The brief

Deliver an innovative experience to promote the Welsh food production industry during the Food Matters Live Exhibition, Excel Arena, November 2018.

Key objectives

• Increase food buyer interest in Welsh food
• Showcase as many Welsh food producers as possible to food buyers at FML
• Showcase Welsh food to highlight the quality and taste by wowing food buyers with a food experience
• Tell the story of food-producing in Wales
• Excite food buyers to become more interested in Wales and in turn Welsh food producers

Insight

The most successful way to tell the story, and show people Wales (without physically taking them there) is to use Virtual Reality (VR). The challenge with VR however, is that historically it is a singular experience. Therefore, we proposed utilising a 360 dome and projection mapping, to create a fully immersive space, to give the feeling of being in Wales. 

Process

Our immersive tech team travelled through Wales, capturing Welsh produce, visiting farms, factories and fishermen with one of our high spec 360 cameras. All content in the dome was shown in 8k to allow the stunning visual locations and landmarks from around Wales to be seen in crystal clarity. 

As well as visual images of Wales, the VR experience indulged the audience with authentic sounds of Wales as well as dry ice aromas of the produce - giving food buyers a complete sensory experience.

For total immersion, we also matched the food with the locations - for example, showing a harbour/seaside setting for the fish course; rolling hills and grass-covered valleys for the meat course. The dessert course, and the artisan food utilised “fresh” locations such as waterfalls, vineyards.

Feedback

The feedback from the visitors was outstanding, with 100% of visitors requesting more information or a further meeting, and over 95% of all visitors said they felt the experience was "world-class!". We also ensured 26 food producers were highlighted, compared to 8 the previous year using the formal stand process, resulting in an increased awareness of Wales and the food industry.

The Welsh Government has commissioned us to deliver the exact same experience at two more events in 2019, as well as numerous confirmations from European companies to deliver a similar experience.

"It was so well done – really immersive. I really like that the food was experienced with more than just taste – with your senses. I really like how they brought all that together."