Harnessing the power of innovations such as AR and VR, Khalid Al-Muawad’s technology company Midwam is transforming the visitor experience of art, history, and culture, taking customer engagement to a new level.
At a time when attention spans are shorter than ever, Khalid Al-Muawad has the answer to the question asked by many organizations in the tourism and entertainment sectors: “What can we do to engage our customers?”
As CEO and Co-Founder of Midwam, based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Al-Muawad is using technologies such as holograms, augmented reality, and virtual reality to help trade fairs, historic sites, music venues, and cultural festivals tell unforgettable stories and create immersive experiences that leave lasting impressions on their visitors.
The impact of these experiences can be profound. Al-Muawad says that many people have been moved to tears by the immersive content that Midwam produces.
“To touch someone’s emotions that way is the strongest engagement that we can imagine,” he says. “It is testimony to the technology we use and the power of the story we create working hand in hand with each other.”
Organizations in the cultural and tourism sector are deploying Midwam’s innovations to reinvent the way they connect with guests and potential visitors around the world. While trade missions to other countries can be notoriously dry affairs, Midwam has been able to brighten many a delegate’s day by giving them an incredible walk-through 3D visit through some of Saudi Arabia’s historic UNESCO sites. “One foreign minister was so impressed by the [virtual] ancient tombs of AlUla that he visited the real site a couple of months later,” Al-Muawad says.
“By being innovative and creative, we can revolutionize the way people engage with art, heritage, and culture.”
Khalid Al-Muawad, CEO and Co-Founder of Midwam)
With that sort of emotional impact, it is no surprise that demand for Midwam’s immersive experiences is surging. The company has developed unique activations for clients that include a major local airline and the Middle East’s largest music festival, where it designed five separate experiences using holographs and projection mapping. “Rather than just standing around a stage, people were able to embark on a journey and enjoy a new form of experiential entertainment,” Al-Muawad says.
“The new generations are no longer interested in static content and passive experiences. With immersive technologies, we can change the mood and create a whole new level of customer engagement.”
What impact does Midwam make on people?
Every brand has a story. That story for us is the most valuable thing to start with. We amplify the story. That is why our clients like to work with us. They see us transforming their story into an experience, a journey, an interactive masterpiece, an environment where people can engage more with the brand. Engagement makes a major difference to the customer experience and to customer satisfaction.
In a retail space, people only engage for six to nine seconds before they move on. With us, engagement is over two minutes. That is a huge difference from a brand engagement point of view. We use the technology that is right for the brand, and we provide an opportunity for people to further understand the brand’s story.
What sort of feedback do you get?
Our immersive experiences intrigue people. Everyone wants to learn more. A person going into an art exhibit may know nothing about the art, and then when we give them a tool for engaging with the pieces, they understand it and appreciate the story more. Most of our work is focused on temporary experiences—they may last for a day or two or for a few months, and then disappear.
What technologies do you use, and how do you choose them?
It depends on the experience that we design. They include artificial intelligence, RFID chips, robotics, interactive haptics, holograms, holographic screens, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
We always say that the immersive business is first based on the story. Only once we understand the story do we select the technology for the experience. The technology depends on the story and enables people to become more immersed and engaged.
What are the main challenges when it comes to engaging people?
Studying how people behave and interact. Attention spans are short today, and people do not have much patience. The challenge is to be highly innovative and creative in the use of technology, content, and storytelling. We want to engage people who have “been there and done that.” If you give a child a tablet with static content, they will not want it. Young people are growing up with these technologies. We need to complement the technologies and focus on storytelling, content, and design.
How fast is Midwam growing?
We started in 2012 with about four to six people. We began by educating people about the business and the technology. We now have 30 people.
In our business, it is not easy to retain talent, but we have done well. Because of the economy, everyone is competing for designers, developers, programmers, coders, and strategists. We have a lot of colleagues who have been with us from the beginning. We have a great culture. That makes it easy for people to stay. We are extremely lucky to have the people we have. By keeping our culture, we are going to attract even more talented people.
What are the opportunities of the future?
We are not limited to tourism. We also work with the entertainment sector to increase engagement. In the future, I am interested in seeing how the metaverse will develop for retail businesses and for financial services, and seeing how the metaverse will impact heritage, culture, and art. At Midwam, we designed an entire environment for a metaverse six years ago. So we are ready.
For now, we are extremely focused on the huge number of activations in Saudi Arabia, but I believe that, in time, we will be adding value on international projects in other countries
Published as branded content in WIRED magazine
