Standard Life Innovation Lab Case Study

Solution 

The Innovation Lab is an immersive journey that adapts to offer bespoke experiences when solutions are explored with customers. Working with global experiential design firm Downstream, AVI-SPL deploy a flexible technology experience to support a wide range of content presentations across various touchpoints, allowing visitors to explore solutions matched to their needs. The Content Management system (CMS) allows Lab Managers to create and schedule engagements relevant to the brand and audience.

The Lab, a first of its kind for the brand, has enjoyed enormous success since its official launch in 2022. Standard Life has publicly stated they are looking to roll-out its groundbreaking Edinburgh Innovation Lab to other locations after it proved a big hit with clients.

THE SPACES

The Guest Lounge sets a warm and welcoming environment for clients to relax before the engagement begins. The Welcome Wall 86” LCD display showcases personalised welcome messaging, including brand updates and tailored content.

As visitors are guided through the Lab’s entrance doors visitors they are met with a gesture-enabled ‘black mirror’ screen that comes to life and tells human stories of inspiration through compelling data visualizations. This is a portrait mounted 75”, large‐format display installed behind a 2‐way mirror with a camera used to augment a transformative digital experience over the visitors in front of the Reflection Mirror. On the back of the glass is a capacitive touch film that provides touch functionality while maintaining the integrated audio visual installation within the millwork.

Introductions for the day takes place at the Launch Wall, 100” touch enabled LCD display. The session agenda is tailored to the needs of the visitor group, and discussions focus on the voice of the customer and the goals of the engagement.

Through the main hallway, is the interactive Community Wall, allowing visitors to explore content about the history, company partnerships and the community on a 3 x 55” touch enabled display content experience.

The Collaboration Space supports flexible, client-tailored agendas. A massive interactive 3 x 3 165” LCD engage wall – comprised by 55” touch enabled displays – provides presenters with the freedom to navigate content in a non-linear way. Primary content is delivered from a content workstation located in the AV headend that is driven via the embedded multi‐touch functionality on the display. Other functionality includes Vaddio AV Bridge with Dual PTZ camera configuration and Crestron touch panel for in‐room control. This space is also used for the session wrap-up and takeaways at the end of the day.

The Agile Studio is a modern, flexible working environment where visitors can see work-in-progress solutions in real time. At the front of the room is a 100” LCD touch enabled display with Vaddio VC camera and Crestron control panel. Along the side wall of the space is the Future Whiteboard – a digital 135” digital canvas for a truly collaborative touch experience, powered by Panasonic projection. Also supporting collaboration in this space is a Samsung Flip and a mobile display with Poly VC endpoint adding even more options for remote participants to feel part of the sessions.

The Demo Bar allows demonstrations of market-ready solutions across various mobile phone and tablet devices, connected to three displays for a better viewing experience. Each of the three screens has an HDMI input directly below extended back to a DM matrix that allows for routing of any device to any/all displays. Additionally, one AirMedia 200 is available for wireless sharing of content to the displays via the DM. A local Crestron touch panel provides presenter control of source management.

The Immersion Corner is home to an AR/VR experience which is an extension of the Demo Wall. The room consists of a 55‐inch 4k display used for demos driven with a local wireless keyboard and mouse. In addition, (2) VR systems are utilized by visitors to explore the latest Standard Life demos driven on dual laptops. Content to the 55‐inch 4k display delivered from a content workstation located in the AV headend.
The AV headend system is made up of multiple four‐post equipment racks accommodating 44 rack units (RU) of space which houses the backend hardware to support each AV system.

“Working with Downstream and AVI-SPL to create what we have today was a fantastic experience and a true partnership. The team brought specialism and skill to create a truly immersive experience.” 

Claire Moody, Head of Innovation Lab

Impact

The Innovation Lab is being used to identify pressing customer challenges and showcase and collaborate on proposition development with workplace clients.

But it has also opened up additional opportunities for the business in supporting emerging FinTech firms and entrepreneurs particularly with a focus on sustainability and DEI. The Innovation Lab has become home of Phoenix Group’s Innovation Forum, in collaboration with strategic partners FinTech Scotland and the TCS COIN network. The Innovation Forum invites enterprises and entrepreneurs, through FinTech networks, to pitch their solutions on using technology to address wider challenges around member vulnerability- including digital literacy and financial inclusion.