Challenge – Stress – Show
By Rosa Vaz, Account Manager
Multilem received a call for a proposal for the Web Summit from one of our most out-of-the-box clients. In the previous year, we had presented a proposal that had left everyone who walked by that stand, in the largest European technology conference, completely stunned. It was impossible not to notice and not wanting to come in.
Builder.ai Exhibition Booth – Web Summit 2018
Goal: Exceeding those expectations!
Our team was relentless from the very first day, and we didn’t have to make many attempts. In fact, I can say that we delivered this idea at first attempt. We met client’s expectations promptly. The client was so excited that it raised the bar: “After all, we want that stand at SLUSH!”
Proposal for Web Summit 2019
Challenge: Adapting the stand to an event we did not yet know.
We were ecstatic with this SLUSH event (the largest start-up and technological event in the world) when we searched for it. The colours, lights, stands, stages… It was insane!
What we thought might pose as a challenge (and it was) was quickly overcome. The creative team handled it swiftly and the adaptation was even better.
We had an amazing, impacting stand, and the client couldn’t wait to see the final result (and neither could we).
Redesign for Slush 2019
The day has finally arrived!
We arrived in Helsinki: a grey, chilly city, where we didn’t see the sun for a week.
As soon as we entered the pavilion for the set up, we realised that the location of the Builder.ai stand was not the best. But that was far from breaking us down, because we already knew that our stand was good enough to become a mandatory stop.
The neon lights – and all the atmosphere inside the stand – were transforming Builder.ai’s project into something more and more extraordinary as the set up was progressing.
Work In Progress – Stand Structure
And that was warming our heats, despite the cold outside – temperatures were lower than those we are complaining about in Portugal, these last days, except for when we could watch TV shows covered with a blanket.
Back to Finland’s capital city, mutual assistance was exemplary. Whenever we had a setback, both the organisation team and the stands next to us offered their help promptly.
As I was on a team of men, so another thing that caught my attention was the number of women working in multiple positions (construction, electricity, technical support, IT, etc.) We had never seen such feminine representation standing out like this in an event.
Slush fair assembly
By that time, everything seemed easy and obstacles seemed far away. But there’s that saying, “It’s not over until it’s over.”
Stress: Stand base was assembled, two stories, all was going well. We started by placing the lights (and there were lots of them). Both the technical and production team were relentless, and everything went as planned. That was when the organisation came to us and said: “Your stand is too flashy: whether you handle this, or we cannot accept you in this event.”
Little did they know that we hadn’t placed half the lights yet! So, what now?
There were only a few hours left until the pavilion closed. And the event started on the next day.
We were worried, stressed, angry, and then we stopped. Everything is possible with teamwork!
And so it was. We solved the lighting problem, and in the end – believe it or not – we thought it came out even better.
Our stand was still what we had envisioned: the most eye-catching, elegant stand, the one everyone was going to stop by to see.
Show: The opening day was insane. We had never seen anything like it. The light and sound show and the opening sound… The concept created based on this event is something almost inexplicable. Not even photos and videos can make justice to the experience.
Even with our stand not having 1/3 of the impact in photos. But it surely was identical to Diogo’s 3D design!
It’s true, Rosa. Just like our designer’s drawings!
And now it’s time for Diogo to tell us about his experience, setbacks and solutions during the design, production and setting up of the Builder.ai’s stand at Slush.
Creative Challenges
By Diogo Soares, 3D Designer
SLUSH is an international technology and innovation event that takes place every year in Helsinki, Finland. It is the largest, most revolutionary start-up and technology event, and it feels and looks like a night club. Organising an event with this “night” scenery is extraordinary and challenging, because the night lights bring another dimension to the atmosphere, interactions, stages and stands.
Slush 2019
The Proposal
Our project proposal for Builder.ai was initially designed for Web Summit in Lisbon, but the client decided to use it on a new event that met its target audience. The initial concept of a two-story stand with 130 m2 made of ship containers was kept. But, for SLUSH, we had to step up a notch and make it more impacting. So, we used LEDs, light boxes, and lit logos to stand out in the nocturnal atmosphere of this event.
We used black as the stand’s main colour to contrast with the lights and highlight every detail of the stand. The use and application of lights was the most important factor, because this event had this night club vibe.
Mood fair at Slush
Logistic Challenges
One of the problems we faced with this project was the logistics. The stand was designed using two ship containers with twenty feet, which would have to go from Lisbon to Helsinki in a truck. For us to be more efficient, the interior had to be rethought and designed so that the entire structure could fit into the containers.
Logistics Containers Builder.ai
Lighting Challenges
As this was a night event, all stands had their own lighting using RGB LEDs, which were flashier than usual, given the darker atmosphere. Our stand was the most vibrant and shiny, which would have been an advantage on other events, but not on this one. We were forced to readjust and adapt the intensity of our LEDs. This caused us a great deal of stress, which cost us some of our energy, because the organisation was willing to cancel our participation if our stand continued to stand out too much from others. It’s ironic, because in a traditional event our goals would have been more than accomplished. But, in this specific case, we had to do the opposite and focus on solutions that were somewhat more moderate.
Final Result – Stand Builder.ai
After overcoming all challenges, the end result could not have been better. Despite the setbacks and the attempt to steal our spotlight, the truth is that this was undoubtedly the most brilliant stand in the whole event. Goal accomplished!
Learn more about Builder.ai’s project for Slush 2019 here.
