The Moodie Davitt Report presents the latest edition of regular column The Digital Conversation, in association with Shiseido Travel Retail.
SOUTH AFRICA. Distell cream liqueur brand Amarula has created an immersive virtual reality (VR) experience for its international customers.
The virtual reality experience allows customers to explore Africa’s open spaces, wildlife, people and cities. The initiative follows Amarula’s new ‘Jabulani’ bottle design and appointment of Wildlife Direct and acclaimed conservationist, Dr Paula Kahumbu, as a global ambassador for the Amarula Trust.
Amarula Global Marketing Manager Mncedisi Junior Jekwa said: “The VR experience brings to life Amarula’s ‘Made from Africa’ story through a fully engaging and immersive 360-degree journey, offering insight into Africa’s natural and cultural wonders.
“Viewers will get to experience the story of the brand and how it is truly made from Africa; from the marula trees growing wild, to the maturation houses and eventual product experience – each scene offers the consumers a step in the Amarula brand story and the Amarula process.”
Jekwa continued: “As our new bottle rolls out across travel retail and other international markets, people will be able to experience the first true virtual reality experience to come from Africa.”
The 3D-360º movie was created by FCB Cape Town and Deep VR, a South African virtual reality film production company utilising in-house designed proprietary camera systems to capture the spherical video content required for a VR movie.
A 2D-360º experience will also be available on Amarula’s YouTube channel and Facebook page.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lkodPfvKFk
FCB Cape Town Executive Creative Director Mike Barnwell said VR was chosen as the medium to communicate Amarula’s new positioning ahead of traditional channels as it was the “perfect” fit and vehicle for an immersive experience.
The shoot to capture the footage took two weeks and the team that participated lived through some ‘only in Africa’ type experiences.
Deep VR CEO Ulrico Grech-Cumbo commented: “FCB Cape Town and DeepVR didn’t so much have to go on a shoot as go on an expedition because the brand needed the crew to experience Africa on behalf of the tens of thousands of people who will see the piece.
“This meant, however, that we had a few interesting moments. For example, we were nearly trampled in Botswana by two massive Red Hartebeest pre-occupied with each other but barrelling toward us.”
