John Deere has posted an impressive record of growth over the past two decades, but world need, economic conditions, and the company’s ever-expanding capabilities converged to create an unprecedented opportunity for “Accelerating Growth,” a phrase that became the theme for John Deere’s 2011 New Product Introduction event at the Indianapolis Convention Center last August, the largest new product launch in the company’s 174 year history.
See Our Solutions was asked to produce this event for 6,400 John Deere dealers and sales professionals from across North America.
With a world population of seven billion and growing, food production must double by mid-century. Rising demand coupled with historic lows in worldwide grain stocks have resulted in strong crop prices and equipment customers in a position to buy.
The 75 new machines positioned dealers to offer more solutions to more customers than ever before, thus “Accelerating Growth.” The machines targeted for the largest sector of business—agriculture—were loaded with new, advanced telematic technology that enables dealers to meet customer needs that reach beyond machines. Telematics—wireless communication and data transfer—can connect machines, owners/managers, ag consultants, and dealers into a powerful network enabling information-rich, data-driven decision-making to optimize machine health, machine logistics, and operational decision-making.
Now add the new John Deere FarmSightä strategy, which places John Deere dealers at the center of the customer’s network, leveraging the power of telematics to provide proactive service and support at levels never before possible. “Accelerating Growth” for customers is the strategy for “Accelerating Growth” for John Deere.
The production challenge was to create a presentation environment as dramatic and multidimensional as the marketing story, with the ability to convey the scope and potential of the telematics story, and the flexibility to highlight the growth opportunities for products ranging in scale from riding lawn equipment to the largest combine John Deere has ever offered measuring fifty feet wide and two stories high.
The solution started with a screen measuring 180’ long by 24’ high—excellent for creating scenarios for smaller products—but the audience soon discovered that the giant screen was actually a theatrical scrim made opaque by video projections and lighting effects. At a dramatic “reveal” moment in the show, the scrim became translucent exploding the audience view into a completely new dimension.
A high-intensity LED video wall, 180’ long x 24’ high, constructed of 825 panels of Everbrighten EB15 15mm LED Tiles with a 3,520x480 resolution, positioned 90’ upstage of the scrim created a new reveal space for larger machines. As the wall blazed with a brilliant second layer of high-impact visuals, the audience was immersed in a multidimensional theatrical environment with the power to layer images and messaging and machinery into an incredibly dynamic, kinetic whole, with bursts of 3D visual effects.
In the finale, the seamless scrim rose, allowing the audience to stream onto the stage and then into the adjacent equipment display expo with multiple LED screens, new products on display, and subject matter experts available to extend the experience.
Creative Team
Curtis Reed, EP
John Styron, CD
Jamie Henley, Media Producer
Paul King, AD
Darryl Bartlett, Video Director/Editor
Bryan Hemberger, TD
Todd McGuire, Composer
Jerrod Smith, Scenic Designer
John Ingram, LD
David Rees, Lighting Programmer
Ben Hart, Scenic Fabrication
Henry Baker, Scenic Automation
Kelly Epperson, Audio Designer/A1
Scott Meyer, Video Engineer
Curt Rector, Spyder Programmer
John Byrd, LED Technician
Clay Carter, Rigger
Vendors
Lighting Equipment (Christie Lites, Syncrolite)
Audio Equipment (OSA)
Special Effects (Advanced Entertainment Services)
Video Production and Post-Production (Switch Post, JimmyMakesMovies, RFG Productions, Jackson VanEss)
Scenic Fabrication (PRG)
Video Equipment and Labor (Media Solutions, VER)
Photography (R3 Productions, NPT Imaging)
Equipment
172 ETC Source Four 14°, 19° 750, 26° w/Iris, PAR750 MFL, PAR NSP
48 Martin Professional Atomic 3000
25 Syncrolite MX4
92 Martin Professional MAC 2000 Wash, Performance, Profile, and Wash XB
156 Martin Professional MAC 101
112 Martin Professional MAC III Performance
3 MA Lighting grandMA 2
1 Yamaha PM1D Digital Console
10 JBL SRX712M Speaker
12 EVI DML 2181 Subwoofer
12 EVI Xcn and Xcb Bass Speaker
6 EAW JF80 Speaker
8 EVI X-array and Crown I-Tech 6000 Amp Rack
825 Everbrighten 15mm LED Tile
420 Everbrighten 125mm LED Tile
10 Christie Digital 35K Projector
Spyder X20™
400’ Automated Traveler Curtain
24’x180’ Seamless Scrim Rigged to Fly