Virtual reality (VR) and other emerging technologies are being used by experiential agency The Company We Keep to create better events and activations for its clients and their patrons.
The business, founded a year ago by Nigel Ruffell, has already picked up clients including Salesforce, Docusign, R.E. and PWC.
Ruffell says VR has helped to “elevate” the experience patrons have, as well as cutting costs in the pre-planning phase for clients.
“We have used VR both to enhance the customer experience and to show our clients the full event and experiences before we built it all,” Ruffell says
“We are also looking into VR and integration with AI to create even better live experiences in events.”
In one year, Ruffell has grown the events and activation company from one person to a team of 12.
The team completed the Salesforce World Tour for Salesforce this year, which had over 14,000 registrations and included a 185 metre blended projection wall and bespoke content and also delivered the RE Summit 6 for 3000 people.
“We have used it for planning but also for speaker rehearsals with a virtual audience to help prepare for performances,” Ruffell says.
“The next step would be to introduce AI to make the interactions even more real. We also have plans to use it for people that can't physically attend to be there virtually.”
Even though technology plays a vital role in the experiences Ruffell and his team create, he says nothing beats face-to-face interaction.
“People are social in nature and to actually experience something for real and hear the brand message from the source creates a much larger brand empathy.”
Looking to 2020, Ruffell predicts brands will continue to focus on diversity, inclusion and equality in line with millennial audiences and the use of emerging technology will rise to create more immersive experiences.
He also says experiences will become more personalised and tailored to individuals just like other marketing content.
“We see a massive move to make sure relevance of the material and the experiences that individuals receive is based on their own likes, dislikes and needs,” he says.
“Making the experience more personal and bespoke is going to be key.”
Ruffell’s top tips for brands and experiential marketers:
- Don’t just cut and paste, do something new every time
- Don’t ever settle, strive for the best solutions again and again
- Don’t assume. Research, review, ask questions about everything
- Make sure you surround yourself with like-minded people working toward the same goal
- Create experiences that will generate a response from the audience
- Don’t be afraid. Do things differently, challenge normality by pushing the boundaries
- Be super nice to your wife!
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