NZVRARA Brings Immersive Brand Experiences to Ad:Tech Auckland
The NZVRARA (The New Zealand VR/AR Association Inc.) will be presenting to the New Zealand advertising community this
Thursday 16th November at the annual ad:tech exhibition, held at AUT’s City Campus in Auckland.
Presenting as part of the NZVRARA exhibit, using the latest in virtual and augmented reality are New Zealand companies:
M-Theory, One Fat Sheep, Imersia and Polytronik.
Polytronik was sponsored by local VR/AR company, Blackeye VR, as the first recipient of their annual scholarship for New
Zealand start-ups to exhibit immersive innovation derived from the cross reality space.
The term ‘cross reality’ (XR) is increasingly being used to refer to the virtual-to-reality continuum of immersive
technologies including augmented and mixed reality.
Blackeye VR has provided Tony St George from Polytronik with exhibitor fees, flights and met his NZVRARA membership fees
for the next year. Michael Gregg, Managing Director of Blackeye has offered the annual scholarship to help one NZVRARA
member each year to market their work.
“We’re pleased to be able to play our part to expand awareness of the sector and celebrate the VR and AR work being done
in New Zealand,” says Mr Gregg.
“Tony has been a stalwart of this sector in its formative years and is thoroughly deserving of this scholarship, given
his commitment to the VR sector ever since the first Oculus Rift DK1 headsets arrived on the market.”
One Fat Sheep will be demonstrating the power of the PLATTAR augmented reality platform that they developed in 2015
Sebastian Deans from Auckland-based One Fat Sheep will be showcasing “our world-beating AR platform along with some of
the bespoke AR experiences that put us on the map and will keep us there in the future.”
“ad:tech brings a great opportunity to connect with savvy marketers who are interested in understanding the cross
reality landscape further. ad:tech helps businesses to discover how AR and many other exciting marketing tools can be
connected to drive truly great customer experiences” says Mr Deans.
Imersia are planning to showcase shared augmented reality. “This new technology has been shown to be a powerful
influencer of behaviour using digital storytelling and gamification. We are excited to be leading the future of
marketing and media” says Mr. Davies.
M-Theory is a spin out from successful digital production house, Method Studio and has already completed a number of
commercial advertising campaigns for Unitec, Contact Energy, Torrens University, Panuku Development, NZ Post, Kumeu Film
Studios, QMS and Ngati Whatua Orakei.
Brad Smith from M-Theory is excited about the potential of the advertising community to embrace these new technologies.
“We’re showing a mix of VR and AR experiences across brands and entertainment.
VR and AR will be the future of advertising providing a more immersive and engaging experience for consumers and
brands,” says Mr Smith.
Tony St George from Polytronik said, “we are very interested in communicating with agencies that need any AR/VR built.
We will be showing a range of past projects that include a AR game that we developed for the Wellington Chocolate
Factory”
NZVRARA Executive Director, Courteney Lomas believes adding immersive technologies to ad:tech demonstrates leadership by
the event organisers and acknowledges the emerging role of VR and AR in advertising campaigns and marketing
communications. “Having the NZVRARA as an active sector promoter, educating wider New Zealand markets on the value of
cross reality technologies represents a fantastic opportunity for all of our members to grow and engage with new
audiences.” says Ms Lomas.
ENDS