Interactive Installations are the latest craze at tradeshows and international fairs. They really help visitors to interact with your products, services and brand.
At Boldly-XR, it’s our passion to intertwine the love for the latest technologies with the creation of high-end interactive installations. We strive for a kick-ass end product, with a touch of magic and wonder. Generally, this involves installations used at trade shows or other larger events.
Now we would like to introduce you to our new Interactive Event Platforms (IEP). IEP is a unique modular and versatile system consisting of modules to be placed in different configurations. We will explain what this concept entails based on a case example from Rabobank. We also discuss the endless options of the IEPs.
What is an interactive installation?
This is essentially an object that is used at events, which tells a story and thereby attracts visitors. The ‘interactive’ part refers to the visitors being able to interact with this object. They provide a piece of input which makes the object give specifically planned outputs. For example; a sound, animation or text. The word ‘object’ is very abstract, it’s free to the imagination, as almost anything can be made interactive. At trade shows, for example, it usually involves pedestals, products or walls.
Why would I choose an interactive installation?
Getting excited about technology
The interactive aspect creates wonder and curiosity. When people see something happening that looks special, not understanding how it works, they are inclined to take a look. That is precisely the effect we aim to achieve with our installations. Wonder and curiosity are the keywords for interest, involvement and the retention of provided information. That’s what it’s all about in the end. After all, you want to convey a message that people are able to remember. A cool interactive experience greatly contributes to this, because people have a sense of control, request the information themselves and also simply remember a fun experience better than all the other boring posters from the competitor.
Rabobank Event Platform – REP
You will find extensive info about the how and why of this project in the In-depth case report of the REP. The REP is an interactive installation that we made for Rabobank, a successor to the Rabo Wall that needed to be renewed after years of loyal service. For their trade fairs and events, Rabobank was looking for a new interactive installation that would amaze, be flexible in scale and content, and would also be sustainable. Therefore, we designed the REP.
A straightforward and sleek design ensures a very effective wall that speaks for itself. The REP revolves around interactive content cards that provide information about the respective topics on the card, related to working as young IT talent, at Rabobank. On the wall, you will find rotary knobs that control the lighting and thereby point out different cards. When a card is illuminated, the subject of the content card appears in front of you, such as Front-end, Culture or Java. The visitor takes the relevant card out of the slot and places it on the designated reading surfaces. Thus, this triggers an audiovisual animation about the content on the card.
Our animation team strives to create beautiful animations that seamlessly match your brand and message, resulting in an installation that truly suits your company. For systems like the Event Platform, different sets of interactive cards can be made, suitable for different purposes of deploying the installation. You now have a sustainable solution at hand, which can be adapted and continued to be used in the future.
The interactive installation technology
How does this work? By building in NFC chips and readers in cards, and the surface of the installation, the cards become interactive. When the card is placed on the designated spot, the NFC scanner reads which card is presented and starts playing the corresponding content. Different projectors are at the top of the installation project separately on the vertical and horizontal walls. Using projection mapping, we are able to place the projections exactly within and around the pre-painted surfaces and lines on the installation. Because, with these techniques, we can very precisely indicate where exactly there will be projections and ensure a beautiful design. The buttons are linked. In order to influence the displayed images and projections on the wall. It is magical to see how one can influence the light by turning the knobs.
Modular, flexible and future-proof
To meet these three goals, we designed the IEP so that separate modules can be placed in all kinds of setups. You can see a few examples of the concept for the REP on the right. Whether your trade show booth is large or small, the IEP can come along and can already be used as one single module unit. A corner arrangement can be made, with the corner inwards or outwards. Or a round arrangement, anything is possible. Making the IEP usable at many different locations and events. In addition, the content is extremely flexible. Whether you use content cards or other systems that are highlighted below. By using easily expandable systems, or built-in technologies in the IEP, it is possible to adjust and add content. Now the IEP can grow and evolve with your company and its requirements. Since it is a modular system, new modules with other interactive systems can always be added, and you can continue to expand and use the IEP.
Design
The installation for Rabobank has a sleek, futuristic look, fitting the type of company it represents. In addition to the interactive content that only appears after the interaction by a visitor, it’s also very important how the IEP itself looks. Our team of designers will think along with you about the style that best suits your company. We are also able to work with your corporate identity and create an object that matches it beautifully. When attention is put into a beautiful design of an installation like an IEP, it is truly an addition to your company. An impressive corporate ornament.
Other ideas
Aside from the knob and card modules, there are countless other interactive ideas we could implement on an IEP. Allowing you to develop a very varied modular system that fits your needs perfectly. We’ll highlight some ideas for you:
- Holoboxes: A beautiful technique we have often used to display large objects at fairs using ‘Pepper’s Ghost holography’. Using a special technique, the object appears to float in the pyramid. Check our Kohler case.
- Screens instead of projectors: It’s also cool to build screens into the modules, instead of hanging projectors above them. Place the (transparent) plate on the screen and an animation appears that matches the design on the plate.
- Projection mapping on small products/models: Place a model on the IEP and project a design on it with the projectors. Make it interactive by adding, for example, a tablet, rotary knob, or touchpoints that trigger different effects or animations. You can use this to provide information about, for example, an aeroplane or ship, as we did for Volvo Penta.
- Mini live configurators with projection mapping: You can also place beautiful (small) models of products, with a tablet next to it that allows users to assemble the product themselves using a configurator. Think of Bruynzeel Projection mapping but on a smaller scale. This concept can be applied to all kinds of products that are available in different versions, think for example of different floors.
- Live selfie-filter usage: We build a screen with a camera in it, which allows visitors to take a photo with one or more filters that match your company. You could add the option to post directly or to mail to themselves. This way you immediately collect email addresses for your next email campaign.
- Win component: People like to win things. This can be done in various ways. We think it’s a fun idea to hand out cards that people can scan to see if they’ve won something. You can build an NFC into these cards that give the option to add your contact details directly after scanning with their phone. In addition, you can also collect data here again, for example by having people first enter their name and email address after scanning, before they can see if they have won something.
- Headphones: If you want to show videos that are a bit longer, it can be a good idea to offer headphones. Visitors’ listening experiences get so much better.
All the benefits at a glance:
- Attracting attention:
An interactive installation attracts the attention of trade show visitors. It can make them curious and encourage them to visit your booth, thereby increasing the chance to reach potential customers. - Increasing engagement:
By actively involving visitors in the installation, you create an interactive experience that keeps them at your booth for longer. As a result, this increases the chances of valuable interactions and conversations, giving you the opportunity to present your brand and products and provide more information. - Memorable experience:
An interactive installation provides a unique and memorable experience for visitors. Nonetheless, this can help them remember your brand better and build positive associations, which can lead to increased brand loyalty and customer engagement in the future. - Demonstration of products or services:
An interactive installation offers the opportunity to demonstrate your products or services in an engaging way. Visitors can experience them firsthand and discover the benefits and features up close, increasing the chances that they become interested and consider making a purchase. - Data collection:
An interactive installation can also be used as a means to collect data from potential customers. For example, by offering a contest, survey, or registration form as part of the interactive experience. This allows you to generate valuable leads and follow up after the trade show. - Buzz and social media sharing:
A striking interactive installation can generate buzz on the trade show floor and get visitors to talk about it and share photos and videos of it on social media. Basically, this increases the visibility of your brand and booth, and can even lead to additional exposure beyond the trade show, thereby reaching potential new customers.
This blog was packed with ideas. Have we managed to inspire you?
Please, get in touch with us.