My cool new Product Demo with Presenter

Twice a year, we introduce garden-care products that require demos

I lead the marketing department for a company which focuses on making lives easier for people with gardens and lawns. We think that beautiful gardens enhance the beauty of any home, apart from improving the air quality of the immediate environment. However, if you have one, you probably know that keeping a garden in top shape, always requires either professional help or dedicated round-the-year effort on part of the home-maker.

This is where we come in ΓÇô to aid the modern home-makers, wishing to live out their weekends doing what they love rather than spending long hours tending to their gardens through old- fashioned methods.

For this reason, our company has a fabulous R&D team that is continuously working to incorporate the latest technology in our products to make them safe to handle, easy-to-use and operate, comfortable to store, and the best deal that money can get.

As part of our research and technology advancement process, and in an effort to stay ahead of consumer need, we launch upgrades to our suite of garden care products twice a year.

Late last year in November 2020, we launched our all-new robotic garden mower.

Robotic garden mowers are fast replacing traditional ones and for good reason. Apart from their good looks with sleek, futuristic designs, they come with easy-to-replace battery packs, are compatible with GPS, Wifi – even phone apps. They are often remote-controlled and practically without any noise. They can operate on most garden terrain as well as in the majority of weather conditions.

We had launched a model a year ago, which met with satisfactory reviews, but users in real-time faced problems with app compatibility. This led us to review the issue internally and in November 2020,  just in time to be a household Christman gift, we launched a new robotic garden mower which was state-of-the-art in terms of operation and yet competitively priced.

We were excited and hoping this would be our star product of Christmas 2020 and this year.

Our Marketing plans were in a quandary owing to COVID -19.

Most companies were reeling under the impact of Covid-19 pandemic and honestly, ours was no different.  The marketing budget had been cut down drastically. There were travel restrictions. As Marketing Head, I had to communicate with both external and internal stakeholders, and it was driving me nuts. Truth be told, despite umpteen phone calls, conference calls, and video calls, I was still not satisfied that our communication and promo efforts were apt. Our team spent sleepless nights wondering how to ensure our newest baby was well received in the market and how to demo the product to our distributors.

 I was particularly concerned about our productΓÇÖs demo to –

┬╖  Our sales and marketing personnel across the country in various branches.

┬╖  Vendors and dealers in various cities.

In normal pre-Covid times, we would have made sure that a well- trained team traveled to the various locations and gave an in-person demo. However, with travel restrictions in place last year, this was out of the question. So we started looking for online presentation and demo tools.

A Google search led us to Personify Presenter, an immersive video and presentation tool.  After a quick and easy trial, it seemed to be the solution to our current challenge. 

Easy does it.

Though Presenter uses the latest AI and ML creating cool studio-like functionality, it DOES NOT require any complex tech know-how to be used. In a matter of minutes, following a series of simple prompts, we were able to download and install Presenter on our Mac.  

When done, we found that the application extracts our persona and puts it on the screen. I had the option of ΓÇ£placingΓÇ¥ myself anywhere I chose ΓÇô right, left, center, along the bottom of the screen or anywhere that feels good.

Thereby, we were in perfect sync with our presentations, making it come alive with our movements and gestures. During the product launch in November, each one of us in the sale and marketing team started a series of live, online demos everyday, presenting with aplomb and with a custom background that made it look like we were in the office..

• Presenter allowed us to present almost as though we were there in person. It makes you appear in front of the screen, with the scene of action right behind you. It is animated, live, and engrossing to watch. With this online presentation software, we were able to keep our audience focused on our content.
• Presenter allowed us to move seamlessly between our narration and presentation. We had the option to move between slides, highlight the important points at will, pull and move slides around, as in any presentation.
• Presenter allowed our audience to ask us questions and discuss with us in real-time, while the presentation was going on. In essence, it was almost similar to being in the room with 0our audience and making a live presentation to them.

The first time!

Before the customer presentations started, I set up a meeting with my colleagues located in various parts of the country. I was excited to take them through a demo of our robotic lawn mower, explaining and demo-ing the technical features easily, as if it were in person. It was more like an online training session for our team. In the mock preso, my colleagues flooded me with questions and asked for a repeat demo of the various functionalities. Believe me, it was both fun and easy.

Satisfied with our progress, we lined up a schedule with our vendors and dealers ΓÇô again scattered all over. We also conducted a couple of demos for our PR firm and niche magazines.

It was incredible how simple the process was, minus the hassles of traveling to multiple locations. I was elated to note that it was quite effortless to keep the audience captivated and focused on our new product demo.

In this new age of WFH (work from home), we need enabling tools like Personify Presenter.

The benefits are pretty obvious as stated on the Presenter brochure ΓÇô

┬╖  In these uncertain times, when travel and face-to-face meetings and interactions are      being discouraged, you have the power of presenting from your own location as though you are doing an in-person demo.

┬╖  Make the presentation from the comfort of your own familiar zone ΓÇô whether office or your backyard or kitchen. In this situation, it was my garden.

┬╖  It eliminates the inconvenience of travel and saves on travel expenses

┬╖  Unlike a video conference, this online presentation software is unique and personal, as it brings you ΓÇÿaliveΓÇÖ in front of your audience.

┬╖ It can be seamlessly merged with your presentation, allowing you to present in a professional manner.

┬╖  You are free to present, educate and entertain at the same time.

┬╖  The distinct WOW factor is hard to miss when you bring alive the presentation with your voice, your gestures, even your own brand of humour!

┬╖  Your audience is hooked, listening, and actively participating.

It is not hard to guess that such presentations are well-received, and the outcomes are hugely positive. Even a complex product like a ΓÇÿrobotic land mowerΓÇÖ can be demonstrated using this online presentation software or online demo tool,  to a cross-section of audiences such as homeowners, commercial property owners, landscape maintenance companies, or small garden maintenance services.

I would highly recommend Presenter to any marketer who is looking for an online presentation tool with immersive video functionality, to do a successful product launch.