At the much-anticipated return of Drupa, May 28 through June 7, in Düsseldorf, Germany, Japanese multinational imaging and electronics brand Ricoh maximized a booth space that was 30-percent smaller than previous years by leveraging live theater and heritage-inspired imagery based on the Japanese life principle, HENKAKU, which translates to “transformational innovation.”
The centerpiece of the “HENKAKUVERSE” was The House of HENKAKU box theater. On the exterior of the build, Japanese manga artist, Uchida, live-illustrated scenes inspired by the content inside. Attendees booked a seat in advance for the seven-minute performances. The experience featured forced-perspective cinematic content (created with Unreal Engine) projected on three walls as an in-person “sorceress” appeared to conjure “magic” that helped tell a story about the future of commercial printing and Ricoh’s role in it. In the lead-up to the show, the brand released a teaser film to generate buzz.
“We knew that we weren’t going to have the biggest stand or the number of printers of some of our competitors, so we needed to find something else to take the conversation in a different direction,” says John Blyth, marketing and communications manager at Ricoh Europe Graphic Communications Group. “Where we felt we could, therefore, lead was in terms of experience. If we could create a truly inspiring experience, then we could automatically warm our guests, clients and prospects up to a more detailed, in-depth conversation.”
THE JOURNEY
The exhibit “walls” were composed of dragon scale-like shapes which met at a 26-foot-tall entrance portal. Throughout the space, different zones of the booth and sectors of the business were skinned with animal avatar graphic (according to their characteristics) to support the “HENKAKUVERSE.” They included icons like the jaguar, dragon, owl and eagle. It all mapped back to messaging and imagery the brand plans to lead with in its marketing over the next four years.
The Co-Innovation Hub, inspired by Japanese Zen gardens, featured case studies. Nearby, the Applications Bar served up freshly printed samples from the all-new Ricoh Pro Z75 B2 printer, nicknamed, “The Dragon.” There was also Ricoh’s fictional Japanese-inspired brand retail pop-up, Peak Outfitters, which showcased all the different ways Ricoh can print on products like tags, t-shirts and posters. A raised mezzanine off a hospitality area offered views of the exhibit from above.
In addition, the team leveraged recyclable Xanita structural cardboard to build 60 percent of the booth components, from those dragon scales to the welcome desks. Following the show, the exhibit components found a home at Ricoh’s European offices, with plans to reuse it for future congresses already in progress, according to the team.
“The way we looked at the whole stand was almost like a print sample, and we thought how can we showcase everything that Ricoh is capable of if we haven’t got all the products in the stand?” says Katie Streten, head of creative strategy at Emota, lead partner on the exhibit. “For instance, they have some very large-format printers, so we used those to print the dragon scales that hung around the sides, we printed the wraps that went around the printers, we used all possible channels in creative ways to get that immersion across.”
THE RESULTS
Ricoh’s story-first approach ultimately helped it exceed attendance goals by 49 percent with 7,465 unique visitors over 11 days, despite lower Drupa attendance overall. The brand saw 97 percent of visitors returning to the stand with attendees visiting the stand on average four times, and spending an average of one hour and 17 minutes across their visits. Some 3,092 leads were collected, more than double the target, with the brand achieving 210 percent of its sales goal.
But the pièce de resistance was that theater, which hosted more than 4,000 attendees over the course of the show, and revealed the magic of Ricoh—a far cry from the slick demos that typically take place across the show floor. Partners: Emota (design strategy, build, marketing campaign collateral); Paperhat (animal avatar creators)
Ricoh’s Live Theater and Storytelling at Drupa:
