Insights

Crossover Activations: Using Technology to Connect Your Audience to Content

As experiential events evolve, so do the technologies incorporated into them.

Now more than ever, the pressure is on to create highly curated, impactful, personal experiences for our target attendees. An all-encompassing event needs to resonate and inspire audiences at every touchpoint, in an authentic way, in order to make a lasting impression. Technology is a common medium that, when employed right, helps bridge the gap between content and the attendee to make that experience a memorable one. To that end, it is critical to ensure the type of technology makes sense for the setting and is threaded seamlessly throughout. One top trend FIRST is seeing and implementing often in a variety of events types, is the concept of crossover activations: technology that incorporates different art, digital, audio, visual, and physical layers to it.

Painting projection of starry night

FIRST has embraced this trend at several recent events, including:

LG SIGNATURE Gallery brand launch: An LED ‘glass gallery,’ featuring a 53’ long x 17’ wide by 16’ tall four-sided structure, completely built of LED panels – it included cameras that broadcast live content in Rockefeller Center to create the illusion of transparency

AOL FutureFront: Theatrical immersion tunnel with overhead and side LED walls which rolled 60-second video including bold audio and beautiful imagery

LG The Art of the Pixel Gala: State of the art projection mapping displayed on the walls of Gotham Hall to form an interactive art gallery

 

By having technology as the main driver of the content at each of these programs while infusing an artistic or structural angle to it, FIRST was able to achieve clients’ goals, getting the main message to attendees in highly unique ways. The technology experiences were not singular like Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) activations – any attendee, whether they went out of their way to participate or not, was automatically exposed to the content.

Scopes of executing crossover-style activations range from doubling as décor, designed to enhance an event’s ambience and theme, to creating authentic touchpoints fueled by technology. As an added bonus, regardless of the medium, this style of activation actually has the ability to receive data and measurements. This changes the game for event metrics and the amount and length of touchpoint interactions that brands can utilize at their events. By creating opportunities to collect information in an organic way helps encourage authenticity of the response as well.

The fusion of art and technology allows for a beautiful and functional addition to an event. Technology is already a given in most cases, but diversifying activations with different sensations is what will help catapult your event and your brand to the next level.

Open screens at event style awards