bodyType

customContents

entityId

printArticlePageQuery

filter

article

body

urlAlias

articleSectionsContent

articleSeoArticle

articleSourceHeaderArticle

contentSchemaRenderContent

contentSubHeadlineContent

contentHeadlineContent

mainImagePrintArticleArticle

authorBlockPrintArticleArticle

contentSponsorTagContent

articlePianoPaywallContent

scmpYoutubeContent

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

query printArticlePageQuery(
  $entityId: String!
  $customContents: [CustomContentInput]
  $bodyType: BodyFormatTypeEnum
) {
  article(filter: {entityId: $entityId}) {
    entityId
    body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
      json
    }
    urlAlias
    ...articleSectionsContent
    ...articleSeoArticle_3o8td4
    ...articleSourceHeaderArticle
    ...contentSchemaRenderContent
    ...contentSubHeadlineContent
    ...contentHeadlineContent
    ...mainImagePrintArticleArticle
    ...authorBlockPrintArticleArticle
    ...contentSponsorTagContent
    ...articlePianoPaywallContent
    ...scmpYoutubeContent
    ...hooksTrackPageViewArticle
    id
  }
}

fragment articlePianoPaywallContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksPaywallPromiseContent
}

fragment articleSectionsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      ...helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection
      ...entityLink
      name
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment articleSeoArticle_3o8td4 on Article {
  ...hooksArticleSeoArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersGetArticleTypeArticle
  entityId
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
  summary {
    text
  }
  subHeadline {
    text
  }
  body(customContents: $customContents, type: $bodyType) {
    text
  }
  keywords
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  topics {
    name
    entityId
    id
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  images {
    style(filter: {style: "768x768"}) {
      url
    }
  }
  readingTime
}

fragment articleSourceHeaderArticle on Article {
  urlAlias
  ...entityLink
}

fragment authorBlockPrintArticleArticle on Article {
  ...defaultArticleDateContent
  ...authorNamesArticle
}

fragment authorNameAuthor on Author {
  ...entityLink
  name
  entityUuid
}

fragment authorNamesArticle on Article {
  authorLocations
  authors {
    entityId
    location
    ...authorNameAuthor
    id
  }
}

fragment blockquoteQuoteContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment contentHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  socialHeadline
  ...contentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
}

fragment contentNewsletterWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
    id
  }
  sections {
    value {
      relatedNewsletters {
        ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
        id
      }
      id
    }
  }
  ... on Article {
    relatedNewsletters {
      ...helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment contentSchemaRenderContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...blockquoteQuoteContent
  ...imageContent
  ...inlineWidgetContent
  ...photoGalleryWidgetContent
  ...scmpYoutubeContent
}

fragment contentShareWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  shortUrl
  socialHeadline
  headline
}

fragment contentSponsorTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersUseContentSponsorContent
}

fragment contentSubHeadlineContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  subHeadline {
    json
  }
  summary {
    json
  }
  ...contentSchemaRenderContent
}

fragment defaultArticleDateContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...hooksArticleDateUtilsContent
}

fragment entityLink on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  __typename
  entityId
  entityUuid
  urlAlias
  urlRedirect {
    toUrl
    id
  }
  application {
    entityId
    id
  }
  ... on Section {
    fullSectionPath {
      entityId
      id
    }
    parentSection
  }
  ...helpersAppBarVariantBase
  ...helpersApplicationBase
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersAppBarVariantBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsLiveArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...helpersSectionContent
  ...helpersStyleSectionContent
}

fragment helpersApplicationBase on BaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias {
  __isBaseWithApplicationAndUrlAlias: __typename
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesPage
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusPage
}

fragment helpersCheckIfNewsSectionInFirstIndexSection on Section {
  name
}

fragment helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle on Article {
  entityId
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  disableOffPlatformContent
  sponsorType
  published
  ...helpersCheckIsPlusArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment helpersCheckIsLiveArticle on Article {
  flattenTypeIds
  liveArticle {
    status
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    paywallTypes {
      entityUuid
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPlusPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle on Article {
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersCheckIsPostiesPage on Page {
  urlAlias
}

fragment helpersCheckIsStyleArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  sections {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersGetArticleTypeArticle on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        entityId
        id
      }
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersMassageToNewsletterItemNewsletter on Newsletter {
  entityId
  name
  alternativeName
  description {
    text
  }
  summary {
    text
  }
  homepageDescription {
    text
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle on Article {
  authors {
    types
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle on Article {
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersStyleSectionContent on Section {
  fullSectionPath {
    entityId
    id
  }
}

fragment helpersUseContentSponsorContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  topics {
    entityId
    sponsor {
      ...sponsorTagSponsor
      name
      type
      id
    }
    id
  }
  ... on Article {
    sponsorType
  }
  ...helpersCheckIsMainTopicContent
}

fragment hooksArticleDateUtilsContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  createdDate
  publishedDate
  updatedDate
}

fragment hooksArticleSeoArticle on Article {
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsPostMagazineArticle
  ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  ...hooksContentHeadlineTagContent
  ...helpersCheckIsAmpEnabledArticle
  entityId
  headline
  socialHeadline
  types {
    value {
      entityId
      id
    }
  }
  authors {
    entityId
    id
  }
  images {
    generic_og: style(filter: {style: "og_image_scmp_generic"}) {
      url
    }
    styles(filter: {styles: ["og_image_posties_article", "og_postmag", "og_image_style", "og_image_scmp_analysis", "og_image_scmp_explainer", "og_image_scmp_editorial", "og_image_scmp_fact_check", "og_image_scmp_debate", "og_image_scmp_live", "og_image_scmp_obituary", "og_image_scmp_opinion", "og_image_scmp_review", "og_image_scmp_series", "og_image_scmp_generic"]}) {
      url
      style
    }
    type
  }
  urlAlias
}

fragment hooksContentHeadlineTagContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ... on Article {
    types {
      value {
        name
        entityId
        description {
          text
        }
        id
      }
    }
    ...helpersCheckIsStyleArticle
  }
  flag
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  ...hooksContentHelperContent
}

fragment hooksContentHelperContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...helpersSanitizeArticleTypeEntityIdsArticle
  ...helpersSanitizeAuthorTypesArticle
  ...helpersSanitizedAuthorEntityIdsArticle
  flag
}

fragment hooksPaywallPromiseContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  ...helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle
}

fragment hooksTrackPageViewArticle on Article {
  entityId
  publishedDate
  headline
  sections {
    value {
      name
      id
    }
  }
  urlAlias
  authors {
    name
    id
  }
  entityUuid
}

fragment imageContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  headline
  ...checkersCheckContentContainsStarlingImageContent
}

fragment inlineWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...contentNewsletterWidgetContent
}

fragment mainImagePrintArticleArticle on Article {
  images {
    title
    url
    isSlideshow
    size_652x446: style(filter: {style: "652x446"}) {
      url
    }
  }
}

fragment photoGalleryDialogContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  __typename
  ...contentShareWidgetContent
}

fragment photoGalleryWidgetContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  ...photoGalleryDialogContent
}

fragment scmpYoutubeContent on Content {
  __isContent: __typename
  entityId
  urlAlias
  publishedDate
}

fragment sponsorTagSponsor on Sponsor {
  name
  type
  images {
    url
  }
}


sections

types

disableOffPlatformContent

sponsorType

published

headline

socialHeadline

authors

images

publishedDate

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

keywords

topics

readingTime

authorLocations

entityUuid

Alvaro Sanchez

Rene Bokhorst

The Covid-19 pandemic has rapidly accelerated the adoption of digital technology, which in turn has touched seemingly every aspect of our lives: socialising, shopping, working from home and more.
Extended reality (XR) – an umbrella term for immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) – has perhaps benefited most from the pandemic’s early lockdown days, by enabling consumers to explore and meet within distinct virtual environments from home.
Video game news site Gamasutra reported that the VR segment gained a slight uplift during lockdowns, and forecasted that China, in particular, would become an important emerging market in stand-alone VR devices. In APAC overall, spending on AR and VR is expected to reach US$31.2 billion by 2023, according to Gamasutra.
But despite the year’s gains in consumer XR, the technology has truly thrived in the business-to-business (B2B) space by providing immersive experiences that simplify the customer decision journey and make it more engaging.
The business-to-consumer (B2C) approach to marketing relies on making the path to purchase as streamlined and seamless as possible. It is built on providing consumers with the exact solution they need at the right place and time, ideally driving relevance by catering to user behaviours across the digital platforms where they engage.
Afterlife reunions, virtual visits: our social care future looks digital
But the B2B journey is not so simple. Decisions are rarely made by a single person, but rather groups – often after a lengthy process of researching solutions and comparing them against peers. Making the information B2B buyers need more accessible and actionable is only half the battle; brands must also build trust in their prospects.
The point about trust is key, as it provides a hint at where B2B and B2C can find common ground: keeping the human element alive. Digital technologies like XR not only make experiences like product show-rooming more accessible in a world transformed by the pandemic, but also enable user-friendliness by representing complex content in interactive, tactile and emotionally resonant ways that further differentiate the brand’s offering.
How XR Supports the B2B Journey
Whether through augmented or virtual reality, XR enables brands to offer virtual experiences that create real memories. Unlike linear formats like video, which lack engagement and can be more difficult for audiences to understand, XR is not only interactive but also leaves an unforgettable impression on people by encouraging user-driven exploration.
XR’s ability to offer more memorable experiences makes it an important learning tool – perfect for representing complex information for audiences in a more accessible and engaging way.
One MediaMonks project involved a virtual space flight guided by real-life astronaut André Kuipers. The immersive Spacebuzz experience used VR to allow students to experience the “overview effect” – a term coined by space philosopher Frank White in 1987 to describe “a profound reaction to viewing the earth from outside its atmosphere” – without leaving the planet.
Similarly, XR has the power to entertain as it explains – offering differentiated digital experiences that build trust with corporate shoppers.
Japan’s onsen provide virtual antidote to lockdown blues
In another project with Olay, MediaMonks built a VR experience in Shanghai that used immersive tech to transport users to the surface of the skin at a microscopic level. There, they could see first-hand the different causes of unhealthy skin – including UV rays, pollution, stress and more – and were given the opportunity to fight them by mixing Olay ingredients and tossing them at irritants. The gamification element challenged business users – like executives and stockists of the product – to better understand Olay’s unique formula.
Within office and headquarter environments, XR can also lend value through digital placemaking. Digital placemaking is a hybrid digital-physical approach creating a symbiotic relationship between the two worlds – a purpose that AR excels at in particular. Partnering with Google, we built Hive Drive, a location-based AR experience that transformed an office or retail space into a virtual hive of worker bees. While it used the metaphor of bees in a hive to showcase productivity within an office, brands can create similar experiences to demystify the work they do on location for their partners.
By translating abstract concepts into tangible experiences, XR offers an opportunity for brands to deliver on their promise in unique ways

Despite the slow adoption of devices like VR headsets before 2020, the use cases for XR within B2B contexts have thrived by making concepts more tactile, interactive and open to exploration. As we anticipate an era of virtualisation, where brands must differentiate themselves by engaging with customers through distinct digital environments across the customer decision journey, the role that XR will play between businesses and their clients will only grow.
The B2B journey is long and complex, catering to different stakeholders across a group of decision-makers. By translating abstract concepts into tangible experiences, XR offers an opportunity for brands to deliver on their promise in unique ways, whether it is to inject emotional resonance into the customer decision journey, add value to physical spaces through a virtual layer or simply entertain audiences in a more human way.
From here on out, digital experiences will achieve an even higher calibre in years to come – and B2B brands should not wait to see what the technology has to offer to them and their clients.


How extended reality technology can help brands build a better B2B journey

Extended reality is an umbrella term for immersive technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality. Photo: AFP

Tech

Innovation

Opinion

Comment

Enterprises


Extended reality – including AR and VR tech – has helped consumers to explore and meet within distinct virtual environments from home
But the technology has thrived in the business-to-business space by simplifying the customer decision journey and making it more engaging



Extended reality – including AR and VR tech – has thrived in the business-to-business space by simplifying the customer decision journey and making it more engaging.


Virtual reality and augmented reality (VR and AR)

Technology

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


Opinion | How extended reality technology can help brands build a better B2B journey

Extended reality – including AR and VR tech – has helped consumers to explore and meet within distinct virtual environments from home But the technology has thrived in the business-to-business space by simplifying the customer decision journey and making it more engaging

Extended reality – including AR and VR tech – has helped consumers to explore and meet within distinct virtual environments from home

But the technology has thrived in the business-to-business space by simplifying the customer decision journey and making it more engaging