How Asics unveils its new shoes in virtual reality

Major events are cancelled, what now? Japanese trainers manufacturer Asics shows how to unveil a new product during the coronavirus restrictions. They tried it in virtual reality.

Japanese trainers manufacturer Asics was actually planning a big company event to present its latest running shoe collection to journalists at its headquarters in Tokyo. However, the coronavirus restrictions got in the way of this plan.

The new task for corporate communications: how to get the story of the three new trainers with special soles that have been elaborately optimised for runners across to journalists in a convincing way?

Of course, test models could simply have been sent out. But this would probably not have led to the same result as the originally planned presentation with drum and fanfare; moreover, journalists are not the actual target group of the high-tech running shoe. In addition, the logistical effort would have been high.

VR presentation with Oculus Quest

Instead, the Japanese company opted for an idea that was probably no less elaborate, but at least unusual and therefore attention-grabbing: they sent Oculus Quest VR goggles to journalists with a pre-installed tour of Asic's "Innovation Lab".

It showed the three new shoes and their specifications. However, in the short time available, it was only enough for a 360-degree experience with a 2D screen for videos and animated 3D models of the shoes.

The VR presentation could certainly have been much more technically advanced. But just the novelty of watching a product presentation in VR glasses instead of on site could persuade journalists to include the story in their topic planning.

And then no VR glasses for journalists after all

Incidentally, the new footwear is called Metaracer, Metasprint and Metarise - all that's missing is the "verse" in the name and the story would also become a shoe. The journalists were apparently not allowed to keep the Quest - the VR glasses were collected by the courier a day later. Companies that are now simply creating a VR production in the hope that every journalist now has a pair of glasses are failing.

The project in terms of product presentation is reminiscent of that of Mammoth. What was spectacular about the 360° film footage at the Mammut collection presentation is probably more the large-scale dispatch of the glasses here.

Source: Mixed