Wood.
Corporate Communications, Events
Worldwide offices, worldwide success and a stylish new brand to match. Wood are global leaders in quality, expertise and ingenuity; and their Offshore Europe exhibition 'Art of the Possible' was no different.
When projects come about that are dedicated to ingenuity, innovation and to making art possible – we stand up and listen. At Pufferfish, we strive to align ourselves with global organisations that are dedicated to evolving, developing, and in the words of Wood: ‘never standing still’.
Imagine our excitement then when the exceptional team at Bray Leino got in touch regarding an activation with their powerhouse client, Wood.
BRIEF
Wood is an organisation who recently undertook a huge global re-branding. Having strong historic ties to the engineering and oil & gas industries, the business has been through changes in both brand, messaging, sector focusses, and global expansion. Now stocked with 400+ offices across 60+ countries, and with 60,000+ employees – they have strengthened their reputation for quality, expertise, and ingenuity worldwide.
With such a mammoth re-branding, Wood wanted to showcase their new do (if you will) and commitment to innovation to their peers, so they partnered with creative agency Bray Leino to assist them in creating an unforgettable exhibit for SPE Offshore Europe, 2019.
The brief was to use a traffic-stopping technology that would attract and engage visitors, as well as activate their new identity as Wood for the first time at Offshore Europe this using an overall theme of the ‘Art of the Possible’ – a theme dedicated to exploring Wood’s ability to adapt and to embrace change. Welcome then the PufferTouch2+, aka their very own ‘interactive sculpture’, to bring the WOW-factor!
SOLUTION
To stand out from the crowd at large trade shows, you need to not just be visually engaging, but you have to appeal to a curious and tactile audience. It’s about hooking people in, about creating conversation, shared experiences, and ensuring separate user journeys can occur for a diverse crowd. It’s about taking away the solitary user model, and putting human connection at the core of that engagement. Memories are better when shared, as we like to say!
Our PufferTouch2+ was created with shared experiences at its very core. It allows for eye contact around the sphere from all angles, meaning conversation, debate and interaction can occur, and its magnetic nature can come alive. Making it an ideal feature for trade shows around the world.
In the case of Wood, we knew the PufferTouch® with its sleek white Corian enclosure would fit right in with the art gallery theme, and we knew it’s exceptional projection technology and UHD resolution would present their brand messaging with the strength it needed. So the next step was creating a turnkey application that would tell the Wood story.
CONTENT
Having worked with Pufferfish before, Bray Leino had a very clear vision of how they felt Wood’s new visual identity could come alive on the sphere. They knew a globe application would showcase the Wood offering worldwide (and in its inherent form), and would allow for features like staff profiles and case studies to be explored in an intuitive, exciting manner. We collaborated with their expert team on their visual assets, which helped them create their own mandala style menu in their branding - to ensure every aspect of the application was cohesive with their new brand messaging and strong visual marketing identity.
To ensure the content in the app didn’t overwhelm (which was a big task with such a complex global offering), Wood chose a clear structure that focussed on four key aspects of the business. Those aspects covered:
- The Employee Experience – Showcasing staff profiles across their worldwide offices, and including quotes about their experiences with Wood.
- Where we Work – A colour coded map of the world highlighting where Wood have a presence.
- Experience Wood – Where key marketing videos from their global archive could be played, and galleries viewed.
- Project Examples – Where image assets could be viewed, and key information could be understood across global offices and global sectors.
Being the first activation of many, the dynamic yet clear structure would also allow the app to be added to and expanded upon for future event. Ensuring there is always something new and relevant to explore, and both new and old visitors will have a fresh experience.
OUTCOME
The result was an eye-catching, polished and highly memorable application that not just showcased Wood’s strong visual identity, but it also explored their wider business strengths in a completely new way. With their theme of ingenuity, innovation, and to always being adaptable and agile, the PufferTouch2+ acted as a strong aperitif to the wider art gallery. It looked as beautiful as an ‘interactive sculpture’ should, but had the added value of being highly intuitive, and able to offer brand messaging with real potency.
The stand also incorporated other innovative features, like Andy Warhol inspired artwork, interactive portrait media, digital collages, and more. And overall, created the atmosphere of an art gallery we would gladly visit on the high street - and an environment that stood out amongst their competition.
This activation made it very clear – there’s a new Wood in town, and they mean business!
With visual marketing and branding in general, it can be a hard job to stay consistent while also remaining innovative. But our tech allows clients to stay true to their key brand profile but have it come alive in a whole new dimension, with shared experiences, conversation and interaction. And after all, aren’t the best memories made when shared? We certainly think so!
Thank you again to the Wood team, and the team at Bray Leino. We thoroughly look forward to working with you both further, and fully support your commitment to ingenuity and never standing still.