#GREATShowcase

skignz were invited to take part in the #GreatShowcase in Los Angeles at the Consulate Generals personal residence.

The GREAT Showcase was formulated by one of the US directors in the DiT a few years ago, to showcase everything that is great about Great Britain and doing business with the UK, to an invited VIP audience.

The GREAT campaign is spread across the whole world and is the UK’s brand for encouraging the rest of the world to engage and trade with the UK, this year's showcase included skignz and other brands such as Aston Martin, Jo Malone London, Mill Channel and many more.

skignz role in the #GREATshowcase came during the DiT Directors speech (immediately after the opening address by the new British Consular General for Los Angeles) as the director introduced the evenings events and spoke about current affairs.

Dan preceded this by wishing to highlight who in the room were part of his team so if anyone would like to speak to them, they would know who they are … usually this would be done by a request for the said team members to raise their hands wherever they were in the room, however we Brits like to do things a little differently, cue skignz!

The skignz Founder & CEO Si Brown, was present at the event and on cue, he passed the Director Dan Rutstein, his iPhone X, which was immediate mirrored to the large screen behind them both, on which appeared the view Dan had using the iPhone … this presented a range of ‘skignz’ above each member of the DiT team in the room, leading to gasps and awe from the guests. 

Although a very small gesture and moment in the context of the whole evening, it certainly created a stir and quite a number of comments and interest during the rest of the evening and beyond we are delighted to say.

Please take a look below at some of the photos taken during the #GREATshowcase event.

If you want to find out more about skignz, then please visit our new recently launched website (www.skignz.com) as well as the usual social media channels

You can see the #GREATshowcase twitter feed for fun videos and photos here

skignz @ CES 2018, Las Vegas, US

This year's Consumer Electronics Show CES2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was the first visit in 10 years for our CEO Simon Brown, and a first for most of the skignz team.

Was it any different to the last visit (pre skignz)? OMG yes! 

If nothing else just the sheer scale of the event is literally on another planet compared to a decade ago! 

One aspect, was the multiple locations across Las Vegas for various parts of the show. 

The hosted Brand VIP parties, have got way way way bigger, one we attended was in the biggest club in Las Vegas and had a free bar till 11pm - 2,500 thousand people packed into the X Club and danced and partied away to loud music by top Dj’s, food was provided and again, a free bar.

If your asking yourself, why was skignz there? 

It's quite simple ... Many of the people we do business with, clients, partners, prospective clients etc … were there, if not exhibiting or presenting, they were looking to catch up with us and others in one location. This actually proves very cost effective if you have a global client base and real time, in person interaction is scarce.

Furthermore many companies announce new products/technology etc. at CES, so it's a great opportunity to see it first hand. For skignz, it's a way to understand more about who, what and why the people attending/exhibiting are interested in AR. 

In gaps between meetings, many miles were walked to interact and understand what competitors (indirect and direct) are doing, speaking with brands who are not currently utilising AR and what are the reasons behind that?

Many conversations happen at CES, most of them were in the bars, restaurants and clubs after the official show was finished. Much of the skignz time was spent speaking to various audiences in these places. 

Jokingly, it was said, that we felt we had been sat in the lobby bar at The Aria, for 2 days without moving… looking back at our expenses that is borne out.

Suffice to say although it was a great experience to be back at CES, however the sheer size of the show is now one of its major issues!

Too much going on, difficult standing out in the crowd unless what you have is very novel, or you have such a large budget, attendees can't fail to see what you are doing, i.e. BMW with their 'M versions' of all models being drifted and spun around a hotel car park all day, every day! 

A great advertisement for tyre durability, surely there is a tentative link to tech or consumer electronics in there somewhere.

If you want to find out more about skignz, then please visit our new recently launched website (www.skignz.com) as well as the usual social media channels.

 

skignz in the USA...

SKIGNZ IN NYC

skignz visited the USA earlier in the month. Co-Founder Si Brown, Jamie Clarke and David Murphy caught the flight out of Manchester into NYC.  

Upon our arrival we were greeted with the now customary US Security checks, which seemed to take an age!

Travel was smooth, and the flight was made quickly by the team meeting which took place on the flight, ensuring that they were prepared and ready for what the US held in store for skignz.

Upon arrival into the Big Apple, it was straight into meetings..  No time for sightseeing just yet.

The guys met with our partners at the British Consulate to discuss raising the profile of skignz in the states.  The meeting went extremely well, with lots of positives and further actions coming out of it.

Then it was back to the Hotel for some well earned rest. The dreaded Jet Lag had decided to raise its head and the guys were feeling it!

Si Brown said "The thing about the USA is this (and especially NYC); the way in which new things are received is with a refreshing dose of excitement and energy and focusses on the possibilities, rather than looking to find ways it can fail. 

The energy the states has for tech of this kind is so exciting, it makes you realise just why it's a world leader in this area".

The guys had another 3 days of meetings booked in across NYC, catching up with friends of skignz, making sure people knew they were around and generally enjoying the energy of the people they met. 

The weather was kinda nice, the City was awesome and the links made will benefit skignz long term. 

One close call was the terrible fire right next to team skignz's hotel, very sad to see a beautiful old cathedral burn through the night, nobody was hurt we are glad to say, just such a shame to see the old building smoldering and smoking as we left.

Overall, a successful trip to NYC… But there's more… The guys then flew from NYC into Atlanta. 

SKIGNZ IN ATLANTA

Arriving in Atlanta the guys were greeted by blazing sunshine and the friendly faces of Team, Choose:ATL, Atlanta's Chamber of Commerce.

The guys from Choose:ATL had met Si and Jamie at SxSW back in April, and had struck up a great relationship. 

There have been many occasions where our friends across the pond have been a strong advocates for skignz in the US, and in particular Atlanta.  

They had set up several meetings in Atlanta for skignz to build further relationships.  With a packed agenda, we even scheduled in some time for the Guys to help out at a junior football (Soccer) club by delivering a coaching session.  

The highlight of the trip to Atlanta was the 'Hard Hat Tour' of the new $1.5B stadium.  

The skignz team met with the General manager, who became increasingly impressed by the possibilities of using the skignz technology as an enhancement to their 'Fan Experience' on match/game days. 

The stadium will be shared by the City NFL Franchise the Atlanta Falcons, and the brand new MLS Franchise Atlanta United.

The links made here will prove extremely useful to the skignz brand and allow the stadium to embrace technology to give visiting and home fans a truly complete Match Day Experience.

The hospitality shown by everyone in Atlanta was second to none, with the guys being invited to a Southern style BBQ. 

David Murphy summed up the experience by saying “The effort and goodwill shown by everyone in the team in Atlanta was nothing short of perfect.  

They welcomed us into their Network, City and even their homes with open arms.

This City has had a lasting effect on me and I know the guys feel the same way”.

Negotiations are now taking place for a return visit to firm up some of the ideas and meetings which took place. Watch this space for further updates!!

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com

skignz is 'Born in the USA'

skignz are delighted to announce that we have now opened an office in the US, not just anywhere in the US but Las Vegas! As part of skignz ambitious growth plans we have been looking at key places across the globe to establish the skignz brand yet provide an unrivalled and enhanced customer experience.

Las Vegas is perfect for skignz; a destination for millions of people year on year and one so huge it's hard to find your way around. skignz is here to help you never get lost in Las Vegas again!

skignz: Welcome to Las Vegas, Nevada, US

Whether you are looking for somewhere nice to eat, a different environment to gamble or somewhere nice to shop? All of these places are a plenty in Las Vegas, so by using skignz, you will be able to find your way around, access special offers, interesting & interactive content and even use the App to find each other if you get lost?

Getting lost in a crowd is a problem all over the world, but in Las Vegas it's magnified a thousandfold due to the amount of people, the scale of the place you are in and all those bright lights and attractions to divert your attention!

skignz helps you find somewhere or someone in such a way that it can only be compared to, 'If all the electricity went off in Las Vegas and all the lights went out ... then a spotlight appeared above the place or person you are looking for, surely that will help you find that needle in a haystack!'

Si Brown, Co-Founder & CMO, skignz says: 
"Nick's background in providing leading edge technologies to increase event and customer experience and engagement, so he is the perfect fit for skignz, as skignz aims to take this whole concept completely off the scale!

We have been establishing a relationship with Nick for nearly a year now, but it struck us very early on that Nick could really get the skignz message across and explore the possibilities across a range of sectors in the US, such as Leisure & Tourism, Live Events, Education and Corporate Hospitality. All of these sectors Nick has already got experience in and we look forward to supporting him and his team in showcasing skignz incredible capabilities to them." 

Las Vegas:  It's easy to 'get lost in a crowd' here or find that 'needle in a haystack'

So now you know why Las Vegas? The 'Who' is just as important! We are very proud to announce that leading our US team will be a guy with over 20 years experience of living and working in Las Vegas and across the US, please take a bow; Mr Nick Vilardell, EVP, US Business Operations & Sales.

Nick Vilardell EVP, US Operations & Sales says:

"When I first came across skignz it was through their blog online, quite by accident when I was researching some new technology. Their video blog was funny but got me thinking I wanted to know more about these guys! The more I looked at them and read about them the more I was conviced that this was a company with a great future and undoubtedly some incredible ground breaking technology, that maybe others had touched on but nothing that had been put together and packaged in this way. 

From my inital conversation with Simon I was sold on their vision and since then I've been working closely with Simon and the rest of the skignz team to define the offering not only for Las Vegas, and its obvious potential, but also for a number of other markets and sectors I have contacts and experience but whilst still focussing in the US.

I actually feel quite lucky to be working with skignz at such an exciting time in their growth. I look forward to helping Si and Gary move forward, especially at the rate they are growing and attracting other prominent people into the business, the brands and companies coming onboard, this business will prove to be a phenomenal part of the future digital landscape. 

I could not be more excited at what lies ahead for skignz and the opening of the office in Las Vegas is the next logical step and a clear indication of skignz's ambition"

skignz at Rhodes Ranch Golf Club

Nick already has a number of companies and organisations keen to take up the skignz offering, a number of the key brands on the 'famous Las Vegas strip' are already in the process of looking at how they can pilot it across their facilities. One skignz environment is already in place, at the Rhodes Ranch Golf Club where Nick is a member. 

Nick is currently working to utilize the skignz platform across many different aspects of their business, providing a simply awesome showcase for others to come along and experience.

Rhodes Ranch Golf Club, Las Vegas

Although it's early days for skignz in the US, the future looks to be an exciting and interesting one as Nick and his team showcase the power of what skignz can do across Las Vegas, Nevada and in time the wider US. 

So if you would like to talk to Nick and his team about how skignz can work for you in Las Vegas or elsewhere in the US, then please contact them on us@skignz.com or call on +1 (702) 433 3889