Coles Delicious Christmas

Experiencing the Coles 360˚ Panorama

The final project as it was viewed across Web, Twitter and Shazam. Note: some of the links to external web products may no longer be working.

Delivering the Concept

In September 2013 I was approached by, Sydney based, Oomph, to help pitch a concept to one of their digital publishing clients, Coles Australia. Coles wanted something new and different for their December cover of their iPad digital magazine and they wanted us to come up with some ideas. I’d been working closely with Oomph and had been the first to integrate 360˚ panoramic images into their app platform and I was keen to work on a new project.

Working with Oomph’s marketing manager, Lisa Walton, we met with Coles and presented the following concept,

Imagine if you had an interactive cover of a Aussie summer scene, a backyard cricket match/ people sitting by a pool, or similar.. Using a panorama image, people could view different angles using the gyroscope of the iPad. Look forwards, up, down and around. The sounds of an Aussie summer playing. Then taking it even further you can go beyond!
You might have a door of the house in the pano, tap on it and the app moves forward and shows another pano of a xmas setting inside a house. Turn the iPad and you'll see a a christmas tree in the corner, a xmas setting on the table, xmas music might play, kids laughter, and a welcome to Coles Christmas message!
Inside the mag - you would show people how to recreate the xmas- recipes for the meal served, how to set the table, how to decorate the tree etc.

Needless to say the client loved the concept and then the fun began. What started as a quite simple concept for the Coles digital magazine quickly became one of Coles primary Christmas branding projects. It quickly went beyond the iPad magazine and the 360˙ panorama became central to the whole concept across the Coles website, the Coles iPad digital magazine, Coles mobile and Television advertising with a tie-in to Shazam. 

On November 14th the first 360˚ panorama, Exterior Christmas Day, was launched across all platforms. Marketing the promotion across various websites, social media, including Facebook and Twitter, Shazam and TVC was initiated. On December 4th the second 360˚ panorama, Interior Christmas Day, with updated cross link to the Exterior Xmas Day, was launched across all platforms. 

Project Deliverables

The initial concept presentation was the November/December iPad magazine cover however as the client became more aware of the technology and what could be accomplished the scope grew significantly to encompass the following deliverables.

  • 2 day photo-shoot on location with 6 actors
  • 2 x 360° panoramic images reflecting a typical Australian families Christmas Day over a 12 hour time period
  • Interactive user interface presenting up to 40 products over the two panorama with image pop ups containing links to websites and YouTube videos
  • Panoramas to be delivered on the following platforms and viewers
    • Macintosh - Browsers: Safari, Chrome and Firefox
    • PC - Browsers: Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer 11
    • iPad - Apps: Safari and Chrome
    • iPhone - Apps: Safari and Chrome
    • iPad - Apps: Coles Digital Magazine [Oomph platform]
    • Android - Chrome and Firefox
    • Shazam App - iPad, iPhone and Android

Production

The project involved shooting multiple scenes, inside and outside, over a period of two days. Working with lighting director and still photographer Andy Vukosav I prepared and designed the talent locations and shoot order while Andy and his team created a seamless transition from location to location with a sophisticated lighting rig.

As each snapshot from the panorama had to be dressed with food cooked on location, costume changes and lighting updates it took a full day for each shoot. During the day the shots were evaluated and at the conclusion of the day's shoot I compiled test panoramas for viewing the next day.

Over the course of two weeks, following the shoot, I composited high resolution 360˚ panoramic images and developed the User Interface and programming to enable the project to be viewed over a range of devices and mediums. 

Outcomes

The response from both Coles management and customers has been extremely positive and complimentary. Statistics show that the iPad magazine had a relatively consistent number of user sessions of 200,000 per month with a considerable jump over the period the panorama was active of 225% to over 450,000 sessions.

The Facebook post announcing the interactive panorama garnered 3,772 likes and over 222 comments.

Coles management were extremely happy with the whole project and the success of the panorama and considered the project a “leading light” in their industry and they plan to create further interactive 360˙ panoramas.

4 screenshots showing the interaction pathway from the project to external websites

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