The Power of XR and Interactive Experiences

Over the last few years, interactive technologies have become increasingly popular as effective, engaging forms of marketing. The way that consumers interact with brands and the world around them is changing fast, with increasingly higher expectations and an appetite for immersive experiences.

As an experiential technology company, we pride ourselves on using XR to bridge the digital and physical worlds, creating unique, forward thinking experiences for our clients. We know that the use of XR and interactive elements can elevate an immersive experience, supercharging engagement and building deeper connections.

In the experiential tech industry there is more often than not an element of XR employed in activations, be it interactive screens, projection mapping or virtual spaces, the potential is endless. 

So what exactly is XR and why does it have such an important role to play when it comes to interactive experiences?

XR, short for Extended Reality, is an umbrella term that covers augmented, virtual and mixed reality (and everything in between). Originally used in the gaming and entertainment industries, XR has been around for a long time. The recent rise of AI has brought with it a fresh interest in XR and, as a result, it has become a valuable marketing and sales tool.

Here we break down some of our favourite Lighthouse Studio interactive experiences and how we have utilised XR technologies to create and elevate each one.

Digital Futuregram for B Lab Europe 

For their 10 year anniversary, we partnered with B Lab Europe to develop an interactive installation as part of their festival at the NEMO Science Museum, Amsterdam. 

They wanted an experiential installation that would engage the 1000+ guests and highlight the B Lab message. In response we developed the Futuregram; a digital message booth that captured and shared guest’s vision of a future with B Corp. 

Inspired by our award winning doodle booth technology, our digital message booth combined interactive iPad screens with the large screen projector in the museum space. We asked guests "What does the future of the B Corp Movement look like?" They could then write their answers on the iPad screens where their messages were instantly transferred via a custom digital program onto the large museum screen. 

The result was an immersive space with a constant evolving carousel of inspiration. We loved using the combination of an immersive experience and interactive elements to create an engaging digital activation that was use continuously throughout the event. 

Find out more about our Futuregram here

AI Face Swap Booth

The Face Swap booth is our newest AI tech experience at Lighthouse Studio. Our creative team combined advanced facial recognition with sophisticated special effects technology and image manipulation to develop this new immersive activation. 

Our AI booth is able to transform guests into a portrait of our client’s choosing with just the touch of a button, creating interactive and immersive physical and digital content that aligns directly with brand image and messaging. 

This incredibly entertaining activation can be installed in any space, with our team designing custom structures to host the digital AI booth. 

Find out more about the AI Face Swap booth here

Northern Lights Immersive Experience 

To create our Northern Lights immersive space, we utilised interactive projection technology to build a unique, visually stunning experience. 

As part of a festive event, we developed this interactive installation inspired by the Aurora Borealis to transform a familiar, everyday space into an extraordinary canvas of colours and light. The work wasn’t just an isolated display, but a playful fusion of art and technology bringing the magic of the Northern Lights into a cosy London venue. 

The use of projection and movement sensors allowed us to create this unique space, adding a digital layer to an analog space. We turned the movements of guests into visual effects that mimicked the Aurora, inviting them to play with the lights in real time whilst flooding the space with colours and movement. The perfect example of how XR, when combined with interactive elements, is elevated into a more engaging, memorable experience. 

Find out more about the Northern Lights experience here

These are just a handful of our newest interactive and immersive activations that integrate different forms of XR tech. As a B Lab UK company we are conscious of both the power and responsibility that accompanies the use of these technologies. B Corp has clear parameters for the ethical use of AI, for example, that we are held accountable to. 

We also know that there are positive environmental impacts to using XR technologies vs physical materials, for example; projecting logos and signage at events instead of printing, or using VR for consumers or investors to view products or spaces virtually before production.

We don’t know how consumers will be engaging with brands in the next 10 years, or what the use of XR technology will look like, but we do know that the power of interactive and immersive experiences is only going to continue to grow, and that’s a future we are excited for!

Find our more about what we do at Lighthouse Studio here