Experiential Marketing is the art of creating an experience where the hoped-for result is an emotional connection to a person, brand, product or idea. It is a form of marketing or advertising based on the principle of marketing a product or brand through an experience rather than the placement of advertisements.

While an experience can be had in many ways, for example a wine tasting to promote a new brand of wine or champagne, to a virtual golf simulator to promote the sport, in the year 2009 and entering 2010, what would be considered ground breaking or a next-gen way of providing an experience to an audience or consumer? This was the challenge Real Vision was faced with when appointed to brain storm and create a solution for the sales center for one of the most ambitious upcoming City projects in India.  This project is being called free India’s first Hill station City – Lavasa

The Challenge :

Lavasa is an upcoming mega project consisting of villas, condos, large academic research centers, 5 star hotels and boulevards designed around Nature, hills and a green living biodiversity concept. The first phase of this city is almost ready for handover to its new citizens and has a picturesque lake as a backdrop which is fed by waterfalls during India’s monsoon season.

The on-site sales center is a multi story building with one floor dedicated to the Lavasa Experience Zone which is open year round to visitors to learn more and who may be interested in becoming future residents. Lavasa has distinct seasons, Summer, Monsoon, and Winter. The challenge was to allow visitors to experience these different seasons all at the same time!

Seasons of Lavasa -A Multi sensory Marketing Experience:

After brainstorming many possible and some not so practical ways for visitors to experience actual life through the seasons at the Sales Center, some of which included ideas such as temperature and scent controlled rooms, to wind fans blowing mist and leaves… We settled on giving visitors an experience that uses Surround Sound, Surround Visuals in 3D and surround ambient lighting.

The entire experience is based on converting one of the large rooms in the Sales Center into a replica “villa” that is being sold in this nature city. The interior of the room is made to resemble the living room of a villa, while a large 3D screen is the “window” overlooking the virtual valley. A stereoscopic 3d film takes visitors on a journey through the seasons of Lavasa, using ambient lighting that shifts through the hues of sky-blue to a deep orange sunset in sync with the visuals on screen.

Visitors to the “villa” wear a pair of polarized 3D glasses to experience the sights and sounds of life in Lavasa. As 3D butterflies “break through” the virtual window and enter the user’s space, younger audiences reach out involuntarily as if to allow the floating butterflies to settle on the palms of their hands.

People take in the sounds of distant thunderclaps in 5.1 surround sound as CGI rain drops come rushing at them in 3D. It is said that immediately after the rains in Lavasa, the valley fills with clouds, and you literally walk amongst the clouds. This is the next enhancement to the multi sensory experience lined up for visitors to the sales center – A fog machine that sends out a quiet burst of rolling fog, in sync with the visuals on screen and triggered by cues in the video track.

Stereoscopic 3D video accompanied by surround sound and other sensory stimulants, allow the ‘brand’ to be ported to another location, thereby re-creating if necessary, an experiential marketing solution of the place at an overseas sales center or trade show!

The whole purpose of an Experiential Marketing Solution is to create an Emotional Bond between the audience and the brand. Real Vision via the creative use of technology and an understanding of through the line Digital Advertising makes this happen at Lavasa.

A follow up 3D video on what Biodiversity living is all about can be viewed here in 3D on Youtube. (red-cyan 3d glasses required).