Aux Media Group recently unveiled its Aux Immersive Studio, an environment that merges physical and virtual events through Extended Reality (XR) technology and game engine systems. Its chief executive, Choong Chyi Kei, shares more about how the events company warmly embraced the technology wave brought about by Covid-19
Was Covid-19 the push factor in investing in XR technology?
We believe in always exploring new technologies to innovate and seek greater ways to serve our clients’ needs to bring their events to life.
Covid-19 was a push factor in us adopting XR technology as a new format largely unexplored in our market. We saw it as an opportunity to expand what we can provide our clients in breathing new life to both live and online events, as well as create a new business arm for Aux.
Could you provide some examples of how XR tech can bring to hybrid events and live presentations?
XR technology can help to create hybrid events that are more exciting and interactive than regular online events such as webinars.
For example, we can introduce XR elements to corporate townhalls and presentations such as music videos to bring fantastic settings and environments to life side-by-side with the presenters, making the event more interactive and beautiful for virtual viewers, as the audience in our studio.
The possibilities are only limited by our own creativity, and this technology can also be applied to training programmes and conferences. It will also change the way how brands and organisations interact with their audiences.
How can XR technology be applied to online events and webinars?
Online events and webinars have become very popular since the pandemic hit. As people were forced to stay at home, brands and organisations have adapted to push their events online.
However, there is only so much one can achieve with these online events and webinars, and the medium has become stale in the last six months.
With the help of XR technology, companies can elevate the level of delivery for their content and engage their audience in ways that have not been possible in the past year. For example, Aux can help to create realistic environments that surround the presenters, that aids in building their credibility and helps keep the audience engaged.
What does this business transition mean internally for Aux, and externally their clients?
Aux Media Group is vastly experienced in creating festivals, concerts, conferences for a wide variety of campaigns and clients across industries.
With Aux Immersive Studio, we are well-equipped to hold both physical events as well as virtual productions of all scales, or hybrid events that combine both. For our clients and their audiences, this means the best of both worlds.
Our over-20-years of events management experience means we understand what works on the ground. We are translating that experience to bring events online and this is a key focus of Aux Media Group with this business transition. We are empowering our clients to reach out to their target audiences.
What new business opportunities has Aux seen as a result of this pivot?
Aside from the obvious hybrid events, this added capability brings us to another industry: From Disney’s The Mandalorian to Amazon Prime’s Inside The Boys, a behind-the-scenes look of the popular programme, using LED technology for film and cable TV programme is gathering pace.
We are currently exploring this production workflow with various content producers. This is very exciting for us as the new skillsets picked up are applicable in other areas of our business.
This is a long-term investment on Aux’s part. Will this technology remain relevant when borders reopen and people gravitate towards physical gatherings once again?
There will definitely be a flock toward physical gatherings once this pandemic has passed. However, this pandemic has accelerated the popularity and showcased the possibilities of virtual and hybrid events. Now, locally-produced events are now able to reach a global audience.
While some meetings and shows will still need to be conducted physically, I see XR technology as an exciting way to elevate all types of events regardless of their formats. I am confident that with Aux Immersive Studio, we can help businesses change the ways they engage their audiences, both internally and externally.
