AeroVironment Case Study — Martian & Sons

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Built a 21st Century Marketing Platform for a Leading UAV Manufacturer.

interactive touchscreen

Martian & Sons championed the development and implementation of a powerful and engaging Interactive Presentation Platform in support of AeroVironment's international trade show marketing effort to communicate the breadth and capabilities of the company’s product line of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and update the brand's perception as a cutting-edge, high-tech leader in the marketplace.

01. Background

AeroVironment, one of the first and most successful manufacturers of UAVs in the world, has experienced increased competition with an explosion of new robotics and drone manufacturers entering the market. The brand’s heritage was an asset but also a liability as legacy print, graphic, video and web approaches were not effectively connecting to new clients and emerging markets, particularly at trade show environments where expanding competition crowded out and commoditized traditional messaging approaches.

02. Problem

AeroVironment was losing mindshare in the market; not effectively connecting and communicating the power of their UAV solutions within their trade show experience. Over the years, the specialized marketing demands of sales teams in different regions created inconsistent messaging as well as disjointed and often out-of-date marketing materials that could not be tracked and updated effectively by corporate headquarters.

AeroVironment needed a modern messaging platform that was portable, deployable in different locations simultaneously, able to display varying content/messaging depending on the location/audience, that ultimately attracted and engaged customers in a way that leveraged modern mediums. The platform also needed to be easy to use and non-intimidating for AeroVironment’s existing sales teams.

03. Solution

Martian & Sons proposed, designed and developed an Interactive Presentation Platform built in Unity and designed to run on a PC connected to a touchscreen. The interactive is also connected to the MartianTool, Martian & Son’s proprietary, cloud-based Application Platform. The interactive is comprised of four parts: Story Mural, Library, Timeline and Slide Viewer.

The Story Mural is the first area experienced by the user and is the launching point for animated short stories that underscore the capabilities and benefits of specific AeroVironment products. The Story Mural allows sales representatives to discuss AeroVironment in terms of solutions and value as opposed to products and technology.

From the Story Mural the user can access The Library, a virtual showroom of products. Users can explore 3D models, get specifications and features information and access content such as videos, photos and motion graphics that provide deeper information on a specific project.

The Timeline presents AeroVironment’s heritage in a way that is easy to navigate and understand. Users can see how specific products evolved over time as well as important milestones, achievements and awards AeroVironment has achieved.

The Slide View allows AeroVironment to create a custom slide presentation for a specific client or event. Sales representatives can speak in specifics about how the content experienced in the rest of the platform can be applied to solve that client’s specific problems.

04.Outcome

The platform has been successfully deployed at show in the US, Europe, South America and the Middle East, demonstrably increasing foot-traffic and customer contact acquisition. Martian & Sons' visual approach and polished UX design has re-invigorated AeroVironment's entire marketing presence from new print and graphics to updates in the company's web site.

The MartianTool now allows a single, non-technical core group to manage content updates deployed on multiple instances of the platform in different locations with minimal or no involvement from Martian & Sons.

Seeing the power of the Interactive Presentation Platform to engage and impress customers, AeroVironment is now deploying the platform in the lobbies of their corporate headquarters and manufacturing facilities. Additionally, AeroVironment has engaged with Martian & Sons to port the platform to the iPad so that region sales representatives can utilize the tool in the field.