{"id":9013,"date":"2013-09-23T10:20:08","date_gmt":"2013-09-23T05:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramble.sunmatrix.com\/?p=9013"},"modified":"2026-03-06T18:09:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T17:09:41","slug":"iaa-2013-walk-of-innovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sunmatrix.com\/ramble\/iaa-2013-walk-of-innovations\/","title":{"rendered":"IAA 2013: Walk of Innovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 65th Internationale Automobil Ausstellung (IAA) has been running in Frankfurt am Main for the past two weeks. So on Saturday I decided to go for the motor show to catch up on the latest cars and also see first hand the much anticipated Nissan Nismo Watch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most of the car makers in this year\u2019s show were also present in IAA 2011. In fact they were even located in the same stands as 2011, with the same high tech touch displays to promote their cars. The difference was that their 2013 car models were now more hybrid and or electric only, for example this new four seater Smart.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes<\/p>\n

What changed on the floor<\/h2>\n

While I walked around and looked for changes vis-\u00e0-vis what was shown in IAA 2011<\/a>, I noticed that apart from the now expected large screens and touch displays, car makers were using all kinds of social media to engage with their visitors.<\/p>\n

Engagement snapshots by brand<\/h2>\n

Here is a quick photo report of my engagement experiences with the various car makers.<\/p>\n

Audi<\/h3>\n

\"Audi<\/p>\n

To make sure I did not miss Audi this year due to 200+ people standing in line to get into the Audi stand, I decided to visit very early in the morning. The line was short, but there were already hundreds of people inside. On walking in, I noticed that the concept for the stand was taken straight out of the Hollywood movie \u201cUpside Down\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Audi<\/p>\n

Visitor engagement at the stand was driven through a special photo booth. While people waited in line they got an iPad to play a game and answer three questions about Audi. Winners got custom giveaways like keychains, gummy bears, etc. After that, visitors were ushered into the photo booth which superimposed the photos onto custom Audi backgrounds. Visitors could take home a printed copy and later also download soft copies from www.audiphotoautomat.com.<\/p>\n

Mercedes<\/h3>\n

Next stop was the Mercedes stand which was also impossible to get into in 2011. From the below picture you can see why.<\/p>\n

\"Fascination<\/p>\n

Mercedes put up a huge multi-sensory show that went on for over 20 minutes, while thousands of people just stopped and watched. Children visiting the stand were kept busy with car simulators.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes<\/p>\n

Outside the stand one could test drive the Mercedes off-road jeeps with the help of trained drivers.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes<\/p>\n

Hyundai<\/h3>\n

Hyundai was the first car brand I came across that was using the event to generate Facebook fans. For liking the Hyundai Facebook page, fans at IAA could win a Hyundai i30.<\/p>\n

\"Hyundai<\/p>\n

The rear windscreen of the i30 was converted into a touchscreen which people could use to instantly \u201cLike\u201d the brand\u2019s Facebook page or choose to receive the fan page link via email.<\/p>\n

\"Hyundai<\/p>\n

At the stand Hyundai also displayed a touchable music seat for hearing impaired drivers which vibrated as per the music being played. This was still in concept phase and the test seats were being developed out of Korea.<\/p>\n

\"Hyundai<\/p>\n

Volkswagen<\/h3>\n

The Volkswagen \u201cThink Blue\u201d initiative was presented via an interactive augmented reality layer that was activated through the provided iPads.<\/p>\n

\"Volkswagen<\/p>\n

Skoda<\/h3>\n

Skoda explained their Green Line initiative via a wooden toy car that was supported by the animations in the embedded touch screens.<\/p>\n

\"Skoda<\/p>\n

At the neighbouring table kids were engaged with games around the Green Line initiative.<\/p>\n

\"Skoda<\/p>\n

Michelin<\/h3>\n

At the Michelin stand, visitors could take pictures with a virtual Michelin mascot and have the pictures emailed to themselves instantly.<\/p>\n

\"Michelin<\/p>\n

Nissan<\/h3>\n

After having written about the Nissan Nismo Watch<\/a> last week, I could not wait to see the real watch in action. But to my disappointment the watch was not there as announced. There was only a plastic dummy on display.<\/p>\n

\"Nissan<\/p>\n

But I did take Nissan\u2019s version of real life \u201cLikes\u201d for a spin (first spotted at the Renault stand in the 2011 Amsterdam Motor Show<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Nissan<\/p>\n

The RFID badges allowed visitors to post custom Nissan branded pictures of themselves onto Facebook.<\/p>\n

\"Nissan<\/p>\n

Visitors were also given the option to share the cars they like on Facebook via special Like buttons built into the car info pillars.<\/p>\n

\"Nissan<\/p>\n

Ford<\/h3>\n

At the Ford stand this year visitors were given head and shoulder massages.<\/p>\n

\"Ford<\/p>\n

Then to experience the Ford EcoBoost, visitors were put in front of a leaf blower and their reactions captured and uploaded on the Ford Flickr channel.<\/p>\n

And for the more social visitors, Ford had a Twitter based contest running.<\/p>\n

\"Ford<\/p>\n

Kia<\/h3>\n

At Kia, visitors could superimpose their heads onto a football player and then have the custom postcard sent to their email IDs.<\/p>\n

\"Kia<\/p>\n

Chevrolet<\/h3>\n

Visitors at the stand could make small flipbooks of themselves doing funny dances in front of the main character of the Hollywood film \u201cTurbo\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Chevrolet<\/p>\n

Or they could write special messages to their loved ones on a piece of paper and the team at Chevrolet would instantly convert them into wearable badges.<\/p>\n

\"Chevrolet<\/p>\n

Chevrolet was also the only car maker at the IAA who was using Foursquare to offer discounts on their show merchandise.<\/p>\n

\"Chevrolet<\/p>\n

Mini<\/h3>\n

Mini this year gave visitors the option to body paint their cars and email the photos to themselves.<\/p>\n

\"Bodypaint<\/p>\n

Visitors could also slide down a specially created tunnel at record speeds that were also photographed and displayed on a large overhead digital screen.<\/p>\n

\"Mini<\/p>\n

BMW<\/h3>\n

BMW, like Mercedes, put up a multi-sensory show at their stand. But compared to Mercedes it was short and not as extravagant. Still pretty impressive.<\/p>\n

\"BMW<\/p>\n

Kumho Tyres<\/h3>\n

On the way out I spotted Kumho Tyres giving away various petrol and tyre related coupons. To win the coupons visitors had to catch them while being closed inside a wind cabin.<\/p>\n

\"Kumo<\/p>\n

Why this direction matters<\/h2>\n

Across the stands, the consistent pattern is not \u201cmore screens\u201d. It is more reasons to create something. A photo. A badge. A flipbook. A posted image. A public interaction that becomes proof you were there. The stand stops being a catalogue, and starts behaving like a content studio that rewards participation. The real question is how a stand turns a visitor into a willing participant and publisher. The strongest stands here are the ones that give people something to make, not just something to look at. That works because visitors are more likely to remember, share, and talk about an experience when they leave with something they helped create.<\/p>\n

Extractable takeaway:<\/strong> If you are designing for an event, do not start with channels. Start with a social object, meaning a photo, badge, flipbook, or other shareable artifact people can take away, share, or replay. Then build the simplest capture and distribution loop around it.<\/p>\n

In large European trade shows, brands increasingly treat the stand as a live media channel where every interaction can become a shareable moment.<\/p>\n

And that was a quick overview of what I experienced at the 65th Internationale Automobil Ausstellung. (To read about my experience at the 2011 show, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Until the next show in 2 years. This is Sunil signing off from IAA 2013.<\/p>\n

What to steal from IAA 2013 for your next show<\/h2>\n