John Deere debuts a digital experience for professional landscapers through its John Deere Virtual Pavilion.
Launching Monday, Nov. 9, the platform provides professional landscape contractors with a new way to connect with the brand and learn more about its extensive lineup of product solutions.
Including features such as a 360-degree interactive product gallery, the John Deere Virtual Auditorium, and live chat capability, the Virtual Pavilion offers an immersive experience to connect professional landscape professionals with the brand and explore its products and services.
“We are excited to launch this platform to provide a one-stop shop for professional landscaper contractors to explore our product offerings and connect with John Deere on a deeper level,” said Brad Silva, marketing communications manager, John Deere. “Much like the rest of the world, we’ve continued to pivot as more events are going digital, and the Virtual Platform addresses our customers’ needs for new ways to evaluate equipment and find solutions for their businesses.”
He said early in the summer, John Deere recognized that even if there was an in-person GIE that there would be a large number of folks that normally connect with at the show there who wouldn't be able to attend or wouldn't be comfortable attending an event of that size. Work began in earnest on developing another way to get information to those customers and be able to connect with them. At the end of July, with the announcement of GIE+EXPO 2020 being cancelled, the need for the platform only increased.
“It's been in the works for a little while but we're just excited to be able to connect with customers and to build a platform, again, that doesn't replace an event but is something that we can build on and landscapers can use throughout the year,” Silva says. “They'll be able to come in and reconnect with our brand, they'll be able to explore our wide range of products and next week they'll be able to connect with product specialists from John Deere for one-on-one conversations”
Within the Virtual Pavilion, users are going to be able to navigate a virtual space and interact with the John Deere equipment like what they would do in-person.
Silva said the pavilion also has a virtual auditorium, which is a virtual meeting space where John Deere will host meetings, product introductions, speakers, and other live content throughout the year that's specifically for professional landscapers.
"We expect this to be a virtual gathering place for us to connect with landscapers throughout the year," Silva said. “Our plan is to continue building this out, adding capabilities and adding equipment to this experience.”
The 360-degree product gallery showcases the full range of John Deere commercial landscaping equipment.
Once in the Virtual Pavilion, guests can engage with John Deere equipment in a new way by experiencing digital products in an interactive gallery. Equipment specs, key features and videos are displayed in the self-navigated 360-degree display.
Within the gallery, users will see six different product categories (commercial ZTraks zero-turn mowers, QuikTrak stand-on mowers; commercial walk behind mowers, utility vehicles, compact construction equipment and compact utility tractors), each driving to in-depth views and exclusive content about the equipment.
"We think the six product categories that we have products in are the ones that really matter to professional landscapers," Silva said. "Landscapers who come to the site they'll be able to explore each of these product categories.”
Although not able to come to a GIE booth and walk around the equipment, the Virtual Pavilion allows users to do it virtually.
"This is where they can engage with the model spin it around, look at all sides and then we have some hotspots with feature level content for them to learn more about the product,” Silva said.
As another benefit, users can connect with their local dealer and schedule product demos through the platform. During the launch event Monday, Nov. 9 to Wednesday, Nov. 11, those who request a demo will receive a John Deere Yeti tumbler.
Users can also find exclusive experiences and materials when visiting the John Deere Virtual Auditorium. This virtual meeting space gives users access to on-demand videos and content curated exclusively for landscape professionals. Videos in the Virtual Pavilion include factory tours, product videos, and messages from John Deere leadership.
The Virtual Pavilion also includes a live chat feature to connect users directly to John Deere representatives who can answer their product questions. This easy to navigate communication tool helps users make the most of their virtual John Deere experience.
Silva said what they are most excited about here in the left-hand corner is a live chat feature. If visitors see something that they're not sure about or have a question or have feedback for us, there will be John Deere product representatives available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Wednesday answering questions and chatting with landscapers virtually.
When the John Deere Virtual Pavilion launches to the public on Nov. 9, the first 3000 attendees to register to qualify for exclusive, special event pricing will be eligible to receive a limited-edition John Deere hat.
A big opportunity for visitors to the John Deere booth at GIE+EXPO is to get their John Deere hat for the year.
"We didn't want them to miss out on that, so we've built that into the platform in the event next week," Silva said. "Folks who come by and say hello next week, we've got a form for them to leave their name and contact info and they'll be able to pick from a few options to get their free John Deere hat for the year."
No registration is required to use the platform. The forms are to sign up for the hat or the John Deere rewards program.
To learn more about the Virtual Platform and sign up for a reminder when it opens to the public, visit JohnDeere.com/MowPro.
