Sony and integration partner AVEX have created a unique experience for visitors to Bentley’s high-end showroom at the opulent Conservatorium Hotel in Amsterdam. Clients can watch videos, browse brochures – and even configure the car of their dreams in Bentley’s first ‘car-less showroom’ powered by Vision Presenter, Sony’s interactive multi-source display solution.
Background
Bentley Amsterdam´s dealership is located in the luxuriously appointed 5-star Conservatorium Hotel. The showroom’s central location is perfect for attracting discerning clients – but the 78m2 lounge doesn’t offer the same space as a full-sized showroom to display the car-maker’s vehicle range.
Bentley Amsterdam is owned and operated by Pon Luxury Cars B.V. An international trading company with over 70 years’ experience in the automotive sector, Pon wanted to create a high-value brand experience for its Bentley customers. Believing firmly in interactive digital media as the future of auto retailing, the company engaged Sony to create the world’s first all-digital automotive brand experience based on cutting-edge 4K audiovisual display technology.
The Challenge
Like other luxury brands, Bentley needed to engage with its customers in the most appropriate location. And while this dictated an upmarket address in the heart of Amsterdam, it was impractical to accommodate real-life cars in the confines of the central city site.
Over 1.3 billion different model configurations available make it impossible to show customers the tiniest fraction of the possibilities on offer. Allowing customers to ‘try before they buy’, the idea of virtual car configurators isn’t new. However Bentley wanted to dramatically exceed the limitations of conveying the visual experience of a luxurious full-size car on a tiny laptop screen, immersing customers in the rarefied world of Bentley.
Sony Solution
There are no vehicles in Bentley Amsterdam´s showroom that resembles a high-end fashion boutique more than a car dealership. In an auto retailing first, Sony and integration partner AVEX have created a ground-breaking AV presentation solution that lets store visitors experience and interact ‘virtually’ with the world of Bentley motoring.
At the heart of the solution is Vision Presenter, Sony’s breakthrough content management and interactive display solution that handles multiple AV content sources. The easy-to-use system is teamed with a state-of-the-art VPL-GTZ1 4K Ultra Short Throw (UST) laser projector to create a uniquely inspiring, flexible solution for visual presentation and information sharing.
With Vision Presenter, retail staff can instantly summon and display product videos, digital brochures, images, web pages, and more. Everything’s under intuitive fingertip control from a Sony Xperia Tablet that may be ‘driven’ by store staff or customers themselves.
Star of the show is the vehicle configurator. Store visitors can pick their preferred Bentley model – Mulsanne, Continental, Flying Spur or Bentayga – and customise it on-screen with their personal choice of body colours, wheels, interiors and extras.
The high-resolution ‘montage’ of video and still image sources from Vision Presenter is beamed onto a 3.5m screen on one wall of the store. The generous 2000 lumen brightness of the VPL-GTZ1 projector means there’s no need to lower the showroom’s blinds or dim the lights while staff engage with customers. What’s more, its energy-efficient laser light source drives down ownership costs and needs effectively no maintenance.
Results
The complete solution powered by Vision Presenter and laser projection creates a unique digital brand experience, immersing customers in the world of Bentley Amsterdam.
Why was Sony selected?
Picking Sony as its partner has given Bentley and Pon access to a totally unique AV presentation solution that’s never previously been seen in the luxury car retailing market.
Vision Presenter provides store personnel with a powerful, easy-to-use platform to interact with customers and demonstrate the benefits of each Bentley model.
Delivering detail-packed 4K images, the VPL-GTZ1 projector brings the world of Bentley to life with startling clarity, colour and contrast that ensure high-impact visuals for store visitors. Unlike conventional projectors, its energy-efficient laser light source is rated for a nominal 20,000 hours operating life without replacement. As well as driving down long-term operational costs, this ensures there’s no danger of disappointing store visitors with sudden lamp failures.
The last word from Bentley Amsterdam
“Images from Vision Presenter displayed on the Sony 4K laser projector are just amazing quality: it’s almost like seeing reality” says Anouk van Splunteren, Brand Representative, Bentley Amsterdam / Pon Luxury Cars. “If you walk into an ordinary car dealership, the chances that you’ll find your exact model – specified precisely the way you want it – are pretty non-existent. Digital content is definitely the future of car retailing. Our virtual configurator is a really great way to give customers an accurate experience of how their actual car will look. The very first customer to try the configurator in our store said that he felt like he was actually witnessing the birth of his new Bentley!”
What’s included in the solution?
· PWA-VP100 Vision Presenter interactive presentation solution
· VPL-GTZ1 4K Ultra Short Throw laser projector
· STR-DN1070 AV Receiver
· 2x SS-NA2ES Hi-Res Audio Floor-standing Loudspeakers
· Xperia Z3 Tablet Compact
· Xperia Z4 Tablet
· Xperia Z3 Compact
Related Links:
http://www.bentley-netherlands.nl/
System Integrator:
