CEBIT 2018 – The biggest supersign ever!
Intelligent Entertainment with a wow effect: At the world’s last CEBIT, we staged the SAP brand as a smart Ferris wheel, dominating the trade fair – and shaping the brand long term
Challenge
After many successful trade fair appearances inside the hall, and at a time when CEBIT was losing its lustre, it was time for big change. Instead of simply skipping the event, SAP wanted a new concept to boost its own image as well as the trade fair’s. The task: Create a radical new way to present the SAP brand along with numerous showcases.
Shared success
The overarching idea of a Fair of Innovations took us outside – leaving the hall for the first time ever. It also required a striking supersign: the Ferris wheel. 60 metres high and with 40 cabins, it was one of the largest portable Ferris wheels in the world. During a ride in the cabin, visitors could enjoy a view of the grounds while also experiencing the latest innovations from SAP and its partners. The net effect: Nearly 2,000 contacts per hour – an unprecedented achievement.
From abstract to concrete: How ideas gain momentum
SAP’s services and products are abstract in many ways. For years now, vividly presenting benefits and features in exhibits and showcases has been at the heart of our work for SAP. Using a combination of analogue and digital elements is crucial to teaching and understanding. The 65-metre high Ferris wheel, the largest showcase to date, is a prime example: a marvellous supersign and smart showcase in one.
10 minutes of innovation
The Ferris wheel served as a content platform as well as a central way to present the SAP brand. At the foot of the towering Ferris wheel was an interactive model fed with real-time data from the wheel. This illustrated the Intelligent Enterprise topic – using a smart entertainment park as an example. By interacting with the model via a digital layer, visitors learned more about how SAP’s innovative product portfolio can benefit their own company.
Interactive showcases become memorable customer experiences
SAP’s appearance at CEBIT was not designed to be a classic exhibition booth. Instead, the SAP Campus consisted of a temporary main building and various showcases with SAP-related content. These made the company’s new technologies tangible through interactive experiences. Highlights of the showcases included “Smart Kicker”, interactive table football; “Future-Ready Enterprise”, a virtual reality experience; and a HoloLens experience that gave a glimpse of the future of work.
Zeichen & Wunder
“Since 2011 our overarching mission has been to make SAP ever more accessible and human. Turning the user benefits of highly complex products into tangible experiences is a key part of the journey.”
A fun fair in the truest sense of the word
Beyond the content and financial aspects, our concept put the trade fair event team and all of SAP in a good mood. Everything about the intelligent entertainment park was sheer fun, even the planning and implementation. The entire team was fuelled by the idea of developing and building the most spectacular fun fair ever for SAP. A central idea in the best possible sense.
Zeichen & Wunder
“What started as an idea became an actual Ferris wheel. Goosebumps, pure and simple.”
In addition to the immediate, visible success at the trade fair, there was a decisive side effect: SAP’s appearance at CeBIT 2018 showed up in all initial reports on the event. This media coverage resulted in advertising valued far higher than the total cost of the trade fair appearance.
“All pre-CEBIT coverage seemed to include SAP because the Ferris wheel was always in sight. It made me want to experience it for myself to understand the link between the Ferris wheel and SAP. It was a huge success.”
Project partners
Architecture: Oettle Ferber Associates
Photography: Annika Feuss
Project management and media planning: Concret
Trade fair construction: MAC Die Messeexperten
