By participating in an experience, a memory is generated that connects you with the brand

The co-founder of the agency Wildbytes is a reference of the expreimental design because it offers emotions that remain engraved in the memory of the consumers

            Julio Obelleiro and his agency Wildbytes, of which he is co-founder, went down in history by collaborating in the creation of the first interactive billboard of Times Square. The success of this augmented reality experience was such that Forever 21, the brand that hired the job, kept it for five years (from 2010-2015).

 Something that seems unthinkable considering that the price of each advertising second in this mythical square, located in the heart of Manhattan, is one of the most expensive in the world.

Today, Obelleiro, a Spanish computer engineer reconverted to a 'magician' of the most innovative art and technology, has become a benchmark for experimental design and has accumulated success stories in 71 countries. The experiences he creates are unique not only because of the technological innovation that sustains them, but because they offer experiences and emotions that remain engraved in the memory.

Newcomer from New York, he was in charge of closing the fifth edition of the Experience Fighters, the largest meeting of innovation and creation of user experiences in Spain, held in Madrid on June 5 and 6.

-One of the best known works of Wildbytes is Forever 21, which was five years in Times Square. What was it?

-In the augmented reality experience for Space150 and Forever 21 we did a great research work and developed a bestial software to generate interactions on that scale. On the screen appeared giant models that interacted with passers-by: they kissed them and turned them into frog; they took them by hand and placed them in another place; they took pictures ... All this was done in real time. Regarding any other Times Square screen, the average attention span was multiplied by 20.

- Now you have returned to Times Square since you are part of the team that has developed the first 3D screen with real movement. What role have you played?

-The Coca-Cola has been a five-year project (2012-2017) in which eight companies have collaborated. I am in the three invention patents of the screen. Our company was in the ideation of the project and we developed much of the initial conceptualization technology, like the simulator to test the experience. It is a project of those who put goosebumps.

�The important thing is to focus on the emotions that you want to produce in the audience and then you will see what technology is the one that can best help you�

-In Spain you have also launched several disruptive experiences for different brands. Which ones are you most proud of?

-The truth is that they are very varied projects and I find it hard to choose. In the Plaza de Callao in Madrid we launched the first cinematic experience (with movement of cameras) of augmented reality in the world. It was a job for FOX and other international channels in which we got people to feel inside their favorite series, like Walking Dead or Homeland.

-You also work a lot for beauty and cosmetics brands ...

-Yes. One of the experiences with which we have achieved more successes, and for which we continue to contact a lot, is what we did with Sephora to launch the makeup brand of the tattoo artist Kat Von D. We organized a video mapping facial performance with movement ( tracking) in real time. Kat Von D took the stage and, while playing a string quartet, we projected a 10-minute narrative on her face. It was unfolding on his face, like a kind of digital skin, like a makeup that came to life. It had a lot of impact, some came to consider it as the art of the future and generated almost a million impressions online. Three and a half years later, it is still the most shared content of the Sephora Spain Facebook channel.

           In your intervention in the Experience Fighters you talk about the beauty of the unpredictable and the importance of knowing the consumers and then breaking the schemes. Are the keys to the success of your work?

-Today you should not create communication messages but contexts in which the public can live the DNA of the brand, that they feel they have the capacity to impact on it. Either with an experience or a content that we generate, whatever it is, but that they have a voice at the participatory level.

�Neither the virtual reality, nor the augmented, the most groundbreaking is the mixed reality. It's the most futuristic thing there is right now �

-In relation to this, you commented on the importance of moving from ROI ('return of investment') to ROE ('return of emotions') when measuring the effectiveness of an advertising campaign.

-The world of traditional advertising lives on the number of impressions, the number of people who see the advertisement. But the average time it takes to forget what you've seen on a screen is six seconds.


    We are so overwhelmed with content that we see something and it's like background noise. That stops being so with the disruptive and interactive experiences. By participating, people are personally involved, emotions are produced and a memory is generated that connects you with the brand at a vital level.

-Our experiences, do you connect with all types of audiences or especially with the younger ones?

-Everyone connects but no doubt the younger audience has more predisposition. Right now, millennials only understand experiential language. Unidirectional messages that drill the head or have no effect on them or even cause an adverse reaction.

-In all these years, what technology has worked best for you?

- We are an experiential innovation agency and we do not focus on a specific technology. The important thing is to focus on the emotions you want to produce in the audience and then you will see what technology is the one that can best help you. Everything has its context and its objective.


 In addition to Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality or face mapping, we are now working hard with smart mirrors for retail. These mirrors recognize what you wear, what kind of look you have, what your mood is and personalize the experience based on it all.

-A prediction to finish: what technology will be the most disruptive in the future?

-Neither the virtual reality, nor the augmented, the most groundbreaking is the mixed reality (combining the two). It's the most futuristic thing there is right now. I think it has a lot of potential to create experiences because most of the public has not yet tried it.