International exhibiting can be challenging. Apart from inherent language barriers, there are various material restrictions, customs forms and logistics headaches lurking around just about every corner.
But your stakeholders don’t care to hear about any of these things. Just get the job done. And that’s exactly what Echelon was tasked to do when Accenture and Qualcomm approached us about the opportunity to create the GSMA Embedded Mobile Zone (EMZ) a collaborative effort with the association to showcase the latest trends in mobile technology across several verticals such as health, consumer products and automotive.
Our challenge was two part. One, design a 21.5m x 7m exhibit that would facilitate a combination of live, in-home and presentation-led demonstrations and that was tastefully branded as the EMZ. Two, deliver in less than five weeks.
Timing was critical from the outset of the project. We had to develop a cohesive environment that brought two Fortune 500 brands under the umbrella of GSMA’s EMZ. First, we had to determine how the space needed to function for all parties.
Accenture’s goal was to re-create an apartment setting that would allow it to demonstrate mobile applications for home domotics (automation of electronics within a residential dwelling), consumer health products and automotive solutions. As a requirement, our design had to incorporate the client’s 4’ x 3’ touch screen that would actually demonstrate prototype solutions for mobile devices. The idea is that you can establish a network over the electrical grid that services a home and then, through the use of several mobile applications, control settings in the home such as air temperature and lighting as well as receive real time updates on energy consumption.
Demonstrating the mobile applications for connecting home health care devices such as diabetic boots and weight scales was also a integral part of the presentation. The Accenture apartment, dubbed “Granny’s home” was set up to show buyers how advances in mobile technology could make it easier for baby boomers to stay in their homes longer, which translates into major savings in time and money in for consumers as well as insurance and health care providers.
On the Qualcomm side our goals were much the same; however, the path we took to accomplishing them was more along the lines of your standard trade show exhibit. Draw people inside the booth. Give them a demonstration of the applications over a web interface or rehearsed presentation. Ultimately, we established three zones for demos that included: Mobile Health, Consumer Electronics and Mobile Automotive.
We designed several custom elements for demos including double-sided kiosks, two bar-type counters with AV support, and a video wall to showcase mobile applications for automobiles. Finally, we had worked with a team of engineers to present a demo featuring an Audi A3 convertible that was its own hot spot capable of streaming live TV over a 3G network connection.
