Stop people in the aisle and give them something to talk about. We build VR and AR experiences for exhibition stands, product launches, pop-ups and brand events. They show what you can't ship, draw a queue and give your team a reason to start the conversation.
VRCraftworks is an immersive studio based in Brighton, building VR and AR since 2014 for brands, agencies and public bodies. We've delivered 100+ projects for 30+ global clients, and much of our work has been built white-label behind agencies.
Why use VR and AR at an event?
Stands and pop-ups compete for a few seconds of attention. A good immersive experience earns more than that:
- Show what you can't bring. Yachts, hotel rooms, factories and products that aren't built yet can all be explored at full scale on the stand.
- Cut shipping and build costs. A tablet or headset travels in a case. Hilton used AR instead of shipping furniture to events around the world.
- Draw a crowd. People queue for a VR experience, and the people watching become part of the show.
- Start better conversations. Visitors come off the headset with questions, which is exactly what your sales team wants.
- Reach beyond the venue. Press and social coverage of a memorable activation can reach far more people than walk past the stand.
- Works offline. We build for exhibition halls with weak Wi-Fi, so the experience doesn't depend on the venue's internet.
What we build
Pop-up VR booths and brand activations
Short, high-impact VR experiences for several people at once, with branded booths, networked headsets and a run time that keeps the queue moving.
AR product and room showcases
Tablet and phone AR that places full-size products, rooms or buildings in front of visitors. It suits stands with little space and products that are too big, too expensive or not yet built.
Offline VR demo apps for trade shows
Apps your team can take from show to show, with all content built in so they run without an internet connection.
Product training and education experiences
Interactive 3D rooms where staff and customers explore a product, take it apart and see the key facts, on the stand and back at the office.
360° filming for events and visitor experiences
360° filming with our trusted associates, plus stitching and delivery for headsets.
Web AR from a QR code
AR that runs in the phone's browser with no app download, launched from a poster, a printed map or a sign. See our AR work.
Case studies
Grosvenor Casinos: a pop-up VR booth for a Christmas campaign
For Grosvenor Casinos' "Call of the Wild" Christmas 2017 campaign, we built a 3-minute arctic VR experience under the northern lights, with characters modelled to match the campaign's real-life actors and the casino filmed in 360°. Visitors entered a branded pop-up booth five at a time, running on five networked Oculus Rift headsets, in high-footfall locations in London and Manchester.
- c600 consumers engaged with over 4 days
- 31M reached through editorial outreach across media and events
- 1.2M reached on social media
Hilton: AR hotel rooms at events worldwide
Working with CampaignWorks, we built a tablet AR experience for Hampton by Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn. At events in Dubai, the Netherlands, Jordan and London, the rooms on the stand were just a floor layout. Visitors picked up a tablet and saw the furnished room around them, tapping icons to find out about each feature. It avoided the cost and environmental impact of shipping furniture, and it showed rooms still awaiting construction.
- 5,000+ users across the events
- Led to follow-on work for a third Hilton brand, Motto
Sunsail: a VR yacht app for boat shows
Shipping every yacht configuration to boat shows wasn't practical, so we built a mobile VR app that let visitors step aboard the models that weren't on display. Exhibition-hall internet is unreliable, so all content was built into the app for offline use. After the first show, Sunsail kept the equipment and took it to 7 more trade shows.
Procter & Gamble: a 6DoF product room for staff and trade shows
For P&G, we built a virtual room where a new razor stands on a plinth at giant scale. Visitors move around it freely, then watch it break apart to reveal its key features. P&G used it both to educate internal staff and to engage potential customers at trade shows.
Also for events and visitor experiences
- Chelsea FC stadium tour: 360° content filmed for the club's stadium tour, through visitor-experience agency Imagineear.
- A heritage racecourse event: web AR launched from a printed visitor map, with a town crier and an animated racehorse. See it on our AR work page.
- Audible with Guardian Labs: AR on a newspaper insert that let readers hear audiobook samples. See the Audible case study.
Who it's for
- Brands and marketing teams planning launches, pop-ups and roadshows
- Exhibitors who need a stand that draws people in
- Events, experiential and exhibition agencies that need an XR production partner. We work white-label
- Sales teams who need to demo products too big or too early to bring
- Venues and visitor attractions
How a project works
- Brief and ideas. Tell us the event, the audience and the goal. We come back quickly with ideas and rough costs.
- Plan. We agree the experience, run time, throughput, devices and stand layout with you. For bigger projects a Discovery Day gets everyone aligned first.
- Build. You see working builds every week and can share them with your client or stakeholders.
- Test on site. We test devices, offline running and the visitor flow before the doors open.
- Event support. We hand over everything your stand team needs, or support the event in person.
Why VRCraftworks
- Building VR and AR since 2014: 100+ projects for 30+ global clients.
- Event work for Grosvenor Casinos, Hilton, Sunsail and Procter & Gamble.
- Built for the real show floor: offline content, quick onboarding and short run times.
- Much of our work is white-label, so we're used to working behind agencies and to their deadlines.
- Small, senior team: you deal directly with the people building the experience.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead do we need to start?
It depends on the experience. Tell us your event date on the first call and we'll say honestly what's achievable in the time, including testing.
Will it work without Wi-Fi at the venue?
Yes. We build event experiences to run offline, as we did for Sunsail's boat shows, so they don't depend on the venue's internet.
How many people can use it at once?
That's a design choice. Grosvenor's booth ran five networked headsets together. Tablet AR, like Hilton's, can have as many devices as the stand needs.
Can we reuse it at other events?
Yes. Most of our event apps are built to travel. Sunsail took theirs to 7 more shows after the first one.
Do you supply the headsets and staff?
We can advise on devices and numbers and help you source and set them up. For live support at the event, ask us when you brief us.
We're an agency. Can you work under our brand?
Yes. Much of our event work is white-label. See For agencies.
Where are you based?
We're based in Brighton and work on events in London, across the UK and internationally.
Got an event coming up?
Tell us about the event, the audience and what you want people to remember. We'll tell you quickly what's possible and how we'd make it work.
Email info@vrcraftworks.com · Call 01273 569010
Related: For agencies · AR work · Discovery Day · XR consultancy · Our work