Hybrid Exhibitions: Where physical meets digital

Topics: Technology & Hybrid Realities, Branding & Communication

Hannah Gutkauf
Global Managing Partner, Tech Innovation
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The pandemic fast-forwarded digital augmentation of the physical space. Find out what the business case is for hybrid exhibitions and spatial design, and see examples of how to blend the digital and physical successfully.

Some call it phygital

Fast tracking changes

While the digital transformation of the exhibition and event space had been announced for a decade, it was not until Covid19 that the industry was disrupted. Suddenly, the big industry players saw the benefit of investing in hybrid events, so they prototyped, conceptualised, and fast-tracked yesteryear's signals of change.

From corporate branding to reach, to strategies for diversity and inclusion across to business pitches and recruitment, the use case is growing.

Complementary partners

Balancing act

The critical balancing act for companies investing in hybrid events and experiences is to ensure that the physical and the digital act as complementary partners, where one does not overshadow the other. While nothing might be better than meeting face-to-face, there are now alternatives which are more cost-efficient and inclusive in terms of culture and representation.

While physical events provide a robust platform for businesses to engage with their audiences, this connection cannot be transformed 1-to-1 as the false dawns of Second Life and – dare we say it – The Metaverse – exemplify. However, the connection can be amplified and scaled by adding digital layers.

At Manyone, we see a shift amongst our most innovative clients, wanting to utilise and scale digital information layers across their physical touchpoints. Customers often expect customised narratives, which is difficult to achieve with the static nature of physical exhibitions, fairs, offices or visitor centres.

Below are some of Manyone's most recent projects with companies making significant progress with hybrid events and experiences.

Novo Nordisk

Bringing legacy to life in a multi-reality exhibition

In 2022, Novo Nordisk entrusted us with a once-in-a-century challenge. For their 100th anniversary the following year, they needed an innovative way to tell their story, engaging a wide range of audiences across multiple digital and physical brand touchpoints. We designed a multi-dimensional exhibition consisting of a state-of-the-art physical exhibition, interactive web design, and explorative VR.

The bespoke physical exhibition was designed to mimic the award-winning architecture of the Novo Nordisk HQ in Denmark. Its curved 4-meter-tall walls served as a canvas for numerous stories, images, and artefacts. Showcasing the past, present, and future of health, the physical exhibition embodied a century of innovation.

Our award-winning web experience, integral to the physical exhibition as well as an immersive digital exhibition, showcased the story globally. Through non-linear and interactive storytelling, audiences were empowered to explore hundreds of artefacts, biographies, photographs, videos, and testimonials.

To bridge the digital and physical world, we utilised photogrammetry to create accurate digital replicas of significant physical artefacts, allowing them to be explored in AR. The content of the web exhibition served as the central content hub for social media campaigns in all markets.

The physical exhibition incorporated three VR stations, enabling visitors to experience Novo Nordisk’s past, present, and future firsthand. Guided by the voice of Nova – a representation of the future generations – VR users interacted with the founders of the company in their 1923 laboratory and worked with AI to create a letter to future generations.

For the VR experience, we digitally reconstructed the founder’s apartment in Copenhagen using scans and 3D modelling. We used full-body photogrammetry to recreate the founders themselves, rebuilding their faces from old photographs, mapping these onto 3D models, and attaching them to the scanned polygon meshes, one vertex at a time.

Guardknox

Next generation of software-defined mobility

The GuardKnox XR experience is a bespoke interactive installation specifically designed and created to showcase GuardKnox's groundbreaking automotive technology. The company is spearheading the next generation of software-defined mobility. Manyone was tasked to create a captivating and educational experience that presents their products.

We created a bespoke mixed-reality journey hitched to a 3D-printed and scaled car on top of a podium.

Using a Microsoft Hololens, users can follow a floating virtual assistant narrator that explains how Guardknox’s services and technology enable a better, safer and more frictionless future for automotive mobility.

Combining the digital experience with the physical car model, users experience a seamless tactile interaction while immersed in the experience.

The Guardknox XR Experience was displayed at multiple established automotive and mobility conferences around the US, sparking great conversations, intriguing potential customers, and setting the stage for later strategic partnerships. It is currently a central piece of their office visitor experience, used strategically for recruitment.

Kamstrup

Better discussions with your customers

At Kamstrup, a global leader in water and energy metering and management, Manyone was engaged to develop a hybrid customer experience centre at the corporate HQ. The purpose of the experience is to showcase the company’s key offerings, in terms of hardware and software, and communicating these in clear and understandable terms to facilitate better commercial conversations with Kamstrup’s customers.

The experience was designed as a hybrid introduction to Kamstrup’s physical and digital offerings. Each touchpoint – an interactive wall, physical product or digital dashboard – enables compelling storytelling of the added value Kamstrup can offer customers through products or as advisors. Combined, the spatial experience is tailored to allow visitors to understand the potential of intelligent metering solutions and services. The physical artefacts connected with the digital assets introduce the whole breadth of possibility in Kamstrup’s offerings, and notably, the experience acts as a commercial conversation enabler.

"A smart way to create unique experiences for customers and employees while diversifying cost is to create digital information layers that can be utilised across several physical touchpoints - showcasing use cases, painting a picture of the company's vision or utilise existing digital assets such as video, sound, or 3D assets.

Also, we all want to be entertained and mesmerised - going the extra mile and creating memorable experiences, often connecting to a more emotional storytelling level, pays off when it comes to long-term brand value and cutting through the noise in a dense competitor landscape."

Get in touch

Hannah Gutkauf, Global Partner

hannah.gutkauf@manyone.com

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Where physical meets digital