Exclusive | Planning to expand into augmented reality: JVM's Angad Anand

They are the new entrants in the Indian market but regardless of this fact, they have the potential of offering some of the best marketing platforms that one could ever imagine. Just six months old, the Mumbai based JV Media (JVM) is already creating ripples in the experiential marketing space where besides engaging the customer, they also make them ‘Stop-Stare-Awe’ over the brands.

JVM is a part of JV International, a 46 years old ‘Market Expansion Company’ operating in the Middle East. The main focus of the company is to help client companies grow their business in new and existing markets. Undertaking projects from conceptualizing to delivery, JV Intl works globally - Iran, Netherland and India. They are specialised in experiential marketing, interactive projects, custom made solutions, branding campaigns, interactive displays, walls, floors and other exhibits that are available globally and are installed in over 10 countries.

This digital dependence is the foundation of what mixed reality experiences are all about. With this view in mind, JVM was born. It follows the dictum, ‘Experiences, Not Ads’. Says Angad Singh Anand, Director, JVM India on the idea behind the Indian arm, “Everyone has a simple means of branding, but one cannot keep on doing fashion shows or strategic branding, one should innovate own branding methods and when whole world innovates why not India. That is the concept behind our company.”

“Most experiential marketing that India is seeing today is just done by one or two brands, the plans and tactics that they have used has been first used by them in other countries and then brought here,” he added.

JVM is been promoting the concept of 3D mapping quite vigorously in their projects these days, we asked Anand about this to which he said, “Today technology is been created in way that it is very user friendly and can actually engage a person into it. 3D mapping concept is not just limited to showcasing a story but beyond that creating a brand recall. 3D Mapping is a very new concept in India that really got picked up after the Ralph Lauren fashion show that took place in London in 2011 and spread very fast.”

He shared the fact that the 3D perception gets changed on phones and provides 46 per cent more 3D depth and clarity that can be experienced with naked eye. And this is one of the reasons why 3D mapping concept is picking up a lot in India, the market here is still nascent. Currently JVM works with brands like IDEA (biggest patron for JVM since inception), Oris watches, Samsung, ING, KPN, Blackberry, Promart and others.

Managing IDEA’s ATL & BTL activities, JVM recently did IDEA Filmfare Awards and Mirchi Awards where it offered something that India had never seen before. It did virtual pathways and red-carpet with virtual standees. And first time in India JVM played campaigns live at red carpet with 6’3 standees with which were armed with behavioral speakers. The company also did India’s first virtual host, the first interactive and actual virtual host. Instead of having girls to speak with the invitees the virtual host which is  nothing but cut-out of a lady actually talks. There are sensor attached to the cut-out, when someone walks nearby her she welcomes them and shows them 3-D animation right on her without  wearing 3-D glasses.”

Says Anand, “Our promotion has been going well as in every event, we get 20 more events to do. As for Filmfare Awards we got calls from top sponsors present there who wanted to source our expertise. We recently got Promart in our kitty through Mirchi Awards.”

The 3D mapping concept is slowly making its presence felt in the Indian market. The band concerts in India plays a big role in promoting this concept and creating awareness for it as people love listening to SHM, Pink Floyd and they use mapping effectively, so today people know what is mapping is all about.

Says Anand, “Acceptability and wow factor is high for 3-D mapping but people shy away from it due to high costing and that’s where JVM makes a difference.  We believe that marketing tool should be affordable, and let’s create experiences. When we talk about mapping, it costs two-three crores in India at present; it’s not a small amount. But if one is getting Shahrukh Khan in three crores, why not they hire someone to do 3D mapping in same cost? That’s depends upon brand manager’s mentality. When we go viral with your brand ambassador their fans follow you plus people who love technology follows you.”

JVM is not bothered about competition as mapping is just one of their products, they are specialized in holographic technology as well as virtual host augmenters. The company has range of 22 products; as they understand the fact that marketing is just not going to be sold through campaigns and that’s why they offer experiences.

Angad continued, “We have products which can be used to help you sell your products. We have ‘Dreamer’, which is world’s only company, there is nothing else in the world that can compete with it, and it’s one of a kind patented technology. No one in India has the concept and technology as ours virtual host. On the technical front we can challenge anyone with it as we have been developing it from past one and a half years. Our range of products and services start from Rs 30000/- onwards and this is what will bring the change in the market, we want to bypass the “media blindness” which is a common thing today in India.” On market front he said that, “The market is really at a nascent stage in India as here augmented is being sold rapidly and the word augmented itself is getting misused. The perception of innovation is very less in India.”

JVM believes in being different from others as they don’t sell through videos. They have their own experience center in Mumbai and getting one in Delhi soon. Every product and technology that they talk about is on offer right there. These are the few strategies that work out for JVM.

“Here in India, we face challenges. When we have to sit and convince the clients towards our technology & also assure them that it’s our technology and we know it best, so trust us to give you deliverables and let’s not stick to simple old school ideas. Indians lack in trust factor, Anand added.

Going ahead the company is planning to expand into augmented reality, the augmented reality chip is a chip that would be enables for their clients like Idea. JVM will provide them this chip which they’ll install in one of their computers and then they can make augmented reality apps for themselves round the year without anyone’s help.

Anand further said, “We are doing R&D for creating space camps, it’s one of the biggest project on which we are working since six months. It will revolutionized the real estate industry, that is our core target at present and for this we are creating virtual houses.”

On concluding note he shared that, “We are getting best results from high-end brands that are looking out for innovations and has mass appeal. When we stepped in we were wrong as we focused on brands which were in niche market, but common man brands accept us more openly than niche brands and real estate’s welcomes us the most at present. As a part of our recent project we would be creating buzz in Delhi that’s been never done in India before. It’s not about technology but about skills.”