Ensuring a Seamless Brand Activation Through VR
When your team is hybrid or remote – like us – effective collaboration is crucial. Especially when you only have three weeks to bring a concept to life. The Quantious team recently partnered with a leading company in the travel industry to celebrate their acquisition of a startup. With just one chance to execute a flawless brand activation, we turned to virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) to plan and execute the event. Our goal was to create a branded experience that both announced the acquisition and introduced the company’s expanded offerings to the US market.
The Details
The client wanted to celebrate their expansion into the US market in a way that would leave a lasting impression. Our concept was simple: a branded food truck handing out free treats to spread the good news. However, executing this idea within three weeks required precision, collaboration, and a lot of creativity. We needed to ensure that every detail was perfect, from the initial concept to the final event.
Remote Collaboration and VR Planning
Our Quantious team is fully remote, distributed across the US. Given the tight timeline and complexity of the project, our team would not have the time to convene and scout the event locations in person. “If it weren’t for VR and MR, our team would have wasted countless hours driving to locations and looking for the perfect spot the day of the event – risking failure if we were not at all familiar with the area. With a hard deadline in the mix, it was a game changer to turn travel time into time to create, plan, and collaborate with five team members,” said Rick Esposito, our Program Lead for this activation. “As a team, we were able to visit two separate locations across the country from us, scouting places to set up, park, and virtually tour an office complex, all from the comfort of our own desks.”
The Meta Quest Wooorld app brought a 3D map of the event locations into our offices, in Mixed Reality. Using the platform, we conducted virtual site checks, allowing us to visualize and plan the layout of the event spaces without physically being there. This remote collaboration allowed us to make quick decisions, ensure alignment across teams, and stay on track with our aggressive timeline.
Delivering the Experience
The Quantious team provided comprehensive support for the project:
Feasibility & Pre-Production Management: We began with ideation, research, and negotiations with vendors to bring the concept to life. Our team handled the initial concepting, campaign tagline recommendation, budgeting, location/logistics research, and timeline expectations.
Branded Collateral: We created and fulfilled all branded materials, from sidewalk signage to food truck decals, to ensure the client’s brand was prominently displayed. This included the identification and management of fabrication partners.
Vendor Management & Facilitation: We coordinated with the selected food truck vendor, ensuring everything was ready for the big day. The food truck was scheduled to distribute treats at two different locations for approximately four hours.
Day of Support & Content Capture: On the day of the event, our on-site team handled the setup of all branded collateral and ensured that the treat distribution was operating seamlessly. We also captured content to document the event, which was later used to create a sizzle video.
The Results
The event was a success, with the branded food truck serving free treats to thrilled employees and visitors. The branding elements, from the food truck's design to the branded QR code napkins, created a memorable experience on this sunny day in California. The event not only celebrated the company's expansion into the US market but also reinforced their commitment to a positive customer experience.
Through meticulous planning, creative execution, and the use of VR and MR tools, Quantious ensured that this brand activation was seamless and impactful. The collaboration across our team and with the client's marketing team was instrumental in turning this concept into reality in record time, demonstrating the power of using innovative tools in event planning.
The project, from strategy to sweets, was executed flawlessly, and we couldn't be more pleased with the outcome (and the client’s CEO was pretty happy, too).