unlock their potential using XR technologies.
There were also many different expectations around key point indicators (KPIs) and return on investment (ROI) for campaigns, she stated.
She told XR Today her company did not just want to create “transactional” solutions that generate hype, adding it was not where engagement and authenticity took place for brands.
She continued, stating,
“What we do is certainly build a comprehensive strategy and roadmap, just like you’d want any project to have. What looks a little bit different in the Metaverse and Web 3 ecosystems, are that there are a lot of different new tools that we get to experiment and play with”
Applied Experiences, Uncharted Roadmaps
Regarding world-building, she noted it was exciting to transfer “the theoretical into the applied.” Along with her world-building and strategy teams, Journey also scenario-planned to anticipate “that exciting moment” where Web3 gamification and “internal organisational change” brought such experiences to life, allowing the firm to model different client opportunities.
Journey also leveraged a “comprehensive suite of platforms” across the Metaverse, including Roblox, The Sandbox, Fortnite, and Core, among others, to create the “right fit for the audience,” she explained.
- Journey’s Lee Kebler will speak at the inaugural XR Summit with the XR Association’s Elizabeth Hyman on 20 September to discuss how businesses can fully unlock their potential using XR technologies.
The company also considered the “whole landscape of Web3,” to develop scenarios with the right tools for optimal immersive experiences.
“So I think just that roadmap is really critical to making sure we’re poised and come up with a moment that really is relatable and well-adopted,” she concluded.
For more information, kindly visit Journey’s website.
