The most effective way to get an audience to care about a story is to make them feel like they are a part of it. This manifests itself in a few different ways. One approach caters directly to our search for community through fictional world-building. Think about what the Marvel and Game of Thrones franchises have in common, beyond huge budgets, exceptional actors, and foundational literary source material. They each take place within fictional worlds in which audiences can try to find their place. What Marvel hero would you be? To which great house in Westeros would you belong? That these questions are constantly asked of fans by friends and Buzzfeed alike speaks to the level of immersion that the franchises’ respective storytellers have been able to create. Instead of giving audiences a more comprehensive fictional world to engage with, a second approach to immersive storytelling instead gives audiences a more comprehensive sensory experience with the physical world they are already in; think VR, or movie theaters with rumbling chairs and mist. Creating additional touchpoints that appeal to an audiences’ other senses helps cement the experience in their minds and leaves a longer lasting impression than traditional approaches. Teachers have long used these principles to help their students retain lessons and with advances in technology content creators have adopted the same approach to diversify their storytelling. One particular tool that innovative organizations are using in this pursuit is large-format LED.
Speaking Your Audience’s Language
A storyteller needs to keep their audience in mind when crafting their story. More specifically, they need to keep their audience’s life experiences in mind when selecting their storytelling medium. As younger, more digitally fluent generations age into the population, forward-thinking corporations have integrated digital display solutions into their spaces to connect with clients, employees, and guests who expect to see screens everywhere they go. These companies are not just installing run-of-the-mill displays though. They are creating entire environments enveloped by displays.
One example of such an environment can be found in the Intel Museum at the Robert Noyce Center, where Intel is headquartered. In this space, Intel canvassed a raised ceiling and the four adjacent walls with LED boards, creating a digital canopy above a central sitting area. These displays are used to showcase a variety of content but are particularly effective at giving audiences the impression that they are literally inside an underwater kelp forest, or inside a hockey rink, or in a light show.
With their flagship Michigan Avenue location in Chicago, T-Mobile provides a second example of that approach. They invite customers into their retail space with a vibrant LED display that covers the full ceiling and one wall of their anterior entryway. Pedestrians outside can’t help but notice the display through the towering glass façade of the store and are immediately immersed in T-Mobile’s signature magenta when they step inside.
The Australian telecoms giant Telstra opted for an entirely unique display experience in their headquarters space. Instead of using flat-panel displays to blanket ceilings, walls, and floors, Telstra created what they call the Insight Ring, a 360-degree inward-facing display ring into which audiences can step and be surrounded by light. The enclosure is suspended at a 17-degree angle so guests and employees can enter the enveloping feature and RFID-enabled badges communicate with the display to show on-screen messages welcoming visitors by name.
Each of these huge companies have recognized that creating a lasting impression requires more than just a good story. You need to put your audiences inside that story, too. Large corporations recognize that the future of their workforce and customer base is represented in this younger generation, all of whom have been brought up with digital technology as a fundamental aspect of their lives. In order to inspire and impress these more digitally fluent people with their spaces, corporations have begun to create dynamic interior environments that physically envelop audiences in a digital experience. Innovative display owners don’t just use their displays to enhance their rooms; they use displays to create entirely new ones. To learn more about how these forward-thinking organizations are reimagining their spaces with LED technology, follow this link here.