In this blog I will aim to discuss the concept of creating customer engagement through transparency more clearly. Also, the concept of creating a digital experience that shows your entire value chain will be elaborated on more in depth. The ultimate goal of this digital marketing strategy is to create a social media buzz for Toni Chocolonely. In order to execute this successfully we will dive deeper into the certain measurements required to do this and we will estimate the scope of the campaign.

The common perception of customer engagement focusses on the behavioral aspects of the relationship between customer and business. Customer engagement involves the customers’ participation in the core offering itself. This can be done through shared inventiveness, co-design or a shared production of relation goods. In Toni’s Chocolonelys case this would be to actively participate in the value chain. When experiencing a Virtual Reality tour through that shows the value chain, the customer participates through spontaneous, discretionary behavior that uniquely shapes the customer-to-brand experience. Using Virtual Reality to explain every step in the value chain will provide Toni Chocolonely with a avenue that makes it easier for them to help customers make informed decisions about purchasing chocolate. (Riley, 2017) (Love, 2015)

We know that there are plenty of chocolate companies claiming to be fair-trade and operational without the use of ‘modern slaves’. When claiming this and showing your customer the environment, the business operates in will result in a bond. Creating this digital tour will add another layer to the ethical transparency Toni Chocoloneley is trying to create.

According to VEER posting new content lets your customer base know you are always innovsting. With always innovating I mean that you are here, and you will not suddenly disappear tomorrow. New research also shows that companies that investing in virtual reality will have an increase in brand equity and an increase in purchases over 2-3 years.

A survey done by ‘GreenLight VR’ tells us that 71% of the participants feel that a VR campaign makes a brand or business seem more forward thinking and modern. 53% of the participants said that they would be more likely to buy from a brand that makes use of virtual reality than from a one that does not. (Metry, 2017)

The goal of such a marketing campaign is to stimulate buying behavior. The success of such a marketing strategy is dependent on certain measurements. A recent VR advertisement campaign conducted by Google showed that using 360-content instead of a normal video on your website will result in a 3 times higher conversion rate. It also shows that there is a 70%-300% increase in user engagement and a 30% higher repeated view rate. (Metry, 2017)

For Toni Chocoloneley the most important factor that will contribute to a potentially successful campaign is that the customer does not need to download the application in order to experience the digital tour. The 360 videos will be posted on their website and will be available for everyone with virtual reality glasses.

Currently there are 171 million people around the world with virtual reality glasses if we do not take into account the virtual reality glasses that are made of cardboard.

In my opinion the best strategy to introduce this campaign will be to start by offering a package of 3 Toni chocolate bars for €10, -. Those 3 bars are packaged together with cardboard virtual reality glasses that are needed to watch the 360 videos. Cardboard glasses like the one I suggest to Toni Chocolonely are innovative, user friendly and not that expensive. Online you can order these glasses for less than 1 euro per piece. However, there will be an expensive part in this digital marketing strategy, which is the production of the video. In order to maximize the effectiveness of this campaign, multiple 360 videos should be filmed. My recommendation would be to split up every part of the value chain into different videos. A total of 6 videos would be needed for Toni to explain every step precisely. There are 6 steps between the cocoa farm and the actual bar of chocolate. From personal experience I know that hiring a 360º camera will costs approximately €700, – per day. If we assume that every video takes a day to film and produce the total costs will roughly €5000, -. I know this is a rough estimation, but it represents the value offered versus investment in a good way.

Mark Metry. (2017). Benefits of 360-Degree Photos & Videos .Available: https://veer.tv/blog/5-benefits-vr-360-degree-photos-videos-personal-business/. Last accessed 12-05-18.

Alan Riley. (2017). ENGAGING WITH CUSTOMERS THROUGH AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY. Available: https://engagecustomer.com/customer-experience-design-engaging-customers-augmented-virtual-reality/. Last accessed 12-05-18.

Chris Love. (2015). 10 digital strategies to drive customer engagement. digital retail design. 146 (1), 12 – 13.

Traditional Marketing Vs Virtual Reality 

A trend that we are seeing more and more nowadays is the use of interactive video content or 360˚ videos. interactive videos is a collective name for augmented reality and virtual reality. These are the next step in offering the customer an interactive customer experience. Apple already has taken the first step by creating animoji’s. This is tool that animates and allows to share yourself in an interactive and creative way. Although this seems to be just a minor step you can already see the direction we are heading.

the use of augmented reality on mobile devices offers an unique and niche way for marketeers or even for companies to engage with or target their customers. Currently, the future of VR marketing remains unsure since users need special hardware to use it. besides this it is still an expensive strategy that is mainly used in the gaming and entertainment industry. However, the technology behind VR and AR is still developing so it is hard for companies to completely adopt it in their marketing strategy until it is fully developed and available.

Eventually, the use of VR and AR will be an essential part in engaging with your customers. For example, in furniture shopping it has already been implemented on minor scale. Customers are already able to walk around and place different kinds of furniture or objects into the settings of their home. IKEA was the first one that adopted this technology, it is a milestone in persuading customers to buy and definitely has an positive impact on customer satisfaction. This marketing move is IKEAS latest move in the trying to digitally show its products to its customers. At also gives shoppers the advantage to try and see furniture in a more experiential way. This AR application only requires a smartphone which almost everybody has nowadays. we can safely say that virtual and augmented reality are the new channels for increasing and optimizing the awareness of your brand. It allows marketeers to provide customers with a deeper level of content, from the firs-person perspective.

The ultimate goal of any business around the world is to generate more sales. The ultimate purpose of any business that wants to be efficient and scalable is to make sales to satisfies customers who will come back again and again. Once users of VR and AR have been surprised by the direct effects of this new technology it will lead to an increased customer satisfaction. Using this technology will creatively set a new level of standard and will be seen as the customers first choice to go.

The ultimate purpose of any business is making sales. The ultimate purpose of any efficient and scalable business is to make sales to the satisfied customers who will come back again and again. Once potential users have been wowed by the immersive and interactive experience of VR and AR, their expectations from brands have increased. Brands that use these technologies creatively will set a new standard of surprise and appear in eyes of their consumers as the first choice. The challenge for brand and marketeers will be that they have to make sure that the VR and AR content they make available to their customers should be interesting. Of course, VR is new and cool but if what you are watching is boring you will not promote and increase buying behavior. Companies should focus on creating a whole new digital world for their consumers instead of focussing on advertising an image of a product. Advertising in the world of virtual reality will result in consumer engagement and allows them to interact with the content.

The first time that i have used virtual reality was a couple of weeks ago. When ordering coffee at nespresso.com I received virtual reality glasses. Those glasses allow you to take a virtual stroll through their coffee farm in Colombia. While you are walking through Colombia they inform you how they produce their coffee and how they add value to every step in the chain. The way they explain themselves and their brand was a completely new experience to me and it kept me thinking about the opportunities that come along with emerging technology.

The Origin Of Javanese Coffee

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