Brands
“At Diesel, we are committed to innovation and pushing the boundaries of the conventional”: Johnson Verghese
Mumbai: Diesel brought together the worlds of horology and hip-hop this week at a thrilling launch event for their new collection of timepieces. Held at Mumbai’s Jio World Drive, the launch featured India’s leading singer and pop star King, who unveiled Diesel’s Vert Collection alongside Fossil Group – India managing director Johnson Verghese. A first-of-its-kind range of timepieces by Diesel, the Vert Collection has been crafted using a new wave of VR technology that bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds. The exclusive event was a glamorous affair, attended by a number of prominent influencers and leading press outlets, reaffirming Diesel’s status as a trendsetter in the industry.
The launch event itself was a spectacle of design and technology, featuring a captivating launch film and a showcase of the Vert Collection in all its glory. The brand further set up a striking 3D visual display of the Vert Collection within the mall, for attendees to admire up close. Diesel chose to partner with King, one of India’s most popular pop stars, to celebrate the futuristic aesthetic and transformative design of the Vert Collection and bring this fusion of elements to the public.
Verghese began the evening by sharing the story and design journey behind the eagerly awaited Vert Collection; before being joined by King to present the launch movie that gave the public their first ever look at the Vert Collection. This was followed by a press conference and an in-person unboxing and reveal of the Vert range of watches.
Indiantelevision.com on the sidelines of the launch of the event, caught up with Verghese where he discussed on the idea of this launch, collaboration and more…..
Edited excerpts
On the idea behind launching this product as many brands have not yet explored the metaverse universe
As new technology emerges in the spaces of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, it opens up new frontiers for the evolution of timepiece design. At Diesel, we are committed to innovation and pushing the boundaries of the conventional; and our vision for the Vert Collection was to create a future-forward timepiece that bridges the gap between the virtual and physical worlds. We accomplished this by utilising a first-of-its-kind VR technology to create an immersive aesthetic inspired by Diesel Creative Director, Glenn Martens, for this collection. We took a game-like approach to designing the Vert – as exemplified in the futuristic visuals seen in our launch film as well as the distinctiveness of the watches themselves. With this design, we have captured the look of a virtual timepiece in the physical world. We have also further created ‘Metamorph,’ a complete virtual reality world centred around the Vert collection which allows us to offer our consumers a greater immersive experience – featuring a specially curated playable VR adventure and a virtual concert by renowned artist Lil Dre. Thus, our expansion in the VR space has allowed us to accomplish our goal of innovating on a massive scale, and creating a product that excites our consumers.
On the strategy to associate with King for this collection launch
King is an artist who stands for free-flowing self expression and is known for forging his own path to success in the world of music. His music brings together the elements of pop and hip hop music to create unique medleys that are loved by fans across the country. This led us to identify King as the perfect personality to introduce the Vert Collection, which similarly pushes the frontiers across the virtual and physical worlds. As the worlds of fashion and music continue to get ever closer in the modern world today, our partnership with King for this launch stands for our shared commitment to pushing the boundaries beyond the conventional to achieve the extraordinary.
On crafting the entire product with VR technology and collaboration with tech artists
Virtual Reality forms the foundation of the design approach to the Vert Collection. VR design is already transforming the world of fashion, and we wanted to embrace this evolution with a future-first creation that incorporates this new generational approach to design. Thus, we took to creating the Vert with one step in both the physical and virtual worlds. It’s one of several styles from the new forward-thinking Metamorph collection that’s entirely conceptualised and created from a technologically immersive virtual reality experience with a game-like approach. Here, the flexibility of dreaming of a modern approach to design looks like armour unfolding on the wrist, a disruptive, hard-shelled appearance that’s mutually organic and futuristic.
On the amount of influencers present during the launch venue and the role of influencer marketing in the coming next few years
Influencer marketing remains a key component of our outreach strategy, to connect with the organic micro communities of consumers over their shared interests and preferences. We value the authenticity and personal touch that influencers bring to connecting a brand to its audience, and we expect it to remain relevant in our planned collaborations and partnerships over the coming years. We believe that closer content partnerships and organic collaborations are the way forward for influencer marketing, where brands and influencers come together for exclusive content and partnerships that appeal to their audiences and thus strengthen the unique value proposition of the influencer channels.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
