Purple’s Digital Storytelling Highlights of 2022
(and our vision for 2023)

New-year’s eve is always a global party, but this year Purple had extra reason to celebrate. Our ambitions for 2022 were simple: growth. Thanks to our combined efforts and determination, this was realized on all fronts, with a growing workforce and an extended global presence. This greater reach was possible thanks to our developing global partnership network. This network is making it possible to deliver our solutions further around the world - from San Francisco to Tokyo.

Of course, growth can mean a lot of things. People naturally tend to think of sales growth – achieved through more sales or bigger deals. However, for Purple growth is also about our internal development as we develop new skill sets, grow our teams, hone our craft, develop new concepts, and evolve as a company. This kind of internal growth is essential for any company that wants to keep delivering value to its customers through innovation.

Our objectives in 2022

One goal for Purple during 2022 was a greater emphasis on supporting top-level digital storytelling with the Hyro digital storytelling software. Hyro powers all our creative concepts. We saw 25 new installs of Hyro globally in 2022, and these are now powering breathtaking digital storytelling experiences.

Another goal was to focus more on the design and delivery of incredible Experience Centers. 

These complex setups weave together multiple technologies to deliver the most impactful experiences for our clients. In our view, Experience Centers can offer the highest level of digital storytelling for business. These Hyro-powered digital storytelling experiences enable businesses to deliver the most on-target and resonant messaging for each customer. Experience Centers immersively engage customers; putting them at the center of the story and demonstrating how each solution can help fix their specific challenges and needs.  

Overcoming hurdles

It hasn’t, however, all been smooth sailing and sunshine. Growing companies require constant attention as they develop. Nurturing a growing workforce means investing time and effort in supporting teams as they ramp up, and guiding them through hurdles and obstacles. Acquiring new talent is just one half of the equation; the other is instilling a growth mindset where skills are shared and staff help each other to learn and grow. In such a rapidly evolving market, overcoming the challenges of tomorrow is always on the radar. It’s equally important to always look ahead to see which capabilities are needed to help our workforce thrive in the future, and turn this into action by investing in people.

And, of course, the ongoing post-COVID pandemic disruption to global supply chains has also influenced our business. Availability of high-tech hardware reliant on semiconductor chips has been especially unpredictable for a few years.

As Purple’s storytelling concepts use some of the world’s most cutting-edge AV technology, this issue weighed heavily on operations in 2022. To account for supply uncertainty, lead times needed constant attention and revision. If suppliers fail to deliver, alternatives must be found that retain or exceed the same specifications. Availability and pricing volatility can take their toll, and the stakes are high. Keeping our clients informed and up to date with realistic expectations has been an unexpected and constant task in 2022. 

Our favorite Experience Centers and Virtual Studios from 2022

Despite these challenges, Purple has had fantastic highlights and successes in 2022. Overall, our teams spent 16,000 hours working on 26 projects for clients around the globe like SAP, Cognizant, Under Armour, and Honeywell, as well as securing new clients like IBM and Emirates. 

Of all the amazing projects we worked on in 2022, it’s hard to pick a favorite…however, one highlight comes to mind:


SAP’s new Experience Center: a truly unique project. We designed this from the outset to be the most flexible and capable Experience Center. With just the touch of a button, it can instantly switch between distinct industry-focused storytelling experiences that highlight SAPs software in action, using targeted content, themed lighting, and color schemes. Thanks to the Hyro software, it has been made into the most capable and flexible storytelling tool imaginable.

Purple’s roadmap for 2023

What’s in store for 2023? One task will be nurturing our evolving value chain. In practice, this means looking closely at how we can help our customers get the maximum return from their strategic investments in digital storytelling technology. Keeping Hyro’s top position as the best storytelling software for business will be one part of this, as it ensures the best results for our clients by making their investments as capable and flexible as possible.

And as always, growth is a priority. This will be achieved in two ways over 2023: Firstly, organic growth will continue to be a major component. Secondly, inorganic growth will also contribute to achieving our targets by increasing the size, capabilities, and territories covered by Purple. Investing in new capabilities helps our clients to get more out of their investments. And, by targeting new territories such as the middle east, we can help even more companies use the power of digital storytelling. 

Digital Storytelling innovations in 2023

Our customers know us for our outstanding digital storytelling concepts, including our immersive experiences. These always surprise and enchant; so in 2023, we’ll continue to look at emerging technologies and see how innovations can be used to build new concepts or enhance the capabilities of existing ones. 

Our remarkable Hyro software is one area where innovations are already delivering value for our customers in 2023.

We see immense strategic value for companies for which we have the privilege to build cutting-edge Experience Centers and Virtual Studio. These two concepts generate irreplaceable value by helping companies stand out as digital pioneers, while communicating their value proposition clearly to distinct customer groups. Developing these two digital storytelling concepts even further will be a priority in 2023. 

Our Experience Centers and Virtual Studio solutions make a massive impact for our customers by enabling first-class online or hybrid events, and helping them nurture a closer relationship with their customers. These solutions also make a strong contribution to Purple’s revenue, however, our continued growth is primarily assured by the differentiating value offered by Purple.

Our offer is unique and the value chain for our clients is strong – we simply deliver more. And this gives us the edge.

Yes, our Experience Centers run on amazing AV technology and the most advanced storytelling software – but what sets us apart is the total vision involved. Our team designs and delivers the entire concept experience, including architectural and spatial elements. We offer customers the convenient ‘full service’ they need, happy in the knowledge that Purple can take care of it all: Design, Hardware, Build, Content, and Software. Our constantly developing software platform ensures our customers always have the most advanced tools and capabilities, making deploying the most impactful digital storytelling easier. And we support customers so they can get the full benefit from our technology. It’s this offer that sets us apart, and makes it easier for our clients to deliver first-class brand experiences.

Want to see some of our solutions in action? See examples of our work here. 

 FAQ

What are the biggest trends in immersive storytelling in 2023?There are some interesting immersive storytelling trends for 2023 already appearing. As AR and VR technologies develop rapidly, immersive storytelling becomes more accessible to audiences around the world – anywhere. 3D content and interactive experiences will continue to make significant gains in 2023.

How is digital storytelling evolving in 2023?Digital storytelling in 2023 will follow a similar pattern to previous years, except that in-person events and hybrid events will become more dominant. Hyper-personalization is becoming more capable, and this can also be applied to digital storytelling. Looking beyond 2023, the use of AI in digital storytelling will also become an interesting new feature.

Can I download the Hyro storytelling software?The Hyro digital storytelling software is a cloud-based platform. That means it cannot be ‘downloaded’ as such, but by using any device with authenticated access the user can use the platform from anywhere in the world. As a cloud-based platform, Hyro is always up to date with the latest features.

What is the ROI for digital storytelling?The Return on Investment for digital storytelling can be calculated by determining the setup cost, plus the ongoing costs, and taking this amount from the total profit generated by the digital storytelling. In practice, this can be hard to analyze effectively as customer journeys involve multiple touchpoints. As with so many things, it depends on how it is used – so we recommend the Hyro digital storytelling software because it maximizes the opportunities for using digital storytelling to generate revenue.

What is a Customer Experience Center?A Customer Experience Center (also sometimes called a briefing center or experience center) is a special venue for giving customers your brand experience. These days, a Customer Experience Center leans heavily on digital storytelling technologies and immersive storytelling to communicate targeted messages that resonate with the customer and their needs.