Puma launches iPad customisation app
14/12/2010
The German footwear and sports apparel company recently launched Creative Factory, a customisation platform which allows the consumer to choose a footwear style and experiment with a variety of materials and fabrics to design their own shoe.
Puma is now poised to launch an extensive in-store iPad facility based on the customisation platform. The concept, developed by Spies & Assassins, a unit of Kirshenbaum Bond Senecal & Partners (KBS&P), revolves around the iPad and replaces a prior customisation program called ‘Mongolian BBQ’.
"Puma is passionate about tapping into the creative energy of our consumers and we want our products to stimulate and enhance that urge to create," said Adam Petrick, senior head of global brand management at Puma. "The new Creative Factory for iPad is a great in-store platform for facilitating co-creation between Puma and people who love our brand."
In the store, a wooden table is scattered with materials used to build two of Puma's classic shoe styles. Three telescoping arms come from the center of the table, each with an iPad bolted to the end of it. Customers use the materials on display as inspiration and then use the iPads to design their shoes. When the design is complete, it is sent to a fourth ‘administrative’ iPad at the cash register.
Once a store employee processes the transaction, the order is released to the factory and its status is updated and tracked through an administrative app. In the next 12 to 24 months, Puma aims to add other categories including bags, t-shirts and jackets to the program.
The concept will hit stores in 15 cities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa during December 2010. In 2011, it will expand to the US and elsewhere in the world.
Matt Powell, executive director-creative technology at KBS&P and a partner at Spies & Assassins, has stated that Creative Factory as a whole represents a seven-figure investment for Puma. But the use of iPads in store, Mr Powell said, is significantly less expensive than traditional kiosks.
“Anecdotally, I can put the iPad in front of anybody, and they'll enjoy creating shoes,” Mr Powell said. “People are used to interacting with computers now in a much more interesting set of ways, and that's just going to continue to happen.”
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