How can you get the touch, taste and sensory impressions and experiences you expect?
How does coffee work in the digital world?
These questions are answered by our Schaerer coffee experts, who have enlisted the help of the digital experts from Wurzel Digital.
- Bringing coffee experiences to the digital world requires a team with the right set-up, made up of both coffee and digital experts. Our team consists of coffee experts from Schaerer, who contribute their Schaerer coffee expertise, and digital experts from Wurzel Digital, from Esslingen, Germany, a leader in digitalisation.
Schaerer, with headquarters in Zuchwil, Switzerland, is one of the leading suppliers of integrated, fully automatic coffee and milk solutions. Schaerer coffee expertise means enjoying coffee at the highest level, every time. And it must also be possible to feel and experience this Schaerer coffee expertise in the digital world.
Media company Wurzel Digital GmbH from Esslingen, Germany, creates innovative digital worlds to inspire customers with interactive experiences. Schaerer is also inspired by their ability to fascinate customers in the digital world.
- Passion for coffee is a basic requirement for this project. Fortunately, coffee is the daily fuel for creative digital work for almost all employees at Wurzel Digital. With the professional Schaerer Coffee Club, this fuel is always of the best possible quality.
- Thinking in analogies. The journey from coffee bean to freshly brewed coffee requires many hands and many small processing steps; automation and innovative technological processes are used whenever possible. This results in extraordinary taste sensations. When developing a digital coffee experience, many people, technologies and devices work together to convey the optimal experience.
- Listen and listen again. The challenge of this exciting project is to transport the coffee experience into the digital world. Just as coffee appeals to many senses, such as smell, taste and feel, many different digital tools, technologies and approaches are used to bring the digital coffee experience to the consumer in the best possible way.
- Never lose sight of the user. In the end, it’s not about the team and the set-up, but about the users of the digital coffee experience. They have to be able to find their way around, feel taken care of and appreciate Schaerer’s coffee expertise.
The Schaerer Virtual Showroom lets users experience the brand with its coffee know-how, flexibility and unique Swissness in the digital world, anywhere and at any time.
There were three reasons that prompted Schaerer to tackle this project:
- In recent months, the pace of acceptance and application of digital solutions has increased rapidly.
- At the same time, technological development is progressing just as quickly. The demand for product information available in digital form is high.
- And the zeitgeist is also moving towards gamification and experience.
The Schaerer Virtual Showroom focuses on these three reasons and brings the brand to life with its coffee expertise, flexibility and unique Swissness. It stands for an inspiring digital experience in a class of its own and enables product presentations in the digital world. It not only allows products to be viewed in 3D by click or touch, but also lets users tour the world of Schaerer coffee machines. For visitors, it offers a chance to virtually touch Schaerer coffee machines as well as a platform for interactively experiencing the wide range of products with comprehensive information on accessories, features and innovations. To make sure visitors feel comfortable, we are striving to create a space that is digital, yet feels cosy and invites users to linger for awhile. That is why we are implementing some technological innovations, using an intuitive navigation concept with a three-dimensional map display of the space and supporting visitors with a product finder. This helps users find their ideal coffee machine.
The Head of Marketing & CCC at Schaerer, Matthias Lübke, describes this project as forward-looking.
“The Schaerer Virtual Showroom is a space for information as well as for amazement and enjoyment. Of course, this approach is new for Schaerer. But we are convinced that we can break new ground in sales & marketing with the digital coffee experience. Personal encounters and exchanges will always be essential for us as people and as a society. Digital experiences will not completely replace the world as we knew it. However, in the coming years, we will see the digital world and direct personal experience merge. The Virtual Showroom is a piece of the puzzle of this digital world”.
The digital coffee experience offers new advantages and opportunities
For Sebastian Walk, Project Manager and Digital Marketing Manager, the digital coffee experience offers new advantages and opportunities: Whether in Hamburg, Milan or Zurich — trade fairs are being cancelled all over the place. After the initial shock, many manufacturers and organisers are now looking for alternatives. This means the interest in virtual trade fairs or showrooms is higher than ever. Of course, virtual trade fairs or virtual showrooms do not compare with real trade fairs or exhibition rooms — but they don’t have to. While the focus is on personal contact for in-person events, virtual ones open up completely different possibilities and also add value. The Virtual Showrooms can become a central point of information, with multimedia content making it possible to call up background information on products and services. The Virtual Showroom offers us three main advantages:
- Open at all times: Our guests can visit our Virtual Showroom 365 days a year, all around the clock.
- Regardless of the location: No matter where the interested parties come from, be it Asia, America, Australia or the next village, the Virtual Showroom is accessible to everyone, no matter which time zone they are in. All you need is a computer or tablet with an Internet connection.
- Environmentally friendly: Thanks to the Virtual Showroom, less building material, digital printing, transport and travel are required compared to traditional industrial exhibitions. This makes it especially environmentally-friendly.
We will be presenting the Schaerer Virtual Showroom in just a few weeks. Until then, we will be drinking countless cups of fresh coffee made with Schaerer coffee machines.
The virtual show room was developed as well as this blog in close collaboration with Wurzeldigital.