About “Abu Dhabi is Calling”

“Abu Dhabi is Calling” is a travelling activation born from a partnership between the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, Tripadvisor (Wanderlab), Polar Media and ORA. It combines Tripadvisor’s traveller data with the cinematic 360° projection driven by the ORA sphere to immerse audiences in Abu Dhabi’s iconic sites, closing the gap between browsing a destination online and truly feeling it.

The project

The location

An 8-metre projection dome set up on a plaza, air-conditioned inside. Presented at Hudson Yards in New York, then in Paris and Mumbai, before a dense, international and multicultural audience. At the centre of the dome stands the sphere, the navigation tool of the experience.

Purpose

Draw visitors to Abu Dhabi through an event that travels from city to city. Provide a tactile centrepiece at the heart of the dome to carry the visitor into the tourism and cultural world of the emirate, in full immersion, rather than showing it to them passively.

What was displayed & the experience

On the sphere, all of Abu Dhabi’s points of interest, with Tripadvisor’s tips and suggestions and traveller reviews. You touch the sphere and the 360° dome responds in real time: spectacular images of the desert, cultural landmarks and dreamlike gardens unfold all around the visitor. People stop watching and start steering, each placing themselves at the centre of the emirate’s most iconic places.

The benefit

Backed by a major campaign across New York’s metro and streets, amplified by influencers, the activation drew more than 50,000 visitors to the Hudson Yards plaza in three days, then 20,000 in Paris and 15,000 in Mumbai. The event turned into a place people visit, strengthening the brand’s presence and Abu Dhabi’s image as a destination worth the trip.

Delivered with Wanderlab (Tripadvisor), Experience Abu Dhabi and Polar Media, in the “Super Reality Domes” format.