The Waterways Project – A Unique Road Show Experience for the Mohawk Group

A Roadshow Primer

When it comes to roadshows in the live events industry, there are two basic formats. The traveling exhibit – the kind you build, load onto trailers and set up at a series of different venues. Like the pandemic-inspired and highly successful multi-city tour we helped Mohawk’s residential flooring division execute earlier in 2021. Then there’s the true mobile roadshow – the kind that gets built inside a tractor trailer, giving it the freedom to bring the show to customers where they are, anywhere and anytime. Like the one we just helped kick off for the Mohawk Group, the commercial flooring division of Mohawk.

Here are three things that made this project particularly interesting.

One – A Real Technical Design Challenge

As noted, the interior structure had to be designed and built to fit inside a trailer – in this case a double-wide that expands onsite to create a space 23 feet wide and 35 feet long. This means the interior structure has to fill the space when the trailer is at full size, then compress successfully when it hits the road (click here for a short video of it expanding). It also has to be tough enough to survive every bump and pothole of a grueling 25 city tour .

Two – Bringing a Unique Story to Life

In the residential flooring world, most designs that appeal to homeowners are often pretty basic – mostly browns and beiges and materials that replicate the look of stone, tile or wood. It’s a different story in the commercial world. Here architects often seek unique looks that allow them to make original design statements in settings like hotels, retail stores, airports and office spaces. And the Mohawk Group delivers with truly astonishing looks. In this case, a collection of both carpet and hard surface flooring designs inspired by nature. For instance, the patterns found in the plumage of owls, the natural sediments found in riverbeds and the complicated shapes formed by rivers where they meet the ocean.

Uniting the overall experience and giving the tour its name – the Waterways Project – is an overarching story about the importance of river systems to life on earth and the investments Mohawk is making in water conservation and restoration.

All this meant our design had to not only meet the technical challenges of trailer life. It also had to have a look as unique as the Mohawk Group’s flooring designs, weaving in the river conservation story and imagery throughout. And if we may say so ourselves, the results are truly stunning.

Three – A True Hybrid Event

We’ve written and posted about hybrid events before – including the goals and challenges associated with successful ones. And this project is a real hybrid event, augmenting the trailer experience with a series of online ones. These include a virtual tour of the trailer interior and an ongoing social media overlay, expanding the experience to audience members who can’t make one of the tour stops.

Since the tour just kicked off, there will be more to come. So, stay tuned. And if you’re interested in learning more about mobile experiences, we’re always ready to talk.