When our client EMC Insurance told us early on that they wanted to include unique “experiences” for employees at the brand launch event, we were not only energized by the team’s vision but also excited at the prospect of what we could ultimately create.

The client team had already done tremendous work in organizing a historic event for the company. As a national insurance carrier, the workforce was spread out across the country, making opportunities for the majority of employees to gather in person logistically challenging. The team dug in and did the work, organizing a launch event dubbed “One EMC” where over 1,700 employees would gather at the headquarters in Des Moines to hear a keynote from the CEO and other leaders, an inspiring presentation from Scott Hamilton and other events.

For the brand experiences, we partnered with the tremendously talented team at Aardvark Studios (formerly FKB), and the journey to conceptualize and create the installations was inspiring and challenging. Ultimately, we created four distinct experiences, all completely custom-designed, programmed and fabricated:

1. An old school photo booth, that both gave employees branded, printed keepsakes but also sent digital versions of the pictures to a 20-foot-long interactive video wall
2. An immersive game called “Trusty Bubbles”, where teams of participants gathered on an area of the floor to dodge projection-mapped “trust eroders” or land on and collect “trust builders”
3. Two large scale, old school 8-bit style video games with full size standing gaming consoles and custom designed screen graphics, all geared around insurance scenarios and concepts

Apart from the ability to expertly craft seamless digital and physical installations, the team at Aardvark Studios were as passionate about brand as we were. This led to one of the most interesting parts of the project, and one I challenge anyone crafting unique experiences for employees or customers to take to heart: embrace the opportunity to “bend” your brand.

If your brand has been built the right way, you’d be surprised where it can take you. The task of figuring out how the new brand identity for EMC could adapt to 8-bit style animated characters, consoles and “Bouba/kiki”-inspired shapes that chased participants around the floor was demanding but incredibly rewarding. Far more than simply “sticking a logo” on some pre-built installations, the full integration of brand identity and personality into the entire experience not only made it more memorable, but also helped seat the concept behind the new brand firmly in employee’s minds.

Needless to say, the launch event was a huge success, the buzz of which is still being felt more than six months later. Taking the extra effort to be creative with the spirit and expression of your brand – bending, but not breaking, it – as you infuse it into immersive experiences keeps it alive in more ways than on