Konica Minolta and Linienflug Design have triumphed in the German Innovation Awards 2022 for Konica Minolta Europe’s Virtual Showroom platform launched to create a new immersive experience for customers and prospects. The innovative B2B sales tool based on modern gaming technology, developed by Linienflug Design, has been awarded on May 24 at an awards ceremony for which 640 entries were submitted this year.
Organised by the German Design Council with more than 350 businesses among its membership, the award honours innovations that advance industry through “originality, implementation and effectiveness”. The jury is made up of independent, interdisciplinary experts from technology, digitalisation, science, associations and institutions.
Konica Minolta’s award-winning Virtual Showroom is accessed via a dedicated landing page on Konica Minolta websites. Customers and prospects sign up and, accompanied by a Konica Minolta representative, they are given a web-based 3D virtual tour of an industrial or commercial print showroom.
Launched in 2020 to create a holistic approach in what was then a ‘new normal’ of online presentations and demonstrations, the Virtual Showroom is an important part of the marketing and sales tools used by Konica Minolta. Presenters and visitors can move freely in a virtual space and interact with the realistic products. It gives the opportunity to view galleries of print samples, video content and provided with detailed presentations on a specific production press, including live running and animated paper flow demonstrations.
Dietmar Porgann, Managing Director of Linienflug Design said: »We were very pleased to evaluate the possibilities and potential of this concept with Konica Minolta early on and that we were then able to develop this powerful presentation-tool together and roll it out worldwide.«