Astute at electronica in Messe München

For the electronica EXPO – the world’s leading trade fair and conference for electronics in Munich Messe, we had the opportunity to rent our best full-motion portable VR formula simulators to the Astute company – the global electronic component specialists.

How can you WOW guests at one of the biggest electronic trade shows in the world? Easy – our client’s stand was attracted by the roar of 2 formula racing simulators placed side by side to create a competitive atmosphere. From professional racing drivers to complete beginners, everyone had the opportunity to enjoy a virtual Formula experience, achieving our primary goal – getting as many visitors as possible to an Astute stand.

Our eye-catching visitor’s magnet setup with two mobile full motion Formula racing simulators attracted many curious visitors to the Astute stand. The combination of sound, visual animation and vibrancy became a great show! Over four days, we captivated attendees with our immersive VR formula simulators and Astute-branded virtual racing tracks.

Each race took at most 7 minutes, allowing many people to try the racing experience without long waiting. Visitors to the exhibition appreciated the simplicity of controlling the virtual formula car and the clear instructions from our professional service staff, who were responsible for non-stop racing during the exhibition days. 

Eletronica is the world’s leading trade fair and conference for electronics. With its 60 years of history, this EXPO is a truly global event with 3400+ companies coming from all over the world. The exhibition’s story began in 1964 – the same year the Messe München was founded. It started in Munich with an electronica fair and was expanded in 1975 with productronica, a leading trade fair for electronics development and production. Eletronica is a worldwide network for electronics that combines innovations and trends with country-specific key topics and presents the entire electronics value chain. 

Logistics and installation time are critical. Because the Electronica EXPO is massive – 192,000m² area in 18 halls – you can get lost easily. We needed to install/deinstall full motion formula simulators in super fast time within the 2-hour window provided by the organizers. Clear rules for installation were key – we arrive, unload, and do the installation fast. This is an easy task for our team – our full-motion mobile Formula simulators are compact and transported in small components transferred on trolleys. We can manoeuvre them anywhere as they can pass via regular 80cm doors. That allows us to use entrances that the regular exhibition suppliers can not use. 

After we finished the installation within a given time frame, a client tested Formula simulators on a day before the event in a silent, visitors-free environment. We received a lot of positive feedback from both the client’s team and visitors, recognizing that we are able to strike a good balance between simply enjoying the experience of interacting with our simulators and communicating brand value through emotional branding.

We took a challenge to brand four racing tracks worldwide in the F1 style configuration with 2 main clients’ logos and 12 partners’ logos. Being a Virtual Branding Powerhouse, we used our Emotional Branding Ultra package to brand everything possible on the racing track – our team added clients’ logos to all sidewalls, billboards, bridges, LED TV screens, tarmac run-off, and even the grass run-offs areas! And all that without a single drop of chemical paint and glew! Even the iconic silvertone Giant Wheel was transformed with the Astute logo. We integrated Astute Inc. on the Formula racing car halo, which was visible permanently during any race. Nice slideshows before each race starts captivated potential attendees.

After the EXPO, our team decided to check and calculate – how many logos were shown during the event. We were surprised, to say the least – logos appeared more than 2,000,000 times! That is a true virtual branding record of achieving such significant numbers with just two full-motion portable Formula simulators in a 4-day event. Thanks to this frequency and visitors’ emotional involvement in the virtual race, the company’s branding has left a deep mark in the minds of both drivers and spectators.

Our virtual marketing service helps companies increase brand awareness at any event. We strive to help brands associate their image with power, prestige, speed, and sustainability. Our emotional branding service perfectly achieves those goals. It fits excellent into any event where you need to promote a brand and connect with visitors’ emotions. 

Electronica EXPO goes for 4 days. We needed to keep the excitement fresh! To connect the virtual Formula experience with our client’s physical presence, which spread in locations worldwide, we travelled to a new virtual racing track daily. 4 days – 4 virtual racing tracks in the UK, Germany, USA and Australia, referring to the countries where the company’s offices are located. This setup emphasised the company’s global presence in a great and unique way. A significant benefit of this scenario is to keep the challenge fresh, giving everybody an equal opportunity to compete and win prizes. Visitors can not prepare in advance for the virtual race, which gives them a higher chance to win compared to attendees without any experience.

Settings were set for beginners to give everyone a fair chance of winning. Some people managed to set faster times in VR; for others, just one screen worked the best. Special client’s request was to scan each visitor’s badge, allowing them to get contact details to use later to inform if they won the race and how they can get the prize.

On each new day, visitors had an opportunity to compete in the best time and win prizes. The best race time was entered in the results table in the client’s corporate style on the screen placed on the top of the stand. The client’s branding on the board was prominent all the time. Thanks to this height, visitors could see not only the current leaders but also the stand with the Astute logo from afar.

As Electronica is the world’s biggest electronics b2b fair, it was inevitable that we would see competition at the event. We found at least ten different simulator variations at the exhibition. Let’s check our competition and see where we easily beat them. Nobody used virtual reality – many visitors commented it provided a real WOW experience. We found simulators with two other motion platforms, but nobody used a superior super slient D-box system – the only one certified by the FIA – world racing organization. We are the only ones who can manage to install 2 Formula motion simulators into a minimal space at the exhibition stand – 3.5x2m. 

We see that our main strength is in delivering amazing virtual experiences to all visitors – boys and girls, men and women, regardless of their age. That means we have to make some decisions that might not cater to some specific individuals but would provide an amazing experience for 95% of all visitors. A flexible system of changing the distance between the pedals and the seat allows the Formula simulator to any visitor for the best comfort during entertainment. The important thing to mention is easy approachability. The full Formula 1 cockpit replica might catch more attention on the stand. It will also take 5x times more space. However, the main issue with it is that many ladies in dresses and skirts would not even consider getting inside. We are working hard to strike a perfect balance between looks, functionality and ease of accessibility. And for stands where space is not an issue we can instal 3Real screens – the size of formula car in screens will be the same as in the real life.

With 3400+ company exhibitors – every single one competes for the visitor’s attention. We have seen it all – from lotteries to free beer and candies. It’s important to consider how each company associates their brand image with their promo – what client would remember about their company – whether it’s free sugar sweets. Or rather, a modern entertainment experience that lasts a long time and connects with the brand image. Simulators become a very popular tool for marketing/PR managers at conferences and EXPOs, such as Electronica 2024.

High-quality standards and bespoke components are essential for the electronica exhibition. A super cool look we achieved with Formula seats – you are sitting in the same position as the Formula 1 pilot. The realism was created by the oscillation of a moving platform placed under the racing simulator and a steering wheel identical to the real one in Formula 1 with the official F1 Ferrari licensing.

We used the FIA-licensed motion system integrated into the motion platform design by RoarFun. The motion system is super silent. Nobody can hear it, even when you are close. Our motion platform has a cool minimalistic design –  a simple, light and airy design with a carbon fibre-looking floor that fits any stand. Our motion platform is the most compact in the world. Its mini size of 120x60cm fits anywhere, even in your regular home door.

Two options were available for participants – a race in a virtual reality helmet or on a big screen. Regardless of the choice, a crowd of fans gathered around the player, and curious visitors stopped at the stand. The ongoing race attracted their attention!

According to the client, the design of our mobile Formula simulators blended perfectly with Astute’s stand design, emphasising the high quality of the brand and enhancing its perception. Thanks, amazing Astute team, for a warm welcome and an amazing event.