Product: Zeiss Virtual Expo
Top Line: Zeiss has created a Virtual Expo, a virtual version of its trade show booth. Intended as a response to the pandemic and the subsequent closing of many practices, the cancellation of Vision Expo and the stay-at-home orders, the Zeiss Virtual Expo lets visitors visit the Zeiss booth in 3D from the comfort of their home.
Close Up: The Zeiss Virtual Expo features custom-developed, highly visual and interactive content using digital hotspots featuring bite-sized videos. Beyond learning about Zeiss’ latest innovations, viewers can engage in topics like new lens technology, remote refraction, practice marketing, and even skill-building tools. The online experience lets viewers discover how Zeiss offers a wide range of solutions to help propel ECP practice back to strength.
“In designing the Zeiss Virtual Expo, we put a lot of emphasis on trying to recreate the human and personal aspects found at a live tradeshow. With face-to-face interaction out of the question, we injected a lot of personalized video content via short intro snippets at almost every hotspot in the booth, said Jens Boy, president of Zeiss Vision North America. First time viewers are also greeted by Boy with a personal welcome message. “It’s all designed to be very visual, very interactive and very easy to navigate in 3D with 360-degree views all around,” he said.
Vital Stats: The Virtual Expo includes both Zeiss Vision Care and Zeiss Meditec content. Most of it consists of short, bite-sized videos that make navigating the booth easy and simple to digest.
The vision section is divided into four major zones:
• The Lens Zone highlights Zeiss’ newest lens portfolio, Zeiss SmartLife. It represents a complete lens redesign to address today’s connected and on-the-move lifestyles. Additionally, Zeiss covers lens innovations like Zeiss UVProtect which provides sunglass-level UV protection in all clear lenses.
• The Remote Refraction Zone showcases Zeiss’ newest Visu360 platform which designed to help practitioners conduct eye exams remotely. Zeiss also uses this section to highlight the various diagnostic and digital devices such as the VisuScout, VisuLens, iProfiler, Slit-Lamp, and Automated Subjective Refraction suite. Within this decidedly “techie” zone Zeiss introduces, for the first time in the U.S., a new software tool called the 3D Eye Explore. This unique touch-screen enabled software solution educates patients on the eye and the various conditions that can affect it. The tool is designed to be interactive and user friendly.
• The Learning Zone features educational and training content. Special highlights include the six Pro-to-Pro CE courses developed over the past 18 months. Zeiss has also rolled-out a three-week webinar series which, due to high demand, has been extended through the end of April with a combined 50+ live sessions.
• The Customer Zone is where viewers will meet eyecare practitioners who use Zeiss solutions—equipment and lenses—or who have made the decision to switch over from another lab. They explain why they made the switch or how Zeiss is helping to grow their business.
Scattered throughout the booth are surprises including Virtual Expo show-specials on equipment and stock lenses, social media tips and tools, a short review of Zeiss’ storied 172 years of history and a special promotion on the “get them before they are gone” Zeiss lens wipes.
“While it may never be a substitute for face-to-face interaction, the Zeiss Virtual Expo offers a glimpse into the future of customer interaction,” said Matt Woelbern, head of U.S. ECP marketing for Zeiss’ Vision Care Business Group. “By creating dynamic and engaging content that can be accessed 24/7, from the comfort of your living room and from any device, including smartphones, Zeiss believes we can continue to get closer to our customers. Even when we have to do it virtually!”
https://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/us/home.html