IBM Mobile: Outage Experience

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is a huge expo of tech companies showing off their latest mobile innovations. IBM challenged us to break through the noise and feature their mobile back-end technology.

We wanted to show how crucial this “hidden technology” can be, especially in an emergency situation. So we created a unique interactive theater experience for attendees. They were able to guide the storyline of an action film, while seeing IBM Mobile’s capabilities in action.

We turned a product demo into an interactive action film experience.

The Story

We start with a dire emergency: a city-wide blackout. Without hesitation, the power station technicians have to make crucial decisions (using IBM Mobile technology) and restore power. 

The Experience

We constructed our own immersive theater in the center of IBM’s expo space. Each audience group selected a ‘captain’ who controlled the story direction. At decision points, the captain only had moments to choose a path on the touchscreen.

We also created a similar experience online, for those who weren’t able to attend in person.

We served as the core creative team from the creation and pitch of the idea through the four day run at MWC. For the film itself, we scripted each of the story branches, collaborated with our director on the shoot, and guided the the post-production process (graphics, editorial, and mixing). For the booth and online experiences, we collaborated with our internal tech team and vendors to guide the UI and UX design process and the installation in Barcelona. We were also responsible for creating supporting social and digital promotional materials for the activation. 

Results
Attendance, social impressions, PR earned and leads generated all exceeded our clients’ expectations, becoming IBM’s most successful year at MWC ever.

Awards
Global ACE Awards - Winner (Integrated Marketing Campaigns)
Global ACE Awards - Winner (Digital/Technology Powered Experience)
Global ACE Awards - Winner (Event/Trade Show Marketing)
Global ACE Awards - Runner-up (Demand Generation Campaign)
Effie Awards - Finalist (Brand Experience: Virtual/360)
Effie Awards - Finalist (Brand Experience: Internet/Telecom)
Creativity Online - “Editor’s Pick”

Press Coverage
Creativity, Best Ads on TV, Ads of the World, Ads of Brands, Hype, LA Egotist, Adforum, Shots, The Stable, LBB, Coloribus, Sawt, Reel Chicago

Credits
Senior CW: Greg Kissler (partner)
ACD: Juliane Hadem
ECD: Keith Anderson & George Tanenbaum
Experience Tech Directors: Kevin Hamel & Jessica Criscione
Producers: Joe Maire & Sara Vargas
Director: Brad Turner, Merman
VFX: MPC