The new Annayake perfume will be showcased in the perfumery giant’s shop window from eight a.m. to midnight for a total of seven weeks. To support the brand story, the staging relies on digital signage displays. On behalf of the agency Cheil from Kronberg, which specializes in distinctive brand experiences, satis&fy took care of the technical and structural implementation of the high-quality shop window design and was responsible for the construction of various special structures.

The concept idea takes a playful approach to Christmas. “From childhood, many people have a precise idea of where and how Christmas presents are wrapped and shipped,” explains Cheil. So in December, the Douglas storefront is transformed into a magical Christmas factory where gifts are moved on conveyor belts, wrapped and shipped to a lucky recipient. Boxes are moved up and down, products spin on their own axis or are unveiled. In the center, perfume bottles are transported on a conveyor belt. Behind a screen, the real bottles move into the digital world. The monitors show how the bottles are now wrapped and become a gift. Once the gift is ready, it is returned to the real world. A physical package comes out from behind the screen on the conveyor belt. This belt then moves to a small elevator that takes the products back up.

To implement the idea, satis&fy combined digital with analog elements that interlock and run in an endless loop. The development and construction of the product displays, including moving walkways, cladding and podiums, took place in the company’s workshops in Karben. “The first challenge for us,” explains Kristina Kuhn, Project Manager at satis&fy, “was to translate Cheil’s design into the language of technology, and the second was to develop an individual special construction that would fit into various shop windows of different sizes.” A lot of research was needed to get the project off the ground, he says. So the decision was made to use a pharmacy treadmill to mechanically move the products. This was foiled and adjusted so that the products were conveyed at a pace that was comfortable for the viewer. “After all, the attention should be on the products and not on the components of the special construction,” says the project manager. Light barriers were installed to ensure that the films on the screens are triggered at the right moment and to match the speed of the conveyor belt. In addition, all the motors for the lifting and rotating platforms, on which the products turn like little ballerinas, were further developed in the Karben workshop. All the technical drawings for the substructures, including the treadmill coverings, were also created in-house. Structured wood coated in rose gold was used to build the back wall and platforms.

 

After a successful prototype installation at the Douglas headquarters in October, the company was commissioned to implement the display windows in Düsseldorf and Mannheim. The display constructions were then assembled on site in November using a “plug and play” system. For Kristina Kuhn, this was an exciting project “in which everything we can do was put to use: technical know-how coupled with craftsmanship and our many years of experience in staging experiences.”