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How Kaon Interactive Became the Leader in Enterprise Sales and Marketing Apps

Kaon Interactive President and CEO Gavin Finn recently met with Editor and Contributor Colin Barry from VentureFizz, a digital platform for technology, entrepreneurship, and career inspiration in Boston, Mass. Colin was interested in how Kaon is using augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) for the enterprise. Gavin presented a VR demonstration using Google Daydream and an AR demonstration of Kaon’s 3D product models, as well as Kaon’s story of how we started and how we got into this business of creating engaging, interactive stories around our customers’ products. Colin was impressed. What resulted is the following story by Colin Barry. Kaon Interactive – Creating Engaging Customer Experiences With AR and VR August 14, 2017 By Colin W. Barry, Editor & Contributor, VentureFizz Out in the small Massachusetts suburb of Maynard, there is…

Kaon Interactive’s B2B Virtual and Augmented Reality Launch on ASUS ZenFone AR

Kaon Interactive, the leading provider of 3D marketing and sales applications for global B2B brands, announced that its augmented reality solution, Kaon AR®, and virtual reality solution, Kaon VR®, are now available on the new ASUS ZenFone AR. Both solutions are deployed on the Kaon High Velocity Marketing Platform®. The ZenFone AR is the world’s first smartphone equipped with Google’s augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, Tango and Daydream. With the release of the ASUS ZenFone AR, Kaon Interactive can immediately provide its Fortune 500 customers with the most advanced B2B marketing AR and VR solutions all on one device. Kaon AR works on all Tango-enabled devices and personalizes the B2B marketing and sales experience. It allows companies to…

Sensus Uses Virtual Product Demonstrations to Increase Trade Show Impact and Traffic 100%

Sensus was looking for an engaging way to showcase its technology at industry trade showsand provide interactive demonstrations, while decreasing the cost of its trade show expenditures. They needed a way to show how their products worked, while eliminating shipping costs and bringing less equipment to events. With three diverse utility audiences and product lines, Sensus was challenged with explaining and demonstrating key product features and technology at over 7 of its larger trade shows each year. To demonstrate the full breadth of its offerings, Sensus would regularly take between 10-15 physical products to its trade shows, from multiple utility divisions. Most of the products being shipped to shows were static and could not be demonstrated live, such as natural…

Legrand Accelerates Direct and Partner Sales Using Virtual 3D Product Demos

With a product suite spanning from connectivity components to 1,000lb server racks, Legrand needed a practical way to showcase all of their products simultaneously. Utilizing ‘miniature racks’ and ‘suitcase demos’, sales representatives and channel partners would use a briefcase of product demonstration materials that cost Legrand thousands of dollars to assemble and provide. Prior to each meeting, a sales rep would have to have the right suitcase of samples, materials and presentation to meet a prospect’s interest, but obstacles often arose when a prospect wanted to discuss an offering not included in the particular demonstration Sales had brought. This significantly hampered cross-sell opportunities, as sales teams could only present the products physically available on-site, and many of Legrand’s larger products…

Nimble Storage Amps Lead Generation to Create Dozens of Opportunities in 3 Months

“At trade shows, people like to explore technologies before talking to a sales rep,” said Fred Love, Marketing Director at Nimble. “That’s why the interactive 3D product models and immersive 3D storytelling was a great fit for us. Customers can interact, drive, and own the conversation and not feel like they’re being sold to.” Although they would reuse the trade show equipment, Nimble was spending up to $100,000 in hardware expenses to populate physical racks with both their hardware and partners’ equipment (switches/networking gear), $5,000 in shipping/drayage costs per show, as well as additional fees for a dedicated technical expert at each event to keep everything running smoothly The Solution After seeing their partner Cisco Systems at VMworld utilizing virtual…

Kaon Issued Patent for Interactive 3D Product Demonstrations

Changing How B2B Companies Communicate Unique Value MAYNARD, MA (Sep 8, 2014) -- Kaon Interactive, the leading provider of interactive 3D product marketing applications, announced the issuance of US Patent 8,797,327, which relates to the visualization of, and interaction with, virtual 3D product demonstrations. The patent covers Kaon’s technology platform for delivering realistic interactive 3D product demonstrations, giving users the ability to view, experience, and manipulate digital representations of products (e.g. zoom, spin, open drawers, add components, show workflow and process), eliminating the need to have a product physically present for demonstrations. It further protects the Kaon technology used to demonstrate 3D products on one or more large displays; for example, mirroring a 3D product demonstration on a large screen driven…

Schneider Electric Accelerates Opportunities with Global Virtual 3D Product Catalog

The Solution Schneider Electric recognized the growing need for their customers to have an intimate one-on-one experience with their Solutions, Products and Services without having to physically go somewhere to get it. As a solution, Mark repurposed the interactive 3D product demonstrations already used by Schneider on large Kaon v-OSK® touch screen appliances at trade shows to put their story and virtual 3D products (which look and behave exactly like the actual products) onto laptops, iPads and mobile devices. This put an interactive portfolio into the hands of their sales representatives and channel partners, ensuring all customers have the ability to interact with their offer. Developed by Kaon Interactive, the 'Schneider Electric 3D Interactive Product Models' for the data center…

Malvern Turns Lost Sales Into $150,000 in Annual Savings

With a fast-growing portfolio of products, Malvern was challenged with finding new, consistent and interesting ways of making the market aware that the company had a much larger portfolio of products. Beyond just awareness, the company also needed to develop tools to sell these newer products to their existing customer base. While the sales venues and channels remained the same, the ability to show the expanded line of products at meetings and within their exhibit space became an ever-increasing challenge. On average, Malvern brought two products to a show due to space limitations. However, when it came time to introduce the Spraytec™, a particle-sized distribution analyzer for nasal sprays and aerosols, the launch posed a challenge for the company. Further,…

Fujitsu Generates $25 Million in Online Sales Opportunities by Reusing Trade Show Virtual Product Demos

Fujitsu’s significant outbound marketing efforts include exhibition in nearly a dozen major trade shows and up to 75 regional events per year. For inventory control purposes, products for demonstration must be ‘rented’ from the company’s inventory department for use. While the cost represents only a fraction of the value of the product, based on the time it is out of stock, these expenses still total hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. To illustrate how significant product costs can be, take for example a 10X10 booth. In a smaller space, one rack of equipment would likely be required. A single rack, which weighs approximately 700 pounds, holds two to three shelves which support 20 to 25 cards. The total “street” value…

Juniper Drives Down Demonstration Costs from $100 to $2.33 Per Minute

First, they needed a better way to demonstrate products at shows and avoid expensive product shipping costs. Juniper attends multiple trade shows per year around the globe and the cost of shipping products, paired with expensive travel for product specialists, power/AC for the hardware, and other personnel to assemble bulky products of racks and gear, posed a challenge for Juniper. Despite spending a significant amount of money getting physical products into their booths, Juniper wasn’t showing as many of their hot new solutions asthey wanted to at events. Video was integrated alongside the physical products, but they found it too scripted to really captivate prospects, especially in a landscape whereevery exhibitor is competing for attendees’ attention. Second, the company wanted…

Using Innovative Marketing Tools to Market Innovative Products

Challenge: Product Growth, Visibility and Differentiation Scott Ciccione, Director of the Unified Computing Services group at Cisco, talks about connecting with their 13,000 customers in just over 2.5 years of selling UCS. The UCS group, a division that experienced 57% growth last year, recognized a change in their selling environment as customers are becoming savvier and were looking to rise to the occasion and provide a different level of discussion at CiscoLive 2012. Solution: Using Marketing Tools as Innovative as Their Products Cisco has utilized cutting-edge marketing tools, like Kaon’s interactive 3D Product Tours (which look and behave like the actual products) to virtually showcase their entire product portfolio at any time, demonstrating internal product features, benefits, and workflow, all…

BD Increases Medical Device Global Reach and Eliminates Product Shipping Costs to Save $168k in 2 Years

The Solution Núñez turned to Kaon Interactive to create an interactive photo-realistic 3D Product Model to be used at trade shows that would not only help reduce marketing costs, but also better communicate the complexity of BD’s products, even if the real product was present. Kaon’s 3D Product Model (which looks and behaves exactly like the actual product) allows customers to view the BD Viper System from every angle, exploring options and features (open drawers, show process, etc.), controlling their own, customized experiences based on personal preferences. This engaging 3D virtual product experience was showcased on the Kaon v-OSK® HD touch-screen appliances, sales laptops and iPads®, making the virtual product demonstrations accessible anywhere, anytime, including at sales meetings, numerous regional…

Making the Most of Your Sales Presentations

Have you ever envisioned a sales presentation where your entire audience gives you 100% of their attention and hangs on your every word? No texting, emails or side conversations? How about doing that without PowerPoint slides? Engaging your audience should be one of your key objectives for every sales presentation you give. I know I strive to deliver a compelling experience in every one of my sales presentations, despite giving hundreds of them every year. Seth Godin speaks to the issues of PowerPoint in his blog post, “Really Bad PowerPoints”, saying “Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you’re excited (or sad, or optimistic or whatever else you are.) If all…

Is everyone tired on the trade show floor?

At a recent physician-focused trade show I couldn’t help but notice the mobile coffee carts littering the expo floor. Almost every major pharmaceutical and medical device company had an espresso, cappuccino, latté, or hot chocolate to offer attendees. While baristas are no strangers to events like these, the amount of caffeinated liquid flowing at this gig could have filled the great Mississippi. Now, to be fair, it was a doctor-attended event, and the rules regarding swag have forced exhibitors to tempt attendees with only what can be ingested. (Sorry, nothing to take back home to the kids anymore!) Only one company thought to offer cobbler to go with the caffeinated beverages, and believe me, their booth was packed. Still, at…

Differentiation – Why Isn’t It Easier?

We have the privilege of working with marketers from many of the world’s leading companies. It seems to me that it is becoming more and more difficult to develop crisp, well-understood, and accurate marketing differentiation messaging, even for market leaders. This is, in part, due to the increasingly competitive landscape, where product portfolios have become broader over time, and functional overlap has replaced distinctive capabilities. Another contributing factor is how numerous companies have expanded into multiple markets, diluting their once-unambiguous positioning. Differentiation is the process of clearly articulating an objectively defined difference in a product, service, or company – a difference that is meaningful and valuable to the intended market. (What we may think of our differences is far less…