MAM
DigitasLBi creates global VR experience for OnePlus 3 launch
Mumbai, June 15, 2016: OnePlus, the global technology start-up, is launching its third flagship smartphone –in virtual space. Behind this creative and break-through use of virtual reality technology is the combined efforts of creative and technology professionals from DigitasLBi.
‘The Loop’ is the name of the VR experience that creates a mélange of never ending animations in a virtual space station high above the Earth’s surface. While inside The Loop, users can explore many of the key features of the new OnePlus 3, and even order the smartphone in the virtual world – and then have it delivered to the real one.
“To create the most realistic and immersive experience possible, we’ve employed a number of innovative, never-before-seen, usages of CGI and 4D technologies, as well as 360° films,” explains DigitasLBi Nordics creative director Rasmus Frandsen. “Together, these create an experience designed to excite the global community of OnePlus fans, as well as tech enthusiasts.”
“Last year OnePlus held the first-ever product launch in VR. This time with The Loop, we’re taking things a step forward by pushing accessible VR technology to its outer limits,” said OnePlus co-founder and head of global Carl Pei. “It’s going to go down in history as the first global shopping experience in VR!”
The OnePlus 3 launched on June 14, 2016, and The Loop can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store. For the first 2.5 hours OnePlus 3 could only be ordered from inside The Loop.
About the campaign:
The campaign delivers the world’s first VR looping animation. Using a VR headset, potential customers are welcomed on board the OnePlus office of the future – a spacecraft called The Loop. While on board, visitors receive a tour of the spacecraft and an introduction to the OnePlus 3, as well as the opportunity to purchase the OnePlus 3 directly in the VR experience.
The solution sets a new standard for VR experiences on smartphones. The campaign creates an interactive and engaging experience through ingenious use of seamlessly looped Hollywood quality CGI 3D stereoscopic visuals. The custom VR playback engine is optimized for low latency, high resolution, high frame-rate mobile VR immersion, making it possible for viewers to enjoy a rich VR experience on a normal smartphone.
The campaign will run in the US, Europe, India and China.
The trailer can be seen here:
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
