Transforming Staff & Student Experience with Zoho CRM, Creator and 3D/AR/VR
DDL and Zest Creative recently delivered a complete brand refresh for Nelson Aviation College (NAC), which also coincided with their announcement of their purchase of brand new Infinitus Aero electric aircraft. These two key activities were the catalyst for serious innovation and enhancement of NACs digital services for Staff and Students alike.
Overview
DDL and Zest Creative recently delivered a complete brand refresh for Nelson Aviation College (NAC), to coincide with NACs announcement of their formal intent to purchase several brand new Infinitus Aero electric aircraft. Whilst Zest created a modern, engaging brand for NAC, DDL's challenge was to implement this brand in the form of a new website, and supporting systems and processes to support significant ongoing marketing campaigns. DDL envisaged an innovative way to showcase these newly-ordered aircraft (which hadn't yet been produced) as well as to apply the new brand and livery to their existing training fleet. They wanted to provide prospective students with an immersive experience, allowing them to explore the aircraft, livery, and cockpit before setting foot on campus. Additionally, NAC aimed to integrate this experience seamlessly into their website, enhancing engagement with potential students and visitors alike. Secondly, existing manual processes and systems were identified as being ripe for a makeover too - and DDL designed and implemented a new CRM for lead, student and safety/compliance management, created a complex Creator app for Audit management tasks as well as moved NAC's entire enrolment process to digital Zoho Forms
The Challenge
- An outdated website did not reflect NAC's premium position and reputation in NZ's aviation training sector - NAC sought ways to stand-out and capture prospective student's attention and build inspiration to fly - Existing processes were staff and paper-work heavy, and functions were spread across multiple staff
Our Solution
DDL leveraged Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 Video/Imagery technologies to bring NAC’s new fleet to life. Our team: Modified high-fidelity 3D models of the new and existing aircraft, incorporating the latest brand livery with meticulous attention to detail. Rigged the new model's controls for an interactive VR experience, allowing students to manipulate the aircraft controls from their devices or VR headsets, providing a first-hand training preview. Implemented AR viewing, enabling users to view and interact with the aircraft in their own space via mobile devices. Embedded the virtual fleet on NAC’s website, ensuring a seamless and engaging digital experience without requiring additional apps or software. Captured NAC's Nelson and Motueka campus in 360 stills and video, which was then compiled into an interactive virtual tour, to create an avenue for guests to explore their facilities, simulator and aircraft, from any device. DDL also implemented a new Zoho CRM environment, which - supported by Zoho Forms - transformed a paper-based enrolment process into 100% digital, integrated experience - enquiries and enrolments are captures right from the website and synced to CRM. Internal processes such as annual auditing and H&S management are tracked in a custom Creator app and dashboards - both embedded in CRM.
The Outcome
- Significant time savings for NAC's internal team through full process digitisation meaning less paperwork and more time to support student enquiries. - Stand-out innovative experiences through web, VR, AR and a 360 campus tour provide students with different paths to explore NAC's facilities and fleet. - Custom Creator app means that a highly nuanced process for audit and compliance tracking can be managed according to their own preferences and requirements instead of using older and inflexible software.