How do you completely immerse your clients inside your marketing message so intensely that the rest of the show activity is out of sight and out of mind?
How do you create an entertaining environment where your guests have the freedom to choose where to go, what to see, and what to do, while your product message is completely the focus of the fun?
You develop a customized Virtual Reality Game, bring the high-tech systems to the trade show floor, and watch your enthusiastic guests line-up to interact with your products virtually!
Just ask the marketing folks at Hoechst Celanese Technical Polymers, who recently completed a successful trade show using StrayLight Corp.s Virtual Reality services. Working closely with Hoechst Celaneses booth designer and advertising agency, StrayLight developed a custom Virtual Reality game and provided the equipment, staffing, and technical assistance. For Hoechst Celanese, this Virtual Reality (VR) event simultaneously increased booth traffic and educated thousands of guests at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) 97 in Detroit, Michigan.
Hoechst Celanese was very interested in developing an integrated booth presentation for SAE. Their booth attraction needed to be more than just fun and games; it had to represent six brands across several Hoechst divisions, and clearly define the applications for each of their automotive product lines. The presentation medium had to be technically sophisticated to tie in with their overall booth design and image, and yet the presentation had to be extremely exciting; drastically increasing booth traffic was a must!
At last, the answer was an engaging custom designed Virtual Reality experience, titled "An Automotive Adventure". The obstacles to overcome were budgetary constraints and production time. StrayLight suggested working with an existing game shell, instead of starting from scratch, and adding new characters, graphics, and logos. This option saved Hoechst Celanese over $75,000 in set-up costs, and the modified game had the same look and feel of a full custom experience.
The premise of "An Automotive Adventure" follows: Flying space robots have taken over the city. You have been chosen to save the world from these alien creatures. Armed with your sophisticated laser wand, you have less than three minutes to locate and transform Hoechst Celaneses highly classified, technical polymers, rid earth from the robotic take-over, and save the world.
To play "An Automotive Adventure", each guest stepped into one of StrayLights compact 3D-XTCÔ VR systems. Each player was given two navigation tools, a high end Virtual Reality helmet and a special hand controller. Throughout the VR game, StrayLights staff spoke to each player through a hidden microphone system located inside the VR helmet. This voice-coaching feature makes each player feel comfortable with the technology and helps guests achieve success on every game play. The microphone system also allows for added fun, by linking multiple players together, so they can discuss and strategize with one another throughout their VR journey.
As "An Automotive Adventure" begins, players are greeted with an introductory voice-over from Hoechst Celanese, while viewing the companys logo as a 3D billboard in the cityscape. They race through the streets in search of different colored mounds of polymer pellets. Each colored mound represents a different polymer brand, and they must transform each pile with their laser wand, to reveal the product logo and a sample application (for example a red pellet pile morphs into an ATV - All Terrain Vehicle, a fuel release lever, or a trunk release lever.) You must locate and transform all of the pellets, while fighting off the alien space robots, who are guarding the precious polymers. Spinning discs with custom graphics are strategically placed throughout the game to challenge even the most avid of game players.
"By combining the elements of fun, personal interaction, and product attributes, StrayLight designed a Virtual Reality game which clearly communicated our clients marketing message." says Victoria Massulli, StrayLights Director of Marketing. "Another advantage for Hoechst Celanese was the affordable price, because they chose to modify an existing game, instead of designing a new game from scratch."
SAE attendees watched their peers play inside multiple 3D-XTCÔ VR pods, through large computer monitors perched next to each VR station. Thus the VR adventure could also be enjoyed by everyone who walked past the 3D-XTCÔ systems. The Hoechst Celanese sales force gathered leads and discussed their products, as their clients waited in-line for the Virtual Reality adventure.
The Virtual Reality systems can be incorporated into almost any design layout. StrayLights 3D-XTCÔ systems are very compact units, with a footprint of only 12 square feet. The external display devices can range from small television sets and computer monitors, to large video walls or projection systems.
The style of the VR game can also be incorporated into the design and theme of the booth itself. For example, StrayLight developed a custom VR game for The Steel Recycling Institute, which was taken to 6 shows this past year alone. Part of the booth designers presentation included silver 7 ft robot mannequins to hold the external display monitors. Thus the chosen futuristic theme was present in both the VR software, hardware, and overall booth design and graphics.
Exhibit Managers will have a greater selection of VR games to choose starting this month, as StrayLight announces a new Virtual Reality experience, "Cozmik Debris II - The Space Journey Continues". "Cozmik Debris II" is a magical journey where players fly through mazes of wild and wacky tunnels, including a 70s disco-trip, and a underwater expedition. Along the way players come face-to-face with bizarre life forms, and alien creatures. The game scenario, complete with scoring, is perfect for corporate customization including logos and themed-product placements.
As technology continues to progress at lightening speed, the advancement of high-tech promotions will continue to tantalize and excite even the most jaded trade show attendee. For the exhibit manager, StrayLights approach provides custom VR creations at an affordable price. Virtual Reality promotions have defined themselves as a proven marketing tool for trade shows as they: increase sales leads, act as traffic builders, create a buzz of must-see around our booth, and completely immerse clients inside a specific interactive marketing presentation.
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StrayLight Corp.