Canon is a global imaging leader specializing in optical, imaging and industrial products. They're on the cutting edge, but don't get credit for it. CES is the perfect place to change perception, while attracting new business prospects.

Canon had a perception problem.

The imaging pioneers were only thought of as a camera company (only 16% of surveyed gen pop US agreed that Canon was an innovator). With CES as their backdrop, Canon wanted to break from their traditional reputation, with the goal of being seen as the most innovative company at the most innovative tech conference in the world.

Objectives:

Achieve 5 billion impressions with high quality placements

Grow foot traffic at CES booth

Increase leads from CES

Change perception

To change the public's perception of Canon, we showcased Canon’s newest technologies in a way that remained true to the brand’s roots in film and photography, while also engaging consumers beyond anything they'd experienced before.

We partnered with someone who knows a thing or two about surprising people: M. Night Shyamalan.

Using AR, VR, augmented imaging innovations, hyper-realistic environments built by two gaming engines, and, not to mention, an ominous forest in the center of a tech convention, we enabled people to actually step into the most anticipated film of 2023, Knock at the Cabin.

And we did it at tech’s biggest stage, CES.

Attendees could actually talk to the film’s characters, reenact scenes, and enter both physical and virtual sets. We broke down pivotal moments of the film and invited people to experience the hair-raising, blood-rushing moments as if they were really happening.

Brand Relevance

Being a leader in traditional film and photography, Canon was looking for a way to break through in an always-on digital world. So we partnered with a long-time Canon believer, M. Night Shyamalan, to enable people to experience a first-of-its-kind immersive trailer.

Placement / Scale

In a sea of sameness at the world’s largest tech conference, CES, we built an unmissable 10K sq. ft. forest complete with a 120’x80’ cabin replica (booth 16359).

Methods / Implementation / Touchpoints

Adding new layers to the way we use VR, we pulled CES attendees into the film. Using Unreal Engine, we 3D mapped the film’s forest and recreated it virtually. Trained actors, stationed in Philadelphia, embodied the film’s characters while hyper-realistic face scans placed them “face-to-face” in a real-time VR call with attendees 2,500 miles away.

A gamified mixed-reality experience allowed attendees to reenact an actual scene inside our physical cabin — using virtual objects. A series of sensors and strategically placed geometric patterns projected interactive, true-to-scale furniture. We reshot the film’s heart-pounding break-in scene. Using the Unity platform and meticulously timed audio and video cues, we laid in the video. Participants could see and hear the scene acted out all around them, then actually interact with the projected furniture.

We opened a world of digital sleuthing through Canon’s augmented camera software. Trained actors stepped on a live soundstage in Philadelphia while attendees collaborated on their own screens at CES. Actors used hand gestures that snapped digital screenshots of areas within the cabin. Enhanced digital imaging allowed participants to zoom in and inspect thoughtfully placed clues in an attempt to guess the M. Night Shyamalan twist in the movie.

Timeline

April 2022 – January 2023

We found a filmmaker who, like Canon, was on a mission to reestablish themselves as an innovator in an ever-changing industry. M. Night Shyamalan has had a lifelong love of Canon cameras and lenses – to the degree that he's placed Canon cameras and printers in product shots within his films and TV shows. Shyamalan’s upcoming movie, Knock at the Cabin, was expected to be his most-anticipated movie of the last decade, and the release of the movie in February 2023 lined up perfectly with CES in January 2023.