Lexus builds wow factor for dealers

It is no exaggeration to say that the car industry is in dire straights, but for marques such as Lexus, the right brand perception makes for valuable equity. Sustainability, technology and innovation are at the core of the Lexus philosophy, and it was this message that the car maker wanted for a 10-day, pan-European dealer training launch of the Lexus RX hybrid vehicle in Barcelona.

The event was the largest pan-European training activity undertaken by Lexus, accommodating 1,200 guests in eight, 24-hour sessions, each tailored to convey Lexus’s key messages of environmental responsibility, technical excellence and quality.

To that end, Lexus Europe’s product training specialist Aleksandra Mueller set the bar high: ‘We really wanted to motivate people by presenting them with something emotional, real and technically energising with which to work.’

Staged at the La Mola Hotel & Conference Centre, a-v specialist XL Events and live-brand-experience agency Opus Create, led by managing director Mark Spragg and creative director Patrick Steinhorst, worked with Mueller to deliver pertinent and pacy event content.

The three main elements of the event were: a theatrically-styled plenary session to reveal the car, a series of interactive training scenarios, and the test-drive track to allow guests to apply their recently gained knowledge.

The introduction to the RX 450h needed a wow factor and video was always going to be the best medium, says Steinhorst. But he was determined to make it special rather than just another flat-screen PowerPoint presentation.

To bring the car alive it was covered in a stretched white gauze so it became an additional projection surface. Set in front of a 16-metre widescreen, it added a 3D look to the space.

The video featured a short movie uniting the vital components of nature, balance and invention with smart use of technology and vision for the future, directed and produced by Steinhorst.

But the plenary room was extremely tight for space, with a floor-to-ceiling height of just 3.5 metres. This is where the XL Events team’s lateral thinking, experience and access to the latest Pandora’s Box media server technology became vital for the presentation to succeed.

The front third of the plenary had a slightly higher ceiling recess – enough to squeeze in the front rail of a four-legged ground support system constructed from 30cm mini-beam trussing. This was fitted exactly to the room dimensions, making it invisible from the guest-viewing platform in the dark while it facilitated the rigging of sound, lighting and projection equipment.

Difficult video orientation

XL Events’ technical director David Mulcahy came up with a projection solution to deal with the idiosyncratic angles at which the hardware had to be hung to cover both the car and the curved screen seamlessly, while retaining clear sightlines.

Four Barco CLM R10+ projectors were rigged to the sides of the ground support leaving the front of the stage and ceiling above clean for viewing. At the most extreme points, the Barcos needed to project at a 45 degree angle onto the screen as opposed to their normal 90 degrees. The minimum/maximum distances covered by one lens alone for the back screen ranged between nine and 26ft, with the image having to be in focus right across.

All image correction was achieved using the flexible warping facility in the latest dual output version of the Pandora’s Box. XL Events’ site crew, led by Ade Moore, created its own mesh for both screen and the car in Pandora’s Box, to which it mapped the video footage. This held the focus in both horizontal and vertical planes, and the tool opens multiple and powerful options for projector placement and orientation in difficult rooms.

The back screen saw one image from two projectors set at approximately 45 degree angles, their images soft edged together and to the top edge of the screen. The video for the car was mapped in a second Pandora’s Box, again using its 3D object capability, Lexus supplied a wire-frame ‘skeleton’ of the car which was modified and imported into the server. The flat-video artwork was then applied and wrapped around the 3D-object of the car, so the images flowed all around the surface, appearing in focus and in the right places and proportions.

For the presentation, the Pandora’s Box kicked out SMPTE timecode to the grandMA lighting console triggering all the lighting cues and the Tascam hard drive audio player which was programmed with the VT soundtrack and narration in eight languages. When Moore hit one key on the Pandora’s Box media manager, the whole show ran.

Guests experienced the show wearing individual Bosch headsets, supplied by Sonus, for full impact, ensuring that the session was fully immersive and without distractions. It also provided the practical faculty of user-selectable languages.

The plenary session footage started off with no illusions about the current financial climate and evolved into a fluid parable of how things can be turned around with a product that addresses crucial issues, like climate change, without compromises on quality and luxury.

‘We wanted to highlight that Lexus is launching the right product at the right time, and it was vital that the whole event was as emotive, realistic and educational as possible to enthuse all the dealers and offer tools which they could believe in, and can take with them to sell the RX 450h,’ says Steinhorst.

For sound, a d&b E3 system with E12 subs was chosen for its clarity and compactness. Lighting was designed by Simon Swift, and kit included Martin Professional MAC 250 Washes and theatre lanterns.

At the end of the video, the projection cover was peeled back to reveal the vehicle, and was followed by a short live presentation on the car.

Also integral to the event was the competitor showroom and pre-dinner entertainment, staged at the adjacent Mas Bonvilar, a secondary venue. The pre-dinner entertainment was intended as a break from the intensity of the day’s schedule.

It was also a preview of the new Lexus IS 250C convertible, due for launch later in the year. The car was set up centre stage; in the foreground stage was a flamenco guitarist, who played a four-minute, high-energy live set, partly accompanied by an fast moving audio/video backing track, with video work played out on six 50in plasma screens upstage.

Another 30cm ground support system was installed by XL Events from which sound, lighting and a-v was rigged. A third Pandora’s Box server was used to run the video on six layers, allowing different images to appear simultaneously. Guests then returned to the main La Mola complex for dinner, en route passing a 14-metre wide looped projection beamed onto the end of one of the courtyard buildings. Pilot laptop system, with manually executed cues, and for audio, d&b E9 and E3 speakers were utilised, mixed through a Soundcraft Spirit Folio desk.

Smart technical design and use of sound, lighting and a-v, particularly the Pandora’s Box system, allowed Opus Create to reduce its costs to the client by leaving just three crew to run all the areas – on a show that previously may have needed six people.

KIT LIST
– 7 x Panasonic 50in plasma
– 4 x Barco CLM R10+ 10K projectors
– 1 x Sanyo PLC-XP57 projector
– 1 x Sanyo PLC-XP56 projector
– 2 x Coolux Media Systems Pandora’s Box media server
– 1 x Tascam multi-track HDD audio recorder
– 4 x Kramer video distribution amplifiers
– 1 x Folsom graphics/audio switcher
– 2 x Shure radio microphone dual diversity receiver
– 4 x Shure radio microphone Lavalier Cardioid
– 4 x Shure radio microphone belt pack transmitter
– 1 x Yamaha LS9 audio mixer
– 2 x d&b Epac audio amplifier
– 2 x d&b Epac audio amplifier
– 4 x d&b E3 loudspeaker full range
– 2 x d&b E3 loudspeaker sub bass