Cadillac x AKG
For the 2020 show season, one of our main engagements was due for a refresh. The "Cadillac Music Room" was very successful- but needed to make way for more brand stories focused around the launch of the new Escalade- set to debut around the New York Auto Show.
One of the main challenges with a refresh is utilizing existing architecture which is to say- how do we create a completely new experience for consumers using pre-determined parameters.
Activation Space
New Experience
AKG Studio Reference Sound System
Key Experiential Takeaways
AKG HISTORY & CADILLAC PARTNERSHIP
AKG history and its background of professional studio sound. How we bring that professional sound to AKG through 2 systems (AKG Studio and AKG Studio Reference).
CONVERSATION ENHANCEMENT
Speech is picked up by microphone arrays in the headliner and sent back through the speakers when this feature is activated. Designed to reduce distracted driving and stress levels.
SURROUND TECHNOLOGY
Highlights the Surround 3D Technology in the AKG Studio Reference audio system. Within the Studio Reference system is headliner speakers which makes for a Surround 3D listening experience.
FRONT PASSENGER VOLUME CONTROL
The front seat passenger can now take charge of their own personal audio experience. Turn the volume up or down and find your comfort zone. Need to make a phone call? Turn down the volume on the passenger side only. Your favorite jam comes on? Amp up the volume on the passenger side and have a good time.
NAVIGATION RENDERING TECHNOLOGY
Improve any journey with more intuitive navigation alerts. Turn-by-turn directions are enhanced: you’ll hear “turn right” from the speakers on the right side of the vehicle. The navigation prompt will sound farther away, the farther you are from the turn. Prompts will seem closer to you as you approach the turn.
FUN & ENGAGING
If the experience lacks entertainment value- it will miss the mark.
Design Solution
Translate music, sound, and story into interesting visual graphics using floor-to-ceiling LED screens, enveloping the room and immersing consumers in a sensory experience centered around Escalade and AKG technologies.
As with most new launches, the vehicles are not accessible to the public so the challenge became- how do we communicate the amazing technology within the Escalade, outside of the physical vehicle?
Initial Inspiration
In our initial exploration, we sought out imagery that captured excitement, light and movement.
Environmental exploration
To create an impactful experience we first looked at the visual attract from the outside of the space- How do we catch the eye of passersby in a crowded visual environment?
Visual Attract Exploration
For times when the space was unoccupied or during a sound demonstration, we developed some visualization algorithms that could sync up with the soundtracks the clients selected.
Design Finalization
Developing the Storyline
To highlight the technology in the new Escalade, we developed a video treatment that would take consumers through a journey that gave a sense of what kind of life is achievable inside the cabin of an Escalade with AKG Studio Reference.
An Inspiring Partnership
Chapters
The film is about the incredible possibilities that result when two masters of their craft form a partnership. We merge the power and purity of AKG professional studio technology with the 2021 Escalade in-cabin experience through the story of two musical artists from different worlds who come together in a first-ever collaboration. The result is a live
performance more inspiring than expected.
1. Cadillac | AKG Partnership
2. Conversation Enhancement
3. Navigation Rendering
4. Front Passenger Volume Control
5. Finale: Surround 3D
CHAPTER ONE
Cadillac | AKG Partnership
As guests enter the Studio Reference Room, we hear a contemporary hip hop/fusion track that accentuates the system’s dynamics and frequency range. Visuals immerse the listener in the studio among the jamming artists.
When the doors of the AKG Studio Reference Room are closed, a narrator (or graphic titles) tells a brief story of AKG’s brand heritage and how Cadillac is the first to bring their technologies to automotive.
- A first for the industry, exclusive to Cadillac
- Grammy award-winning studio reference technology
- Professional studio sound in every seat
- 36 speakers, custom-tuned to specific interior trims
- 28 channels, powered by proprietary algorithms for precise
audio control
- Unmatched sound quality that transports you into the studio
We cut in appropriate support footage and imagery on the center and outboard screens — a mix of original product footage and AKG-provided studio footage
Lights dim, the room goes dark as the music fades.
CHAPTER TWO
Conversation Enhancement
We hear the voices of a man, a woman and their daughter from various corners of the room; the anxious small talk of people in a hurry. We see them enter the 2021 Escalade. The daughter opts for a third-row seat to concentrate; the man puts a cased guitar in the second row.
They head out into the city at night. We see a hand turn the sound system on, and we hear music — sweet, finger-style guitar. On the outboard screens an older finger-style guitar player, a master of his instrument, plays alone in a stage/studio setting.
The woman in the front continues the conversation with her daughter, We see how conversation enhancement allows them to communicate comfortably as the woman provides words of encouragement to calm her daughter’s nerves.
- Shots of the controls showing conversation enhancement interface
- Two-way communication … front- and rear-seat passenger voices are
captured by embedded microphones and amplified in the opposite zone
- Acoustic lens technology directs sound to the listener
Rear zone can be turned off easily and quickly.
The daughter gives the woman assurances and returns to self-reflection and begins to hum; the woman turns off the rear zone, they increase the volume of the music as the woman and man exchange a comforting glance.
Fade to black
CHAPTER THREE
Navigation Rendering
We hear the guitar player, now up-tempo and backed by other musicians.
We see the daughter peering out of her window, nervous; we cut back to the instrument panel; the driver pulls up the navigation to the stage/studio. [Musicians play on our outboard screens]
We hear turn-by-turn instructions intuitively sound closer as we near the destination, demonstrating Navigation Rendering Technology.
- More intuitive system
- Spatial audio imaging — the sound comes from the direction of the turn
- 40mm mid-tweeters integrated into head restraints add realism to the prompts
We experience a right and/or left turn [potentially even a ‘straight ahead’ instruction], with the sound coming from the appropriate direction.
At the end of the sequence, the daughter gets out of the vehicle at a stage door and waves to her parents as she enters the building. Music continues as the vehicle drives away.
Fade to black.
CHAPTER FOUR
Front Passenger Volume Control
We hear the ensemble playing on stage.
We see the daughter enter the theatre from backstage.
[On the center screen] the woman in the passenger seat turns down her volume to make a call, demonstrating conversation enhancement; simultaneously, the daughter — a nervous vocalist with talent beyond her age — is interrupted by the ring of her phone. Woman and daughter converse — split-screen — while the music continues.
- Shots of the controls show the simple interface that allows passenger control
- After the phone call we see how ‘Sync’ restores the setting
We see the call end and the daughter approach an AKG recording microphone center stage, escorted by a stage manager in a headset.
We hear music crescendo to end the sequence.
Fade to black.
CHAPTER FIVE
Surround 3D
We see the daughter approach the mic, the guitarist encourages her to begin when she’s ready. She closes her eyes … We hear the guitarist change the song; moodier, more emotional.
She begins to sing; the song builds throughout to an emotional crescendo. During the sequence, audio changes from stereo to Surround:
- Shots of the sliding touch-screen control sync with the sound effects in
the room
- Highlight speakers at different height levels and locations
- Show a graphic image of 3D effect on IP
We see dramatic sweeps of the musicians, lots of closeups of hands and the artistry of making music, surrounded by AKG microphones.
Suddenly all LEDs merge; we see the performance in ultra-widescreen and the music reaches its peak of power and emotion. We see the man and woman in the background watching their daughter with pride.
We end on a closeup of the young vocalist’s face with an AKG microphone in the foreground. “Thank you,” she says, embracing the guitarist.
GRAPHIC TITLE:
Sound That Inspires.
[Dissolve to Cadillac | AKG logos]
Optimizing Sound
Working with the sound engineers at Harman- AKG, we created a sound studio that would produce optimal sound quality and closely emulate what consumers would hear in the new Escalade.
Final Environmental Direction & Customer Journey
We refined the design by focusing on the color and materials, graphics and content. We also explored how to handle traffic volumes and crowd control.
Customer Journey- Low Volume
As a person or small group approaches, a brand ambassador greets them to ask if they would like to experience the exciting new sound Cadillac and AKG have created for the 2021 Escalade.
If the room is open, the brand ambassador ushers them into the space. If there is already a group in the space, the brand ambassador invites them over to the queuing area.
The person/group is greeted by another brand ambassador that will take them through the experience.
The brand ambassador gives a very short, high-level introduction, and the experience would begin based on her/his script. After the experience, the brand ambassador ushers the person/group out to the other brand ambassador for additional questions/lead gen.
Customer Journey- High Volume
If a group approaches with an experience already started, the brand ambassador invites them over to the queuing area.
In the queuing area, the brand ambassador provides information about the sound technology they are about to experience, fields questions and engages with the customer(s) for the duration of the experience already in play. When the other group is finished, up to eight people at a time can be invited in for the next experience.
The queuing area can expand or contract as volume fluctuates.
Final Visualization
And then COVID-19 Hit
shortly after the initial shooting for the video began Covid hit and this project Unfortunately never saw the light of day. It is my belief that this would have been an excellent experience for our consumers had the world not basically ended.
Credits: 2D Design- Megan Atsoff. Content- Josh Damesworth, Steve Leslie &Ted Przybocki
