FEBRUARY | COVER FEATURE
“What if
events
were being
designed in
such a way
that you
simply can’t
help but
participate,”
ArcTangent’s
Goc O
Callaghan
the value of cutting-edge tech in shaping
creative concepts, deriving insight and building
progressive experiences for clients.
“A truly immersive experience makes the user
part of the story by giving them a character and
propelling them into action. Interactivity is a
sure-fire way of getting attention and creating
lasting impact.
“At George P. Johnson, we employ a whole host
of immersive technologies, such as VR and AR.
These technologies are increasingly creating
further opportunities for telling stories and
creating content. But don’t forget your non-techy
tools – brilliant scriptwriting and captivating
physical environments are essential to effectively
convey a narrative within an experience.”
But this is subject to failure is agencies don’t
properly plan. “Insufficient user testing is where
agencies go wrong. Bad user experiences will
inevitably leave a bad taste, and you risk being
remembered for that alone.”
“We always start with the objectives and
insights. From escape rooms and VR experiences
to car launches and keynotes, we create
purposeful storytelling to deliver on our clients’
ambitions. We created The City of Drones for
Cisco Live EMEA 2019, enabling visitors to
explore the world from above. Participants learnt
how to block code by completing drone missions
based on Cisco’s work with automated drones in
Dubai. Previously, we delivered an Escape Room
for IBM Think, showcasing its Cloud innovations
through an interactive labyrinth, where
collaboration was key to success. The marble-run
style puzzle enabled visitors to be immersed in
the story.”
Experience agency Imagination also look
to capture insights in order to inform new
experiences. Indeed, the company is working
with media outlets like Dentsu x, Facebook
and LinkedIn to create more 'compelling and
authentic' content.
“Experiences are sometimes seen as one offs
when they should be an 'always on' channel for
brands. As an offline channel, online technology
is needed to have accurate measures of footfall,
social amplification, data capture and referral
to website and wider online channels that is
generated by experiences,” says Christophe
Castagnera, head of connected experiences at
Imagination.
“Experiences have always been a big industry
when looked at across the lens of tourism, leisure,
retail experience and events, but the trend here
is that we have reached peak ‘stuff’ for many
regions and there is a huge shift towards rental,
sharing etc, the experience becomes the all-
important setting for all other elements.”
Imagination says the USA has been a valuable
testing ground for experiential. “Experience
is still on the upswing with more and more
agencies getting in on the act from measurement
to design. Similar to the digital boom when
pureplay ad agencies were talking digital to
extend their client relationships we now have
digital agencies talking experiences. It's a natural
extension from VR, to the environment the VR is
experienced in.
“Pop-ups are still favoured, but one interesting
move is the permanent location for the Museum
of Ice Cream, which is therefore moving away
from pop-up to bricks and mortar. It reflects
a trend within brands for more permanent
locations and brand homes influencing the US
market,” Castagnera concludes.
Meanwhile, for agency Avantgarde, this
movement has signalled the demise, or certainly
a rethink of many event mainstays. Jason
Anderson, digital director at Avantgarde London
ponders whether 'the screen’ is dead, and how
screens can be part of an event story.
“Brand marketers are torn between the
belief that consumers are enjoying being
more connected than ever and the belief that
that they are choosing to switch off from
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