Fortum
360° & VR, Corporate Communications
In 2017 Finland’s biggest energy company completed the move to a new head office space, designed around supporting flexible working and innovative collaboration.
Brief
As part of a broader corporate culture change and digital transformation (see 'Fortum and Microsoft' video above), strengthening innovativeness, promoting open interaction between employees and a modern management approach, Fortum wanted to ensure the new space in Espoo supported their objectives. Fortum strives to engage their customers and society to join the change for a cleaner world and were keen to integrate this mission in their new HQ.
Known for their focus on smart solutions for the future, they were impressed by the power of the interactive PufferSphere to tell global stories, while also being at the cutting-edge of interactive technology.
Curiosity is one of Fortum’s brand values and they needed something that would really capture people’s attention, inspire curiosity in them to learn more, and deliver a big impact.
It was important to the team that the right solution was something that not only encapsulated their brand but also engaged visitors, which includes special VIP groups, politicians and employees alike; and left all with a positive interaction with the brand.
Solution
With this in mind, we scoped out our most powerful system yet, the PufferTouch +, which harnesses the latest innovation in projection technology to incorporate an enhanced 4K resolution source. The use of ultra high-definition technology in the system doubles the pixel count for the sphere and extends the lifetime of the light source, from 2000 hours to 20,000 hours. This was an important consideration for a system that would be at the centre of a busy public space with minimal downtime.
We then focused on delivering an interactive application that would offer stunning visuals while educating and informing visitors.
Digital Content
Working directly with the brand team at Fortum we developed a fully branded, bespoke, interactive application. The resulting content allows people to explore and learn about global energy, such as the power that can be harnessed from rivers and oceans, in an intuitive way.
With two distinct types of interaction, the first is offered through a ‘mandala’ style button, a menu system that allows the user to change out the global data that forms the background of the app. These global datasets vary from CO2 emissions to ocean currents and more, and offer the user a unique view of the earth and environmental changes. With dynamic graphics that constantly move and spin, this menu system is visually enticing and invites interaction from users.
Fortum have pioneered in the use of 360° cameras at their plants and combining this footage with the PufferTouch, they can offer people an incredible insight to their operations, while reinforcing the idea that they are always using tech to innovate in their operations. The app houses multiple, geo-located 360° videos around the globe. Opened at the touch of a button, these videos play in their native 360° format around the full surface of the sphere, giving users the power to move and spin the video to follow the action.
A screensaver was also created to further invite interaction with the PufferTouch, playing a stunning 360° video layer of Fortum branded content.
Outcome
At reception, staff and visitors are welcomed with an immersive experience to transport them out of the ordinary, while inspiring them with stories of our how Fortum are taking an active role in driving the change for a better future.
Fortum are now equipped with the tools to tell the continuing narrative of their role in a world of sustainable energy. We're excited to join them on that journey, using our expertise and the powerful software at the core of our Pufferfish technology to update global datasets, refresh visual content and create increasingly sophisticated analytics and data visualisations to inspire their audience for many years to come.
“The PufferTouch is a living embodiment of the Fortum brand, our aims and our reputation for innovative collaboration. After a few months of use, it has proven to be the centrepiece of our new showroom.
We’re looking forward to developing our relationship with the team at Pufferfish, developing more content for our PufferTouch and pushing the boundaries of what we can do together.” - Aki Koskinen, Head of Brand, Fortum