A Virtual Home Run At Our Client’s Event

Every two years, our client, an international construction machinery manufacturer, hosts its National Dealer Meeting in the United States. WM Events was fortunate to plan the company’s most recent meeting, and it was the second time we had been honored with producing the event. Because many of the guests return from previous years, we have focused on keeping some recognizable elements like the venue and branded décor while also bringing in exciting new aspects.

After including virtual reality on a small scale at a few of the events we have planned, we decided that it could be a good fit for the dealer meeting welcome reception. We worked with Virtual Reality Rental to feature a baseball experience that was a home run with guests.

Our client had requested that we include interactive features at the event, which welcomed around 200 guests, most of whom were male sales managers from all over the country. We already planned to include a seated racing simulator, so we were looking for something new and cutting edge to add. The idea to incorporate virtual reality was raised, and it seemed like a great way to get guests involved in an activity that would offer them something they may not have encountered before.

VRR provided us with a plethora of options, and it was fun exploring the possibilities. For each type of experience, there was a video representation to offer a clear glimpse of what it entailed. With virtual reality, it can be difficult to understand what the experience will really be like, so this was helpful. Our team appreciated the variety of collateral available to “promote” the experience and make sure it appeared interesting onsite at the event.

For this event, we chose the Home Run Derby because the manufacturing client is a partner of Major League Baseball. We had worked the baseball theme into other aspects of the event, so it proved to be an ideal fit.

Working with VRR on this installation was so simple. Onsite, a representative from the VRR team set up the experience and managed it, encouraging guests to participate and sampling it herself when necessary. This technology is new to some people, and there was a bit of a learning curve. Some guests were not sure what was happening when they first saw a colleague standing in front of a screen and wearing a headset. But it didn’t take long to catch on!

At prior events, the virtual reality options we had included were more informational and similar to an immersive video. For example, one provided a tour of a facility and another explained the consequences of poverty. More importantly, those experiences were made specifically for the audiences at those events. By choosing a virtual reality experience that offered a game, we were able to add a fun, interactive feature to the event. And because the game had been developed by VRR, we did not have to produce anything new, which would have been a huge expense. The client agreed that the baseball game made a cool addition to the event. Event better, both the participants and guests who just wanted to watch other people swinging an invisible bat through the air enjoyed having this all-new experience at the event.

Written by:

William Fogler
Principal and Founder
WM Events