Volkswagen - Hannover Messe
Volkswagen
Corporate Communications, Events
When a world-renowned brand like Volkswagen need a show stopper, where do they go?
Volkswagen are a brand synonymous with automotive excellence. The VW name means quality, it means innovation, and it means technological achievement in millions of products. When their research and development team were confirmed as having a booth space at one of the world’s biggest trade shows, Hannover Messe, they knew they needed something that would transform their work, and stimulate truly memorable conversations with the industry’s most prolific minds.
Hannover Messe is not just the biggest trade show in Germany, it’s also one of the biggest in the world. Bringing together successful brands in engineering, global business, automotive, industrial innovation, energy solutions, 5G and digital ecosystems, advanced manufacturing, and more; it sees the likes of Angela Merkel attend each year, and as a result, drives the dedication to, and support of, German innovation.
BRIEF
Volkswagen’s R&D team were set to showcase their incredible work in the fields of concept vehicle design, driverless vehicle technology, and other key areas of their research; so they came to Pufferfish to source a tool that would not just transform their way of presenting, but engage the enormous foot fall at the event, and above all else – be a centre piece for presentations with groups of colleagues, clients, partners and competition throughout the trade show.
With other technologies like VR having been considered, they were determined to find a piece of technology that wouldn’t isolate experience. They wanted something that would act as a digital camp fire, drawing visitors in, and ensuring engagement could be experienced together. They wanted shared experiences to enhance the communication surrounding their research, and ensure their brand messaging was remembered.
Another key component for VW was that the technology offered flexibility for continued use in the future. The R&D team needed something they could utilise for both internal presentations, and also for external presentations and outreach events.
SOLUTION
With our PufferTouch2+ solution being our brightest to date, and offering a multi-touch, UHD screen, it was the strongest option for what is usually a very brightly lit trade show hall. The eye-catching solution would also serve as a magnet for foot traffic, and ensure their work was not just remembered, but enjoyed and discussed throughout the event. The easy to deploy system would also ensure they could re-use it in office, and on site for other events.
Our PT2+ solution also offers access to our Pufferfish Software Suite (PufferPrime and Application Builder), to ensure they could continue to develop fresh content for future events. This ensured they had the ability to augment and add new features to the existing application Pufferfish would develop for the initial show at Hannover Messe.
CONTENT
Once the technology was decided, the next step was to ensure their R&D work was communicated with real gravitas through an interactive globe application. Our team of developers curated a VW Earth with three different areas of interactivity. Firstly, it was the ‘Innovation Hub’ section - This section featured interactive hotspots for all the VW innovation hubs around the world. The Volkswagen logo would serve as a button across locations like Wolfsburg, Barcelona, Tokyo, Tel Aviv and more. Once the button had been engaged with, it would unlock visual media showcasing the work they had done to date, current R&D projects at that location, and would also illuminate a green line to the next innovation hub location.
The second section was relating to ‘Partners’. Similar to the Innovation Hub section, it would activate key hotspots across the globe, but this time locations where their key Partners were located, such as Tel Aviv and California. Once activated, these would also showcase visual media, including 3-Lune full sphere video content.
The third and final section was all about data. Our inhouse GIS Cartographer included data visualisations within the application to further enhance dwell time and overall engagement. With a specific concentration on climate change data, he included the NASA GSFC Carbon Dioxide Model Simulation of carbon dioxide distribution in the atmosphere. This showcased two climate scenarios, an extreme or a moderate climate response, and the subsequent effects on the planet. So, when people were engaging with the application on their own, outside of presentations, they had layers of global data they could interact with.
OUTCOME
The Hannover Messe was a great success for Volkswagen, and the wider research and development team. With a busy booth throughout the trade show, they had many conversations around the PT2+, and were able to really engage people with their work, their innovations, and the future of their R&D work around the world.
With the combination of engaging technology, intuitive content, the ability to draw people in together, and to explore the globe – the VW way – in a shared experience like no other at the event; it was a great way to embody their commitment to future technologies; and their wider standing in the automotive innovation world. The PT2+ is still in use and booked for multiple internal and external events and is continuing on its promise of being a versatile, flexible tool for future use.
Watch this space for more from VW, and more on their stories of inspiring innovation!