A two-year virtual expo experience that brought 14 Kimberly-Clark brands to life through interactive 3D booths, mini-games, and immersive content. Accessible via web, mobile, PC, and Oculus Go, the expo provided a dynamic platform for showcasing innovation, complete with holographic presenters, 360° office tours, and themed virtual environments.
August 10, 2022
Overview
In response to the pandemic, we collaborated with Kimberly-Clark México to create a fully virtual version of their annual Innovation Expo for two consecutive years. This immersive experience allowed 14 of Kimberly-Clark’s brands to showcase their latest innovations through a dynamic virtual environment accessible via web, mobile, PC/Mac, and VR. Each year, we adapted and expanded the platform to increase accessibility and user engagement.
Key Features
Year 1:
Interactive 3D Expo Space: Developed with Unity 3D as a first-person, interactive experience where users could explore virtual booths.
Mini-Games at Each Booth: Created 10 mini-games—such as memory challenges, stack puzzles, and target shooting—each tied to user scores and rewards for top players.
Holographic Brand Presenters: Used green screen recordings to display brand representatives as holograms within the virtual space.
360° Virtual Tour of Kimberly-Clark Offices: Included a tour of Kimberly-Clark’s offices in Mexico City, allowing attendees to experience a virtual behind-the-scenes tour.
Year 2:Web-Based, Multiplatform Application: Created a single, versatile application using 3D Vista, accessible on VR headsets, desktops, and mobile devices.
Themed Virtual Environment: Inspired by Back to the Future, the expo space was transformed into a unique, nostalgic setting with interactive 360° booth renders.
Trivia Challenges: Each booth included brand-related trivia, allowing users to test their knowledge and win prizes, enhancing engagement with each brand’s content.
Technologies Used
Hardware: Oculus Go, WebVR
Unity 3D: For creating the web app and mini games.
3DVista: For creating the 360 Virtual Expo.
Maya + Arnold: For 3D modeling and 360 rendering.
Azure DevOps: For managing the development process and tools.
Azure Tools: For managing the backend systems.
Figma: For creating and managing design assets and prototypes.
Challenges and Learnings
Balancing Immersion and Accessibility: In the first year, managing both WebGL and Oculus Go applications presented technical challenges, particularly with maintaining performance across different devices. In the second year, shifting to a single web-based application improved accessibility but required creative solutions to ensure consistent engagement across all platforms.
Content Coordination Across Multiple Brands: Coordinating content creation and approval with 14 different brands required streamlined workflows and frequent communication to meet deadlines and align with each brand’s vision.
User Engagement and Retention: Designing mini-games and interactive content that would keep users engaged for extended periods was critical. We learned that theming (such as the Back to the Future setting) helped create a memorable user experience, while competitive elements like trivia and mini-games encouraged repeat visits.
Outcome
The Virtual Innovation Expo provided Kimberly-Clark México with a successful alternative to in-person events, allowing them to reach a wide audience and showcase innovations in a compelling digital format. The platform received positive feedback from both the client and attendees for its creativity, interactivity, and user-friendly design. Over its one-month active period each year, the expo attracted high engagement levels, with users spending significant time exploring, interacting, and competing across the virtual booths. More than 1000 concurrent users were reached during the event.
