17 December 2021
GCCEC+ (GCCEC Plus), a toolkit created for virtual site inspections, allows event planners and guests to visit the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre from anywhere in the world.
Using multiple innovative platforms, GCCEC+ enables users three options to explore the multi-purpose event venue:
- GCCECXR: a ground-breaking next-gen app using the world’s largest extended reality (XR) technology
- GCCEC360: an immersive 360-degree video site inspection with interactive hotspots
- GCCECimap: a venue floorplan with click and reveal room capacities
“We could not have released GCCEC+ at a better time,” says Kerri Brown, Brand and Communications Manager at GCCEC. “With border closures and Covid-19 restrictions challending in-personsite inspections, this collection of tools allows us to offer virtual tours of the Centre to anyone, anywhere in the world.”
GCCECXR
Released in August 2021, GCCECXR is the latest addition to the toolkit. The app allows users to immerse themselves in GCCEC from anywhere in the world through the world’s largest extended reality experience.
Available on the App Store and Google Play, the new app superimposes a virtual model of GCCEC onto a real-world surface through the user’s mobile screen. The user is invited to explore the venue’s location, exterior and get inside the world-class 6,000-seat arena, the halls in exhibition mode and central rooms set as a gala dinner.
The most exciting element of the app is its ability to allow the user to experience a photorealistic tour of the venue on a 1:1 scale! Anyone can discover GCCEC at an overview from theoffice or home and even walk the full length of the venue – in a large empty space nearby.
“Site tours are one of our key selling tools, and with many clients unable to travel due to current regulations, we’ve developed new ways to allow them to view the venue from their own home or office,” says Michelle Mann, Director of Sales and Marketing at GCCEC, “but this mixture of the virtual and real world is by far the most exciting!”
GCCEC360
GCCEC360 was added to the Centre’s virtual toolkit in April 2021 and has been a huge hit with event planners and guests looking to get a better understanding of the spaces within the venue.
This spectacular 360-degree virtual tour opens the Centre for site inspections from any device. GCCEC360 is an interactive and immersive 360-degree video that enables anyone in any location to embark on a virtual site inspection and explore the Centre from a whole new angle.
Throughout the 6-minute tour, clickable hotspots appear, allowing the user to explore more details about specific locations like floor plans, room sets, still images and other relevant details.
“It’s a truly interactive experience,” says Adrienne Readings, General Manager at GCCEC. “As you watch the video, you might ask yourself, ‘How many people can I fit in this space for a gala dinner? How many people can be seated in that space for a concert?’ All of that information is contained within the video, along with floor plans, still images and other relevant details.”
GCCECIMAP
GCCECimap started GCCEC’s interactive virtual toolkit back in June 2019. To condense and simplify traditional pdf floorplans of the venue, GCCEC’s marketing team set out to create a web-based interactive floorplan to showcase its spaces, room dimensions, event types and its flexibility. The result offers users a 3-D model of the venue and the option to navigate between levels, remove walls and explore further details about each space.
“GCCECimap was step one for the marketing team to set GCCEC’s digital offerings apart from other venues. The option of a 3-D model with removable walls and pop-up room details was something that could set us apart from venues using traditional pdf floorplans,” says Dylan Cooper, Content Marketing Specialist at GCCEC.
All three tools that make up GCCEC+ have been received well in the business events community receiving feedback such as “it makes the event planning process so much easier now that you can see the physical spaces and take a site tour from anywhere in the world from your phone.”
As technology advances and the shift to mixed and extended reality becomes more familiar in the event industry, GCCEC has plans to push GCCEC+ as far as technology will allow.
Start exploring the tooklit now: